Found another cancer spot on my dog. :( -- ROUGH night

[journey11]

I think sometimes, she does catch me staring at her wistfully... It's so hard for me to believe she has cancer; even at her age (11) she is otherwise so healthy. Sure she is slowing down a little, but ever since I got her off of a corn-based feed and onto a brown rice/lamb dog food (still not the best available, but at least eliminates the corn/wheat issue) she has been doing so well! Her arthritis almost entirely went away. She had one winter where she could barely get around, she was so stiff and limping, but this winter--no problems at all. She trimmed down to a healthy weight (pibbles are prone to overeating!) And her coat is so soft and shiny now. That's what makes it so hard to take in...she is otherwise feeling so good for her age.

The vet agreed to do the second surgery because of how healthy and assymptomatic she is and she handled the anesthesia fine both times. I am hoping she will agree to do one more. By removing these tumors, it lessens the chance of them metastasizing internally. The dermal version of this very aggressive cancer has a better outlook. If they get a tumor on their liver, spleen, heart or brain, they will die within 24 hours if it ruptures because of internal bleeding. They never mentioned chemo as an option. At her age, I am not sure I could put her through that anyway. I think you are right Cane, to not let on to her (or the kids) that something is wrong.

My other dog died 3 years ago from a brain tumor. It was very sudden too. I wonder now, how much their diet may have had to do with it. I adopted them both when I was in my early 20's so I bought what I could afford at the time.

I've been spoiling her over the past year, ever since we found out. She is still a very obedient dog and hasn't sought to get away with too much, but she does enjoy sleeping on the couch now and looks forward to getting the baby's leftover dinner.

I am also SOOOOO glad my horrible renter neighbors finally moved away. Their two dogs running loose kept us from taking regular walks last year. (I always had to wait and watch for them to leave somewhere, knowing they would pen up the dogs when they were not at home). Now we can go for a walk almost every evening. I don't try to walk for my exercise anymore, since Boogie can't really keep up well after the first lap. We just go slow and I let her sniff everything!

Thanks for listening... This dog has been with me through thick and thin and so many changes in my life...she has always been my dear friend, a constant comfort to me. She used to sleep in the bed with me, curled up against me under the covers...until I got married and hubby had to draw the line somewhere, LOL. I credit her single-handedly for getting me out of a bad relationship with a guy I had dated for 5 years. He was prejudiced against her breed, so I chose the dog over him. Best choice I ever made! He later got a German Shepherd, which I thought was hypocritical, since they carry the same sort of reputation.

She's handling the new kittens great, btw. They are all fluff and attitude and she gives them their space.

Steve, it sounds like your dog just about ended up in Kansas! I'm glad it turned out well for her. Dogs and kids go hand in paw.

Baymule, that salve would be something to look into. I might be able to buy the bloodroot and mix up something similar...

 

[MontyJ]

Journey, I have a patch of bloodroot that grows every year in the woods across the road. Just say the word, and I'll dig what ever you need.

 

[thistlebloom]

Journey, hoping for some extended time for you and your buddy. The time that they're our companions just flies by, and one day we look at them and really see the gray muzzle and the slower gait. It's shocking.

My old guy is 11 now also, developing cataracts and he's nearly deaf. But he still likes to catch the frisbee and go for bike rides. Well, we ride, he runs. He used to be so fast and tireless, and we would just fly along the single tracks in the woods. Now we have to slow down and wait for him, and soon we will have to leave him home, distracted with a juicy bone.

Little Wren has become his ears, and he cues off her when we call him. I'm glad I got her to be a help to him before he got too much older. They sure love each other.

That's an adorable picture of Savannah and Boogie. The expression on her face says it all!

 

[Collector]

So sorry to hear this news. Losing a family pet is a pretty tough row to hoe.

