Aa
Digby had spleen cancer and had to be put to sleep on the weekend :(
Our dog, Digby, who was 13.5 years old, was put to sleep on April 16, 2009. The main reason I am posting on here is because my mom is having a hard time dealing with whether or not it was the right time to put him to sleep.
My sister and I live 7 hours away from my parents and the Digby. I am now 25 and my sister is 29 but Digby was our dog, too, since we were teenagers. Since my sister and I have been out of the house for the past four years Digby had become my mom's last child. The last time my sister and I were home was Christmas and Digby was fine. Looking a little old and a little skinnier but still pretty good for being 13!!! His last check up a few months before the vet said he was looking pretty good.
Over the past couple months my mom said he was starting to get skinny and was having some problems walking where he would just fall over. He had no strength in his back legs on couldn't get on the couch or in the car anymore. Over the phone to us she said he was getting skinny and is head was getting bony. I thought this was just old age and told my mom the same thing. He was still eating but the last couple of weeks was becoming very picky and wouldn't eat any of his crumble food or bones anymore. My mom had to stop walking him as far as she used to and he would sleep alot. Finally, last wednesday she decided to take him to the vet to get checked out.
The vet could tell right away he had cancer of the spleen. She felt his stomach and could feel the tumors. She said his muscle mass was down to nothing, his red blood cells were high, he was anemic, and his gums were all pale. She said there was an operation they could do but at his age and his condition he probably wouldn't even survive it. She said he had weeks (possibly only one week) to live. She explained how he was bleeding internally and at any time he could bleed to death internally. It was most likely that he would have a painful death and not die in this sleep.
After we heard the news my sister and I drove home to say good bye to him. It was decided he would be put to sleep on Saturday. When my sister and I saw him we didn't realize how skinny he really was!! He went from being almost 50 pounds as a healthy adult to 35 pounds. He was happy to see us but you could tell he was not the same. He seemed pretty depressed and sleepy and drank a lot. He was also constipated for a couple days. But for the most part he was doing okay. On Friday we took him for a short walk.
Saturday we put him to sleep :( My dad and sister went with him and they said it was very peaceful. We burried him in one of his favourite walking places.
My mom is having a hard time with her decision. She thinks that she maybe should have waited a week until he started to get worse. The thing is you just never know when he could have went. We try to explain that there was no chance of him getting better and he was only going to get worse and could have suffered a painful death at anytime. The vet was also very nice and explained everything and thought it was the right choice. He was obviously going down hill fast but we will all remember him as a basically happy dog. Can anyone help me pass anything on to my mom? My dad works and she has been a stay at home mom all her life and this dog has been her "only child" since my sister and I moved out.
My sister and I live 7 hours away from my parents and the Digby. I am now 25 and my sister is 29 but Digby was our dog, too, since we were teenagers. Since my sister and I have been out of the house for the past four years Digby had become my mom's last child. The last time my sister and I were home was Christmas and Digby was fine. Looking a little old and a little skinnier but still pretty good for being 13!!! His last check up a few months before the vet said he was looking pretty good.
Over the past couple months my mom said he was starting to get skinny and was having some problems walking where he would just fall over. He had no strength in his back legs on couldn't get on the couch or in the car anymore. Over the phone to us she said he was getting skinny and is head was getting bony. I thought this was just old age and told my mom the same thing. He was still eating but the last couple of weeks was becoming very picky and wouldn't eat any of his crumble food or bones anymore. My mom had to stop walking him as far as she used to and he would sleep alot. Finally, last wednesday she decided to take him to the vet to get checked out.
The vet could tell right away he had cancer of the spleen. She felt his stomach and could feel the tumors. She said his muscle mass was down to nothing, his red blood cells were high, he was anemic, and his gums were all pale. She said there was an operation they could do but at his age and his condition he probably wouldn't even survive it. She said he had weeks (possibly only one week) to live. She explained how he was bleeding internally and at any time he could bleed to death internally. It was most likely that he would have a painful death and not die in this sleep.
