I know there are threads of individuals sharing experiences about losing their dog but I couldn't find one to post in. I found out today that my dog has a large tumor in his spleen and I was only given two options, put him down or go through surgery to extend his life a little longer. He just turned 12 last month and he is a mix of Labrador/border collie/golden retriever. After talking to the doctor it seemed like the best thing to do was to put him down. We've spent the evening together with him, and overall it's a little hard to let go. He is moving around well, still eating, and overall still has some energy. I have a hard time wanting to put him down knowing he is still in a semi good state, even though not at 100%. I took him to two different doctors, each with a similar prognosis just to give me piece of mind. I wouldn't mind spending the money on surgery, but just seems like the wrong way to go. Anyways, I'm struggling with this, I've had him since he was a puppy and been through a lot of things with me. I know I'll have to say goodbye, but is there even a right time? I don't want him to suffer, but I am no psychic when things may go south quick. Sorry for rambling, this is the first dog I fully took care off so it's just hard to want to say goodbye. I've said goodbye to a lot of people I loved over the years, but it never gets any easier. Here is a picture of him earlier this evening. Here he is a month ago.
I don’t want to jinx it, but our Leo was given a terminal illness and underwent an emergency procedure to take the fluid off his heart. We were told he has weeks. The diagnostic workup was $5K just to exclude things like heart failure. The vet cardiologist wouldn’t do a simple echo without a deposit which honestly made me lose a lot of respect (it would confirm it but technically can go ahead and prescribe the meds so why make it so difficult) Given that I knew the treatment for some of the ailments I asked the vet to give him the medications In the instance it is heart failure, and the treatment isn’t too different from humans. Obviously if it was cancer wouldn’t do any good but little risk. So far so good, he’s back to himself and hopefully it keeps working. It’s been a blessing if we had put him down at that time it would have haunted me. I don’t think you should let your dog suffer, but it seems like he isn’t now. When he gets close to it you can always do it. Do what’s best for him not you would be my advice. Could be an extra 6 months which is a lot of time
You should never let any animal suffer. I've done the Ol' Yeller stuff, and it breaks my heart, but you know it's for the best.
Yeah that is rough. The dogs I've put down were more obviously in need of it, so my situations were different. I will say that putting them to sleep is a very quick, peaceful, and painless process. It really is just like them laying down for a nap. Honestly, it made me a little jealous that (in most places) humans don't get that option. I would just recommend when the time comes (whether it's in a few days or several months) that you stay there with the dog while the vet administers the final medicine. Some people find it too hard so they leave the room, but that can make it stressful for your dog.
I adopted a dog and only had him for 3 weeks before he died of Parvo that he had picked up from the kennel. I stayed in the room with him while they administered the meds to put him down and held him tightly. I barely knew this dog, but I was a blubbering mess. It broke me. It was the right thing to do, and I'm glad I didn't let him slip into the void alone and scared, but god, I had no idea it would hurt that bad. I am scared to death of having to do this for the dog I've had for 10 years now.
I'm so, so sorry. I lost my yellow lab Franklin last June to pancreatitis at age 8, and I still tear up thinking about him often. I don't know what I'm going to do when I lose my other lab, Ellie. She turns 13 in October, still doing well right now, but I know she will start going downhill at some point. I want to make the right decision when it's time. Don't know what to say except we are here for you. I've lost 3 dogs over my lifetime, and it never gets easier. We have to take heart in knowing they were loved, and that they'll always be loved. And you'll carry around memories that will never die. <3
That's definitely the plan, I would never leave my dog to suffer by himself. I'm actually going to do at-home euthanasia because I want him to be as comfortable as possible. Still processing this morning, very difficult to take a step forward when you see your pup acting relatively normal. It doesn't even make sense to me, but I know there will be a time where it gets worse.
Sorry to hear this, OP. They really own our hearts and break them, but it's so worth it. Our dog is turning 14 next week and we are just enjoying every day as much as we can. (Side rant: Too much damned cancer in dogs and humans both.)
If he’s food driven and still eating, don’t do it. If he’s active and post surgery will leave him incapacitated, then you’ll have to make the call. I know for my pup so long as he’s getting his favorite foods and being with his favorite people, that there’s all the reason he needs to go on.
If I could base my decision based on that, I definitely would do it, but unfortunately he has a mass that can rupture at any time and he could bleed out internally. He could be normal now and dead in a few hours. I could opt the surgical route, but the probability that it is cancer is high. So I could do the surgery, he may or may not do well after, so it's one of those decisions that I just didn't feel surgery was the best route. I guess I'm taking him to a 3rd vet today, just for piece of mind on my end, but I'm trying my best not to be selfish. Last thing I want is for that mass to rupture and he suffers while dying slowly, that would be the worst. I read several threads on reddit about people's experiences and it just seems like a crapshoot.
sorry to hear all of this. It is never easy, especially when you've raised a dog since it was a puppy. Good luck with whatever happens and with whatever you decide.
