Disclaimer:
Information presented in the “Living With…” sections of the SCARF website represent the personal viewpoint of the individual who made the journal entry and do not represent the opinions, positions, or viewpoints of SCARF or the veterinary community. [see complete disclaimer at bottom of page]
When she was 12 years old, our dog suddenly developed swelling in her right rear paw. She did not limp and did not seem to be in pain but, when it was a little worse the next day, we took her to our vet. Our vet examined her carefully and was unable to find a cause for the swelling. To be on the safe side she started her on antibiotics and she suggested that if she wasn’t better over the weekend (this was a Saturday morning) we should arrange to have an ultrasound done. As the weekend progressed the swelling increased and we noticed that she had what looked like bruising in the groin area of that leg.
On Monday we went to an internal medicine specialist for an ultrasound. Our dog was found to have an enlarged spleen with multiple tumors in it. The vet told us she had hemangiosarcoma and explained the prognosis to us. She had the hypodermal type which had bled into her leg causing the swelling in her paw and leg. Because of the aggressive nature of the cancer and the fact that she had multiple spleen tumors, the vet was quite certain that it had metastasized throughout her body. Because of her age, we elected not to do surgery or chemotherapy and chose to simply enjoy her remaining time. The vet suggested she might only live another 6 or 8 weeks at most, and that what would most likely happen is one of the spleen tumors would rupture and she would bleed to death. Because the rupture process would be painful, she gave us a strong pain medication to give to her if she became restless or acted as if she were in pain. She said that when this happened we should give her the medication and bring her in to have her euthanized. She also started her on a medication to help control the bleeding.
We had a wonderful four weeks. The swelling in her leg went away and she was her happy easy going self. She had a good appetite and we enjoyed participating in her favorite activities with her. Then one night we all went to bed as usual. Shortly after settling down, we noticed our dog had become restless and could not settle. She was panting and obviously uncomfortable. We gave her two pills as we had been instructed and took her in to the emergency vet. She died peacefully in my arms an hour later.
Disclaimer:
Information presented in the “Living With…” sections of the SCARF website represent the personal viewpoint of the individual who made the journal entry and do not represent the opinions, positions, or viewpoints of SCARF or the veterinary community. There may be discussions of drugs, devices, additives, foods, vitamins, herbs or biologicals that have not been approved by the FDA/CVM for the particular use being discussed. SCARF assumes no liability for the accuracy or outcomes of any suggestions, advice or other information provided by the “Living With…” postings on the SCARF website. All treatment decisions should only be made after discussion with your pet’s veterinary health professional, and no changes in your pet’s treatments or diet should be made based on any information found on the SCARF website.