some advice please....

:( we have found several lumps on our lovely little 12yr old dog :( Took her to the vet who gave us the choice of putting her to sleep or a major operation of removing all her mammary whotsits. We were all for the op until i spoke to someone whos dobie had the same at 13yrs old then died 2weeks after the op. I cannot decide what is best....operate then she may last 2weeks in pain and fright or put her to sleep now.Vet cannot tell us what her chances are, whether more lumps would come back later.i dont know what to do. has anyone had this experience? :( :( :(

 

Rudy - It may be a financial problem to face, but I would have a second opinion if I were you, making sure you are doing the right thing is worth a great deal of heartache afterwards. Try to find an experienced dog veterinarian if you can. All the very best wishes to you, let us all know how you get on, it will be on my mind all the time now!

ele7

 

So sorry about your little dog.
I'm going through something similar right now, I have a beautiful cat (Oliver) who will be 20 just after Christmas, that's a great age for a cat.
Early last year he was diagnosed with a tumour in his gut, the vet said he could operate but couldn't guarantee the outcome because of Oliver's age, so I had to make a choice of having the op which he may not have come out of anyway, and having the trauma pain and discomfort of the recovery process (if there was one!) or putting him on medication, making him comfortable with loads of treats and love - I decided on the second. (Having him put to sleep was not an option)

It's been almost 12 months now and he's still going strong, a little tatty maybe, but he's not in any pain, he sleeps most of the time, and I'm convinced I've made the right decision.

Not a nice thing to say, but as the vet said, it will probably be old age he 'goes' with now and not the tumour because the medication has been keeping it under control.

I hope this helps and good luck.
Greenlady

 

Very difficult situation to be in Rudy ,my thoughts are with you.

 

rudy thinking of you at this difficult time

 

Hi rudy.Did you say shes a Dobie?Some breeds of animal are prone to certain illnesses.Do you have young children?You have to bare in mind that animals can change and even become vicious when they`re in pain.I watched as a child,my dog suffer with cancer because my father couldnt bare to let him go.Is she in any pain now?Is she behaving differenly?Is she off her food?If she was mine and i could answer yes to these questions, i would help her out and take away the pain by putting her to sleep.Oh My,that hurt to say.I feel for you and your family but try to be brave, for all concerned.Best Wishes,Elaine.

 

Hi Rudy

When I was still at home - our dog had lumps in her milk glands. She had them removed and lived for another three of four years. (I think she was about 10). These lumps were not cancerous, didn't bother her and didn't come back, and the post op wasn't too bad either, as it wasn't an "Internal" op..... she did bite open her stitches, though ( ). Is your dog generaaly fit otherwise? and are the lumps cancerous? It is a very difficult one, as no 2 dogs are the same. If they are not causing pain, and are not cancerous, do they have to come off? If they are not reducing her quality of life, then could you not just let her be??

 

Hi Rudy,my friend.Sorry you have the painful decision to make with your dog.If you remember we had the same agonising desicion to make with Tina in September.With strong medication she would have only lasted another 2 weeks,so after talking it over with the vet for an hour made the final acceptance that she would be better off pain free.We still haven't got over our loss,perhaps we never will,but at least we can now sleep easier knowing she is no longer suffering.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do....

 

Hi Rudy,i ran a kennels for a number of years,and one of my favorites was a Doberman called Bin,her owner had this same problem,with bin and decided to operate,i sat with Bin for nights on end but to no avail she died in my arms,im not sure if this helps for you to decide,but i know what you feel with such a horrible choice,but think of it this way would you put your husband or anyone else through this or spare them the pain which will surly come,really my heart gose out to you and your dog

 

It's very difficult, rudy. We have gone both ways with our cats. Our Skwij suddenly stopped eating, and he loved his food almost more than anything. The vet did various tests and couldn't find anything wrong. After a month Skwij stopped drinking even water. A few days later we made the horrible decision and we'll never forget that day, three years this coming April. However, we did give him a Valium first so he was peacefully asleep when he went to sleep forever!

As soon as he was gone his sister took ill with heart and lung problems and we put her on medication, which she was on (five tablets a day) till she died 18 months after her brother (a year ago last Saturday).

Both of them had had major operations, but not life threatening (he a pin put in his leg after being hit by a car and she a non-malignant lump removed from her neck).

Only you and your loved one can make the decision you feel most comfortable with. Our thoughts are with you whatever your decision.

 

Hi, thanks for your comments. we have her booked in on thursday with a different vet as the first one was meant to ring me and discuss it thoroughly but i kept missing his calls and when i rang him he was always busy. She is a dachshund cross(bits of spaniel and yorkie thrown in)as is the most companionable dog. walks to heel , rolls over, speaks on command, stands on back legs for treats. once ate a whole christmas pudding
i just dont know what to do....its like putting a price on her head :( she is eating fine and chasing me cats and looking for flies as usual but for this very angry looking lump on her milkywhatsits. :( i want her to have the operation and be all better again but theres no guarantee is there?? :( :( :(

 

Shes the little brown one on the right. Her name is Balti because she is curry coloured.

 

and these are her puppies she had 2years ago when we took in Mylo(the collie cross in the middle)and she turned into a brazen hussy.We had him snipped then but maybe should have had her speyed as well, that might have helped.

[ 13. January 2007, 08:56 PM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

Absolutely gorgeous Rudi