After we heard the news my sister and I drove home to say good bye to him. It was decided he would be put to sleep on Saturday. When my sister and I saw him we didn't realize how skinny he really was!! He went from being almost 50 pounds as a healthy adult to 35 pounds. He was happy to see us but you could tell he was not the same. He seemed pretty depressed and sleepy and drank a lot. He was also constipated for a couple days. But for the most part he was doing okay. On Friday we took him for a short walk.
Saturday we put him to sleep :( My dad and sister went with him and they said it was very peaceful. We burried him in one of his favourite walking places.
My mom is having a hard time with her decision. She thinks that she maybe should have waited a week until he started to get worse. The thing is you just never know when he could have went. We try to explain that there was no chance of him getting better and he was only going to get worse and could have suffered a painful death at anytime. The vet was also very nice and explained everything and thought it was the right choice. He was obviously going down hill fast but we will all remember him as a basically happy dog. Can anyone help me pass anything on to my mom? My dad works and she has been a stay at home mom all her life and this dog has been her "only child" since my sister and I moved out.
I honsetly believe that tap water has something to do with it. All of my dogs since Jake get filtered water now. There is no way that anyone can convince me that a glass of water that smells like the town pool is safe for anybody to drink.
Jake drank a lot of tap water because he was at work with me. It just dawned on me one day not long after I lost him when I went to get a glass of water for myself. I poured that stuff back down the drain after getting a good whiff if it and got myself a filter.
Whenever I bring my dogs out in the car they have water bottles that open up so they can drink from a small trough. I have never had my theory tested, but many people beleive I am onto something and now filter their dog's water also.
I just wanted to share that in case anyone is interested.
Jake drank a lot of tap water because he was at work with me. It just dawned on me one day not long after I lost him when I went to get a glass of water for myself. I poured that stuff back down the drain after getting a good whiff if it and got myself a filter.
Whenever I bring my dogs out in the car they have water bottles that open up so they can drink from a small trough. I have never had my theory tested, but many people beleive I am onto something and now filter their dog's water also.
I just wanted to share that in case anyone is interested.
Thanks for your email. I lost my Jake (yes, another Jake) to this form of cancer as well. The sad part is he was 9, which I am sorry, was still young for him. he had all of the same symptoms you described. I guess the cancer is called Hemangiosarcoma. Ugh, I will never forget that word.
The worst part is we don't know until it is virtually to late. Dogs have such a high pain tolerance we don't know they are slowly bleeding to death until it has sprad to far. The cancer spreads to the liver very quickly which is what happened with Jake.
I am so sorry for your loss.
The worst part is we don't know until it is virtually to late. Dogs have such a high pain tolerance we don't know they are slowly bleeding to death until it has sprad to far. The cancer spreads to the liver very quickly which is what happened with Jake.
I am so sorry for your loss.
I am sorry for your loss. I looked at your photos and Digby was a beautiful and it appears much loved dog! He beat the odds when you compare him to most of the dogs in the world. He had a good loving home. Our dogs are the lucky ones, millions of dogs never experience a real home.
I can see that he looked vey good in the pictures. It is like I said, they just all of a sudden go downhill so fast.
If I have become so cautious now that we are at the Vet all the time. My bullies think it is a play date we are there so often. This is until the nail clipper comes out.
If I have become so cautious now that we are at the Vet all the time. My bullies think it is a play date we are there so often. This is until the nail clipper comes out.
No that is not in reference to us. Jake had to retire when he was 10 so he was a home body for 2 years prior to his passing. He didn't like that at all. I left the K-9 Unit after he was retired also. I couldn't work without him. I would still take him for rides in the truck but he knew we weren't going to work. He was alot smarter than me and I couldn't fool him. He still liked going for the ride anyway.
