Anemic Dog

[Gomez]

Hoping for the the best but preparing for the worst.

Our 10 year old Yellow Lab became extremely lethargic last night. She was fine in the morning, but I really had to coax her to get her to go outside. After doing her business, she walked about 10 yards, sat down for a minute, then laid down. She stayed like that for 10 minutes or so. I thought she was going to die right there. I picked he up and carried her back inside. I checked on her throughout the night and saw that she had moved to different rooms a couple times, which I took as a good sign that she could still move.

Took her to the vet first thing this morning. He said she's very anemic, and it's probably been building up over time. They're doing bloodwork and thinks there is a tumor on her spleen causing the anemia. Based on the bloodwork, she may get a ultrasound tomorrow to confirm the tumor. If the tumor is confirmed, a spleenectomy is in order.

The vet said she's not in any pain, just very tired. He also said she could die at home in the next few days.

Sorry for rambling, but I'm wondering if anyone is familiar with this operation and their experiences.

Thanks!

 

[EarPlug]

We had a Golden Retriever a while back that had a spleen tumor. When it was removed it was 9 pounds. She was about the same age as your lab and lived another 5 years with no problems.

Hope all works out well!

 

[Gomez]

Her bloodwork came back and the vet is sending us to have an ultrasound done to get a better idea of what we're dealing with here. She has been a little more lively the last couple of days.

 

[Soundguy]

Good luck, and hope the best for you.

From now on, check her gums... good way to tell about anemia in an animal.. press on em and look at the color change and how fast it returns to normal..

soundguy

 

[LarryD]

This is Larry's wife. First let me tell you that I am so sorry you are going through this.

We went through what you are describing several years ago with our lab/shepherd mix. She was about the same age as your dog when it started. She became very anemic and lethargic as you describe your dog to be. She would then get a bit better. I took her to the vet and was told she was most likely having spontaneous bleeds. When she bled, she would get anemic, hence the lethargy, and the the bleeds would stop and she would feel better.

We opted to have surgery (an exploratory surgey which led to a spleenectomy) done in Oct. It was a pretty hard recovery for her, but she did fine until Feb. In Feb., it started all over again. We then took her for and ultrasound and discovered the cancer had spread and was in her liver and other places. There was nothing left to do but wait for the end.

If I had it to do over again, I would not put her or myself through it.
It is easy to think with you heart and not your head when faced with this type of situation.

Only you and your family can make the decision, but I would not recommend it. It wound up costing thousands of dollars and it only gave her a few brief months of life.....in which a couple of those she was recovering from a very serious and painful spleenectomy surgery.

Knowing what I know now, I would never do it again. However, like I said, we tend to think with our hearts and not our heads when we are faced with this difficult decision with our pets.

My thought are with you during this painful and sad time.

 

[Gomez]

Thanks Larry and Mrs. Larry.

We had the ultrasound done yesterday and it confirmed the worst.
She has six cancerous masses on her liver. One has ruptured, causing
her anemia and extreme lethargy the other day. As you said, it stopped bleeding
and she recovered somewhat.

The vet said the options are few. They could go in an remove the ruptured mass, and go after the remaining tumors with agressive chemo. He didn't sound too optimistic that this would give any long term benefits. He also said it would be a matter of time until the next one begins bleeding, and each episode would get worse. She would eventually bleed to death.

My wife and I decided that we wouldn't put her through all the recovery trauma, even before we knew the prognosis.

It hurts, but she's brought us a lot of joy over the years.

Thanks for your thoughts.



John

 

[shvl73]

I'm sorry you heard what no one wants to hear. We went through that just this past summer with our Doberman/Rotty cross. He was a truly wonderful friend. It does hurt still. We are thinking about another to be the alpha dog in our group, but cannot help but think it is a replacement, and he cannot be replaced. I'll be thinking of you.

 

[JDGREEN4ME]

Thanks Larry and Mrs. Larry.

We had the ultrasound done yesterday and it confirmed the worst.
She has six cancerous masses on her liver. One has ruptured, causing
her anemia and extreme lethargy the other day. As you said, it stopped bleeding
and she recovered somewhat.

The vet said the options are few. They could go in an remove the ruptured mass, and go after the remaining tumors with agressive chemo. He didn't sound too optimistic that this would give any long term benefits. He also said it would be a matter of time until the next one begins bleeding, and each episode would get worse. She would eventually bleed to death.

My wife and I decided that we wouldn't put her through all the recovery trauma, even before we knew the prognosis.

