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My dog has cancer amd I dont know when "its time"

TrainedRage

Banned
God I love the little dude so much. I remember when I was about to get him resident evil 5 had just came out...

So naturally I named him Wesker. Wesker the mini English bulldog.

So about 5-6 months ago I noticed a small bump above his eye on his head. I didn't think too much of it. It would later diasapear for a bit.

So when it came back and I had to take him to the vet they took a look. The vet said it may be a bee sting or a reaction and to wait...

Bump stays and gets a bit bigger. So I take him in again and demand they figure out what's going on. They do a biopsy and it comes back negative for cancer.

They drain it and it goes away for a bit again...

It comes back in a big way. It gets pretty big and I can tell he doesn't want me touching it.

So now I take him to a specialist, I bite the bullet and get him a scan. It shows up as a tumor in his sinus that has moved through his skull.

They give me carprophin and say basically there is nothing they can do...

So here I am with the little guy the growth is still growing. But he is still chipper and eating and drinking etc.

So I feel really selfish as I want to keep him as long as I can but my goodness that thing is looking nasty.

So GAF how do I know when it's time to put him down. God it sucks. I'm crying now as I'm typing this. Eh. I know he had a good life it's just shitty.
 
My family recently went through this. Our dog, Toby, was the most awesome creature. After the diagnosis and surgery he deteriorated pretty steadily. For a little while he was still mostly himself. When he stopped eating his food we switched up his meals and he would eat for a few days then stop again, eventually not eating much at all, and that was when we decided to let him rest.

he was the sweetest little guy ever

I feel for you. Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this. Enjoy the time you have and when your buddy gets to that point, you’ll know
 

Pimpbaa

Member
Something similar happen to my cat a couple of years ago. That was a pretty rough summer (seeing him getting worse and losing weight). When you do have to put him down, get a new puppy as soon as possible. Having a new little guy or girl to love helps fill that void your previous pet left.
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
Horrible situation to be in. You know him better than anyone so you’ll probably have a good idea of when it’s really affecting his quality of life and that’s when it’s time to be strong for both of you. Him still seeming happy, eating and drinking is a great sign currently though. Hope the two of you share some great times with what you have left.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
My family recently went through this. Our dog, Toby, was the most awesome creature. After the diagnosis and surgery he deteriorated pretty steadily. For a little while he was still mostly himself. When he stopped eating his food we switched up his meals and he would eat for a few days then stop again, eventually not eating much at all, and that was when we decided to let him rest.

he was the sweetest little guy ever

I feel for you. Sorry to hear you’re dealing with this. Enjoy the time you have and when your buddy gets to that point, you’ll know
I'm sorry. It sucks.

But yeah Wesker loves his food so if he ever didn't want to eat I would know something is up. He is such a tough guy, survived getting hit by a car when he was a pup.
 

Mihos

Gold Member
It sucks, I had one go about a 4 years ago from cancer, and one right now who may have another month left.

As far as when it's time, you'll know. It will be painfully obvious.

The vet will also hint at it by saying something like 'let us know when you want to bring her in', or ' this will keep her comfortable for awhile'
 

bati

Member
Family friend went through almost the same situation last year. 10 year old labrador, cancer that spread through his skull. He was mostly okay until the final 2-3 weeks but they were giving him medication to ease the pain along the way in the last few months (cannabis oil I think). Only in the last week he got so bad that they decided to end his pain, and it still wasn't an easy decision. Fwiw, from the moment he was diagnosed until he died it was 8 months, but like with people the disease's progress can be very fast or slow...

I hope you and your pup can enjoy the next few months together as much as you can.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
I'm so sorry, if you decide to let him rest I recommend taking someone with you. Having someone else with you after the loss can help tremendously.

If you have the $$ maybe get a second opinion? Maybe something can be done or maybe one doc is wrong?
Honestly I may just have my dad bring him it. I don't think I can handle it. Yeah we got like 4 opinions but the surgery is VERY intrusive and would only give him a couple of months more.
I should have taken him right to the University of Minnesota animal hospital.

What do you guys think of me donating his body to the U of M? They would use it for teaching young veterinarians, and I kinda want to know what the tumor was and potential information.

I just hate thinking about what that entails.
 