I had no idea that he had these tumors. He was fine and had just been to the Vet not too long before this happened. The Vet didn't catch it. Even if he did, it probably would not have mattered as the tumors spread to his liver. Those were the tumors that burst when his spleen was removed during the surgery.
Sometimes they will not show any symptoms until it is too late,especially when they are very strong like he was.
If you took a look at his picture you can see that he was in very good shape. Other than losing a few pounds he looked exactly the same as in the pictures except he had developed a small stye on his left eye and had what looked like a skin tag growing from where his liver was located. His Vet told me that is was nothing and it need not be removed when I asked if that should have been taken off and checked out. I often wonder about that.
I had him cremated and he is still here with me today as well as these other terrors I have running around here.
I had no idea that he had these tumors. He was fine and had just been to the Vet not too long before this happened. The Vet didn't catch it. Even if he did, it probably would not have mattered as the tumors spread to his liver. Those were the tumors that burst when his spleen was removed during the surgery.
Sometimes they will not show any symptoms until it is too late,especially when they are very strong like he was.
If you took a look at his picture you can see that he was in very good shape. Other than losing a few pounds he looked exactly the same as in the pictures except he had developed a small stye on his left eye and had what looked like a skin tag growing from where his liver was located. His Vet told me that is was nothing and it need not be removed when I asked if that should have been taken off and checked out. I often wonder about that.
I had him cremated and he is still here with me today as well as these other terrors I have running around here.
Red, is there an article on the internet about you? When I was googling about this I came across an article about a police dog that had this cancer and passed away.
I am very sorry for you loss. I had a similar situation with my dog "Jake".(He is pictured in my profile) "Jake"was my partner (I am a police officer) and my best buddy for almost 12 years. He had begun to lose weight, but was not showing much weakness, but I still knew there was something wrong.
He was fine other than some lild weight loss and then almost overnight he couldn't get up. I took him to the 24hr.Emergency Hospital and they found that he had tumors on his sleen. I was offered the surgery that you were offered at a price of $3000.00. The Vet left me with my buddy to think about it but gave me the same odds.
As I sat with him he looked at me to let me know that whatever I decided was okay because he obviously was suffering. I felt I had to give him a chance, he saved my life more than once and I had to try and save his.
I could tell by the way he looked at me before the surgery that he was not going to survive and he didn't. When his spleen was removed there were more tumors that were not seen on the x-rays and they burst and they could not stop the bleeding.
I regret putting him through that and I was not able to be there with him when he died.
Tell your mom the right decision was made so Digby wouldn't suffer anymore. He will always be with all of you. Somewhere out there is another Digby just waiting for your mom to give him a big hug. There could never be another dog to take his place, but there is always another one to fill that big hole in your mother's heart since Digby's passed.
Good Luck and God Bless
He was fine other than some lild weight loss and then almost overnight he couldn't get up. I took him to the 24hr.Emergency Hospital and they found that he had tumors on his sleen. I was offered the surgery that you were offered at a price of $3000.00. The Vet left me with my buddy to think about it but gave me the same odds.
As I sat with him he looked at me to let me know that whatever I decided was okay because he obviously was suffering. I felt I had to give him a chance, he saved my life more than once and I had to try and save his.
I could tell by the way he looked at me before the surgery that he was not going to survive and he didn't. When his spleen was removed there were more tumors that were not seen on the x-rays and they burst and they could not stop the bleeding.
I regret putting him through that and I was not able to be there with him when he died.
Tell your mom the right decision was made so Digby wouldn't suffer anymore. He will always be with all of you. Somewhere out there is another Digby just waiting for your mom to give him a big hug. There could never be another dog to take his place, but there is always another one to fill that big hole in your mother's heart since Digby's passed.
Good Luck and God Bless
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Dogs Community
Members of our Pet Communities share their Halloween pet photos.
Like to travel but hate to leave your pooch at home? Dr. Carol Osborne talks tips on how (and where!) to take a trip with your pampered pet
Ooh and aah your way through these too-cute photos of MedHelp members' best friends
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