 

[journey11]

Thanks for offering, Monty, that is very sweet of you. After some reading though, it seems that bloodroot is a very powerful and potentially caustic herb and not one I should attempt to work with myself. Seems it is a last resort kind of thing and that surgical removal of the tumor would be simpler. Most of the articles I read said that it can be very painful and cause open sores that are slow to heal. I wouldn't want to touch it myself. Kids playing with the dog...it would be too dangerous. Hopefully if I wave my checkbook in front of her, the vet will agree to just remove this one too!

Thistle, sounds like you will need to get Little Wren a helper when she is older someday too. It is amazing to me the depth of attachment and loss that even a dog can feel for their dog buddies. Boogie looked for Dana for a long time after she was gone. But I never got another dog, because Boogie seemed to really love the one-on-one time with me and became so very loyal and attentive without Dana around to encourage her to chase cats or to escape and go running around the neighborhood. Dana was always the ring-leader. I can leave the gates open now for hours and she won't go through them (unless we are on the other side that is.) Now Boogie is literally by my side all day long, except for when she takes her naps. She also sleeps by my daughter's bedside each night (I'm sure she would be IN the bed if she could jump that high.) I think she is trying to keep an eye on her because Ava sometimes sleepwalks!

Thanks everyone for the good thoughts...hopefully it will not spread internally and we can have many more walks together. It really hit me hard to see that another one had popped up so quickly. Her second surgery was done about 2 months ago.

 

[journey11]

We had such a long, scary night with Boogie last night and I'm still not sure exactly what happened.

She had an episode of intense pain last night before bedtime and I really thought oh no this is it. I cried for hours on end and tried to make my peace with it, but had to kiss her goodnight/goodbye and go to bed eventually. She was in so much pain and there was nothing I could do for her. I made her comfortable on the couch and put a pee-pad under her and covered her up with a blanket. She was all balled up tightly, shaking, breathing fast and shallow and wimpering softly. WHY do these things always have to happen at night and on the weekends when the vet is closed and there is nothing you can do about it? (To that my DD replied, "but God can do something about it!" From the mouths of babes, seriously!)

I tossed and turned all night with bad dreams and around 4:30am I woke up to Boogie's toenails tapping across the wood floor of my bedroom!! She had come upstairs and was asking to go potty! And she was able to go back down the stairs and was moving smoothly and didn't seem to be in any more pain. She went out and peed on the sidewalk...as usual. Then curled up on her pillow. At 6:30am when I got up, I could hear her whimpering a little off and on, but she wasn't in so much pain like last night. She's been laying on the couch most of the day, relaxed and breathing normally...no more whimpering...and she even ate a puppy-bone treat that my daughter gave her.

I don't know what to make of all this. All I know is that my best buddy seems ok for right now and perhaps we have been given a few more walks and cuddles together! I decided against calling the vet because if it is the cancer, there is no more they could do. It is supposed to be quick when it does happen and I'd want her to be calm and comfortable at home, not nervous and scared at the vet. Maybe it was some kind of gastric distress? I've never seen her like that before.

 

[canesisters]

Do you have her on any sort of pain meds? When Frankie's cancer came back, the vet put him on pain meds as needed, and high doses of prednisolone. She said that since we were not going to be able to cure him, she was not going to worry about the long term effects of the drugs and only focus on keeping him happy for the next few weeks/months.

I'm so sorry that you had a heart wrenching scare like that. Those late nights are the worst!

 

[journey11]

Thanks, Cane! I didn't think about that... This is the first sign of pain that she's had. She seems ok right now, but I will watch her closely and call the vet for meds if she acts in pain again. That would help...I don't want her to suffer.

 

[bj taylor]

journey; really sorry you are having such a difficult time with your good friend. it is the price we pay isn't it? their life span is so much shorter than ours that we are left saying good-bye. the good thing is they don't dread the end, they don't fear dying - they live every single day to the fullest. hope things go as smoothly as possible.

 

[Stubbornhillfarm]

journey, sorry you had to have such a rough night. But I am glad that your Boogie is in less pain today and that you get some more time together. I have an old man dog, so I know that time is coming for me too. I try to give him extra loves now and he gets more treats then he ever used to.