DESTROYA

Member
Honestly I may just have my dad bring him it. I don't think I can handle it. Yeah we got like 4 opinions but the surgery is VERY intrusive and would only give him a couple of months more.
I should have taken him right to the University of Minnesota animal hospital.

What do you guys think of me donating his body to the U of M? They would use it for teaching young veterinarians, and I kinda want to know what the tumor was and potential information.

I just hate thinking about what that entails.
If your OK with that then do it.
 

Kadayi

Banned
Honestly I may just have my dad bring him it. I don't think I can handle it. Yeah we got like 4 opinions but the surgery is VERY intrusive and would only give him a couple of months more.
I should have taken him right to the University of Minnesota animal hospital.

What do you guys think of me donating his body to the U of M? They would use it for teaching young veterinarians, and I kinda want to know what the tumor was and potential information.

I just hate thinking about what that entails.

I think that's a great idea Trained. Speak to them about that and find out if its something they would benefit from.
 

Prison Mike

Banned
God I love the little dude so much. I remember when I was about to get him resident evil 5 had just came out...

So naturally I named him Wesker. Wesker the mini English bulldog.

So about 5-6 months ago I noticed a small bump above his eye on his head. I didn't think too much of it. It would later diasapear for a bit.

So when it came back and I had to take him to the vet they took a look. The vet said it may be a bee sting or a reaction and to wait...

Bump stays and gets a bit bigger. So I take him in again and demand they figure out what's going on. They do a biopsy and it comes back negative for cancer.

They drain it and it goes away for a bit again...

It comes back in a big way. It gets pretty big and I can tell he doesn't want me touching it.

So now I take him to a specialist, I bite the bullet and get him a scan. It shows up as a tumor in his sinus that has moved through his skull.

They give me carprophin and say basically there is nothing they can do...

So here I am with the little guy the growth is still growing. But he is still chipper and eating and drinking etc.

So I feel really selfish as I want to keep him as long as I can but my goodness that thing is looking nasty.

So GAF how do I know when it's time to put him down. God it sucks. I'm crying now as I'm typing this. Eh. I know he had a good life it's just shitty.
I had to make that decision few years back and I don't envy u brother dogs truly are part of the family when it is time you will know trust me keep strong mate
 
Enjoy the time with your pet. If they are still eating and happy in general why waste that time? Pets will let ypu know when they can't take it anymore. Don't be loke my aunt. She kept her dog alive and it reached a point where the dog was deaf, blind, couldn't walk and was shitting herself everywhere.
 

Gargus

Banned
If you see him take a very noticeable down turn in perkiness, how much he eats and drinks, activity and such and it lasts for 3 days then put him to sleep before he gets real bad. Don't let that dog suffer because you're having a hard time letting go. If your dog has cancer it wont last, let it die before it gets too bad off. Don't be selfish.

My mom did that with our cat when I was a kid. She kept her around way too long, sticking a needle under the skin on her back to give her fluids since she wouldn't drink, and medications and shit. I finally couldn't take it anymore and took the cat outside and shot it when mom was at work and I lied and said I found her dead and that I'd already buried her. It broke my heart but it was crueler to not do it and to have waited so long.
 

TrainedRage

Banned
zYj9qfY.jpg


This is a healthy Wesker. He is a good boy. And yes, his neck is thicker than his entire head.
 

Hulk_Smash

Banned
We went through this last year with a dog. For me, we knew it was time based on two things: we couldn’t financially afford to keep her alive and she eventually stopped eating. There’s nothing more heartbreaking to me than to see a dog’s will to eat disappear.
 

C4lukin2

Banned
It is super rough to keep your best dog friend alive.

When they can no longer walk, when they seem to be in constant pain.

Once they are no longer happy.. It is time to let them go.

It is awful. But keeping them alive just because you love them the mostest is not....

If they are in constant pain, let them go.
 

Jacknapes

Member
If he's still himself and not in any discomfort, treasure the moments you have. Only when he's starting to not be himself is the time to say farewell.

Sorry to hear he's sick, losing a beloved pet is never easy.
 

HeresJohnny

Member
My dog died last January from the same thing. She was the best friend I’ve ever had, and it still guts me every day. You’ll know when it’s time. It sounds cliche, but you’ll just know. You’ll know when you are ready to let him go because you love him more than you can’t stand the thought of losing him.