It hurts, but she's brought us a lot of joy over the years.

Thanks for your thoughts.



John

So sorry to hear your sad news...

 

[Soundguy]

Very sorry to hear.

soundguy

 

[Erik_in_Hoyt]

sorry to hear about this - I had to make the same decision about 6 years back with my Siberian Husky.
It's never a good decision to have to make, but I think you and the wife made the right one. (quality of live vs. quantity)

 

[tallyho8]

Hated to hear your bad news. Most of the time, the best thing to do is the hardest thing to do. She will live on forever in your hearts.

 

[2manyrocks]

Sorry to hear this.

 

[IH3444]

Tough decision, but I know you will do right by the doggie. Very sorry to read this.

 

[Gomez]

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their kind wishes.

We spoke with the regular vet yesterday. He agreed with the specialist for the
most part. He did not agree that the remaining tumors would rupture soon.
He felt they may or may not. Reiterated that she is not in pain, and agreed that
surgery really wasn't an option.

Understanding her days are still numbered, we decided we will take a wait and see
approach.

 

[rox]

Again, I'd like to thank everyone for their kind wishes.

We spoke with the regular vet yesterday. He agreed with the specialist for the
most part. He did not agree that the remaining tumors would rupture soon.
He felt they may or may not. Reiterated that she is not in pain, and agreed that
surgery really wasn't an option.

Understanding her days are still numbered, we decided we will take a wait and see
approach.

Well good, at least there is some hope that she may not be in emminate danger. It could be but maybe not. I am sure you will hope for the best and prepare for the worst. In a way it gives you time to really value her now while she is with you.

 

[Gomez]

Yep, spoiling her even more than she was before.

Ear scratches, tummy rubs, and hugs all last a little longer now.

I think we'll share a medium-rare NY strip steak tonight.

 

[Gomez]

Update.

It's been over a month since her first rupture.

Since then, she went about three weeks, steadily improving until she had another episode.
She recovered in about two days, and had another episode a couple days later. Again, she recovered in a day or two.

She had gone about a week and was outside, saw our neighbor and went running back to greet him. I feared that the running would probably not be good. Later that night, she showed the signed of another rupture. This time, she's taking a lot longer to recover.

As everyone has told us, we'll know when the time is right, if we need to have her put down. I'm still praying that she'll go in her sleep.

The vet said she could die on the next rupture, or go through numerous episodes before she goes. Still taking the attitude that if she's not in pain, no reason to force anything. I can handle carrying her outside once in a while.

I took the opportunity of today's nice weather to prepare her final resting place (also learned our property has a lot of shale about 24" down).

 

[Soundguy]

Cherish these 'borrowed' days/months you have with her.

soundguy

 

[Western]

Gomez, I sure wish ya'll the best.

We went through something so similar with our hybrid wolf, but I can't rememmber the medical condition, wasn't cancer but a desease that causes all the orgens and cells to bleed.

While on a job out of town my wife mentioned "jasemine" was acting tired and depressed cause "dad" was gone so long. after 4 more day's I returned early Saturday morning and for the 1st time in 12 years I was not greeted with a howl.. tried all day to find a week end vet, went to an emergency clinic..Closed....(what the) she would try to follow me over the week end but couldn't so I stayed with her. Sunday after noon I had to run to the shop, I get home and hear my daughter screaming, ( she had taken "jassy" out for a bathroom break), I ran outside and Jasmine was lightly convulsing, I sat down, put her in my lap and began rubbing her face, I just kept telling her to go that it was ok, she died in my arms and I cried like a baby. Wasn't like loosing a child, but more, my most trusted friend.

Had an autopsy done, was nothing that could have been done. The quilt my wife and I felt was enormous, the what ifs etc tr..

That day was a heart ripper for sure, Jasmine has a special place by our house as she has had since she was born.
Till this day my daughter thought her "tough" ole dad didn't cry..

So I truly sympathize with you and your family and wish you the best during this ordeal, and I hope for a peacefull ending for your pet.

 

[arrow]

My condolences.

My wife works for a vet. They do not do chemo on dogs as they do not feel the gains are worth it in relationship to what happens to the animal. They seem to get almost the same survival rates with plain surgery. Some dogs do chemo quite well and some think that even if it means 6 months more time, that's like 31/2 years for the dog in human equivalent. Trouble is it is really only six months for us. Some dogs do terribly and stay that way until they die. In my mind? too much cancer. Why so much is the question but I'm honing in on it.