I think your situation does make it a lot harder to know when, but my first dog I had from a puppy didn't give me a choice, unfortunately an undiagnosed tumor ruptured, I didn't get an official autopsy but it most likely was a very similar diagnosis to what you're facing with your dog if it were to rupture. The night it happen though my dog went from being walked earlier in evening/playing to doing some really odd behavior for him -ie wanting to be distant/alone when it was getting close to bed time and started labored breathing, I will tell you it didn't seem too bad vs other ways to go for a dog from my personal experiences but maybe my dogs tumor wasn't as large, was there a reason they spotted it like visual lump/mass forming to do the imaging on spleen? The symptoms I mentioned above and gum color will be quick signs something is seriously wrong/don't wait to go to vet if you do decide to wait. Anyway, I got him to the vet asap and he made the decision easy for me - Right when I was about to put more money down my dog really started crashing and I stayed with him while the Vet made him comfortable. I have done it a total of 3 times now and it's never easy/never a good time for them to pass. I always insist on being with my dog when it's time though, it still sucks, but definitely makes the dog more comfortable imo. Our current dog is now 10 and we've had her from a puppy, but a small breed this time. So I am hoping we have another ~10 years but you never know. My lab mix only made it 8 years. The other two dogs were my wife's dogs (smaller breeds) that lasted till 19 and 20. Anyway, if I were in your situation and the surgery was too expensive/not a good option on success and the tumor could rupture at any time... I think it would come down to quality of life and how often you're with the dog. Since I work from home my current dog is with my wife or me like 95%+ of the time, and if you could monitor your dog closely I personally wouldn't rush to put the dog down and make the most of the time you have left. I'd wait till the dog was not having good quality of life (actual symptoms) or when you notice an abrupt change, you'll definitely know when it's time. This is assuming your ER vet is close, the one I have had to go to is a 5 min drive. I really prefer to wait until the dog is not having a good life/something abrupt happens. I've had my dogs all pass different ways except being alone/found later etc. I think in your situation that's the only guilt I'd have is if it happened while I wasn't there/not able to end it quick for them. I researched it a ton on my dog after he passed and it's not a good situation even when caught in time. My regular vet even let me know his dog passed with similar conditions and he tried doing the surgery ahead of time and it didn't change anything. Anyway, tldr: I'd probably opt no surgery like you did for that type of diagnosis, but if I was with the dog all the time and the dogs not directly suffering, I'd wait and spoil the dog a lot more. I mean you might have another 6-12+ months depending what vets stated so far and if I could have known it might be getting closer for my dog I might have used that time differently with my lab mix so maybe it's a small positive/silver lining. I felt a little robbed because I figured I had a good 4-6 years left to spoil him more. I was hoping for a really good send off, but honestly no matter how a dog passes it never makes it easier, especially once you're attached and they're part of your daily life/routine. I am really sorry to hear about your dog, so hopefully you can get some really good time in still.
So sorry to hear about it. I'm in a similar situation right now with our 14 year old who has a tumor that has affected his brain causing seizures. The vet said it was either 10K+ brain surgery or let him live out his days until he is in pain, or the medicine doesn't help with the seizures anymore. At first I was planning to put him down sooner than later so he didn't suffer, but after a couple days he got back into a routine, and has been eating, and seemingly happy for months now. You're his companion so you'll know, but my recommendation would be to not do the surgery, but also not put him down yet until you can visibly see he's not eating, and is starting to look in pain. You often can get your dog in to be put to sleep within hours. At only 12 years old, you might get another year or two even. Who knows. If it was your dog's choice I'm sure he'd want to go on even knowing at any moment he could have an internal bleed. Just have a plan with your vet in case he has a bad incident, and it's obvious that he's in pain. My 2 cents. I'm sure you'll make the right call though. Trust what your dog is telling you more than the vet. They'll tell you when it's time to go.
Based on people's stories that I've read all over, surgery is just all over the place. It's one of those situations where I am telling myself that I am not going everything possible if we don't do surgery. Granted if vet believes he is past that point, then so be it, I'm willing to live his last days out, the problem is if it ruptures it will be a painful death, so I don't necessarily want to just wait for that moment. I'm currently waiting to get the opinion of a 3rd vet. On Monday I was just shocked and I don't think I fully discussed and really understood my options. Granted the options are straightforward, surgery, continue the disease to progress, or put him to sleep but I still feel I could have asked more questions and just be more detailed, rather than being lost in what to ask. I do appreciate the advice. Everyone has a different perspective on it, doesn't appear to be a right or wrong way to approach it. Granted, the chance that it is cancer is high (2/3 cases), but like I mentioned, everyone with this sort of prognosis seems to be all over the spectrum. I would hate to put him to sleep way to early, even if he has lived 12 years.
Why would the tumor rupture or do you mean the spleen? Cancers and tumors grow all the time. It’s really them taxing the rest of the body that kills you. Do they have a CT scan of it?