In my dog’s case, she began to have trouble breathing through her nose if she didn’t sleep on one side and when that became more severe, I had someone come out to the house and put her down. They give them a sedative so they’re sleeping before they give them the dose that ends it. She used to sleep on my legs when I’d kick the, up on my desk and that’s how she went. It was totally peaceful.

You’ll struggle with this most likely, as I did. But you’ll get through it. Spend lots of time with him, go do everything you ever wanted to do and spoil his ass with toys and love. Run with the fucking ball dude, the clock is ticking. No regrets. Godspeed to you and your little pup.
 
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Hinedorf

Banned
I'm a big animal lover and I have dealt with plenty of loss but I will always say the sadness of losing them is worth every moment of joy they brought you.

When you're with an animal for a long enough time, YOU KNOW. You should know what your pets looks like when they're unhappy and you need to make that decision FOR THEM.

My wife didn't have the ability to not be selfish and allowed her loved one to suffer tremendously before she was put down all because she was selfish and didn't want to let go. It was very close to christmas time and the wife didn't want to go through with it. Instead the cat literally screamed in pain and agony for several straight days because IT WAS CHRISTMAS and nothing was open. So our entire christmas is spent listening to your loved animal suffering like it's in brutal murder before it's passing. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT TO YOURSELF OR THE ANIMAL.

Trying to say this pretty harshly because it was very fucking traumatic. Nobody wants to put down a pet, it's a matter of not letting them suffer is what is most important.
 

Dural

Member
We noticed a growth on one of the front legs at the joint on our Goldendoodle about 7 years ago. The vet said to leave it alone, when you start messing with it is when you have issues. We took his advice and the growth has gotten larger, it started the size of a raisin and is now a little larger than a golf ball, but it's never really bothered him, just looks like he has a ball sack on his leg. He's now 12 and has a lot of energy for his age but his joints now have arthritis.
 

GymWolf

Member
my dog had a benign tumor in his pawn this year and i was a mess until the doctor told me that it was nothing to worry about...

i can't even understand how a real tumor make you feel op...
 

TrainedRage

Banned
my dog had a benign tumor in his pawn this year and i was a mess until the doctor told me that it was nothing to worry about...

i can't even understand how a real tumor make you feel op...
Yeah when I looked at the CT scan it was really troubling. I could see where the tumor broke off the top of his skull and then these tendrils went down into his sinuses.

It looks bad it's now like the size of a child's hand. I can tell he is like etc is this annoying thing on my head.

He still seems happy and full of energy, wagging his tail and eating fine. I'm giving him carprophin every day now and he seems to be doing well on it.

And he loves when I smoke weed, he will come over and sit by me when I'm smoking, like where's mine?
 

GymWolf

Member
Yeah when I looked at the CT scan it was really troubling. I could see where the tumor broke off the top of his skull and then these tendrils went down into his sinuses.

It looks bad it's now like the size of a child's hand. I can tell he is like etc is this annoying thing on my head.

He still seems happy and full of energy, wagging his tail and eating fine. I'm giving him carprophin every day now and he seems to be doing well on it.

And he loves when I smoke weed, he will come over and sit by me when I'm smoking, like where's mine?
i hope he can live happy like now for another 10 years (or more)
my dog hates the smell of weed, he only tolerate cigarettes.
 
I made the mistake on my last dog waiting for something more concrete as far as signs to look for. Don't do it. Dog was alive, drank water, and died right in front of my wife. Was terrible experience I'll never forget. If your dog refuses to lift it's head and stop eating. Take him in. Sorry to hear about this.
 

EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
I got a dog that was basically thrown into my life and I've found that dogs are the best things in life, my dog now is almost done, and I didn't waste one moment with her. Generally I'll keep an eye on her for signs that she's outta this world, after being properly diagnosed with cancer. It happens, every living thing has engines that eventually fail. I'm with you OP and other dog owners out there.

I made the mistake on my last dog waiting for something more concrete as far as signs to look for. Don't do it. Dog was alive, drank water, and died right in front of my wife. Was terrible experience I'll never forget. If your dog refuses to lift it's head and stop eating. Take him in. Sorry to hear about this.

This is good advice/tips for the OP
 
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