When to operate

Yesterday my 10 year old dog (mutt-doberman) began acting very lathargic.  He was fine in the morning, but around 2pm he wouldn't move.  My wife took him to our vet and we were informed that he had a tumor burst and the vet advised against surgery as in his opinion there were probably more tumors.  I opted to take my dog to the animal hospital anyway, there I was informed that he had developed kidney disease, and had extremley low protein levels.  The Dr. advised that there was a very good chance that he would not survive teh surgery due to his kidneys, and that IF he survived his kidneys probably would fail in recovery.  At 12:14 this morning we opted to put him down.  With such a grim pognosis  I felt it was best.  But for future information, is survival possible?  The dogs that have had the surgery with kidney disease that have made it all the way through, do they return to their original quality of life?  

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

Thanks again Jaybay.

It sounds as if your dog had a splenic hemangiosarcoma.  This is a very bad cancer with very high rates of spreading to chest, other abdominal organs and even the kidneys.  Again I am in agreement with Jaybay.  You made the right decision, and I am so sorry about your best Buddy.

[Jaybay]

Oh bless your heart!  Having such a serious condition appear in an older dog is nothing short of a heartbreaking dilemma.  Only those who have been through a similar situation can understand the heartbreak of making such a decision when dealing with the cold hard facts.  I'm no vet, but if my opinion helps, I believe you did right by your dog.  With such terrible odds against him, you saved him from suffering through some very painful medical treatments and didn't prolong his misery.  Please don't doubt that you made the right decision.  :-(

[Buddy13]

Thank you for your kind words.  It's been tougher than I have imagined.  He was my best buddy.