Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Hemangiosarcoma......

So last week our dog, Lola, (3/4 Mal, 1/4 G.S., 12 years old) was pretty lethargic. Wife and I decided we'd take her to the vet the next day. Well, that evening she started stumbling and couldn't walk.
We rushed her to the vet. Ultrasound showed a mass on her spleen. It was bleeding.
Vet got her hydrated and her red cell count back up overnight. Operated on her the next afternoon, removing her spleen and the mass.
6 days later, she's still a bit tired and tender, but she's eating good and wanting to play and chase squirrels.

Vet sent the mass off to get it tested. Turns out it's Hemangiosarcoma.

Looks like two months to a year without chemo. Another 6 months or so with it. We are not going to put her through chemo and have decided that we are not going to be selfish about it. When she starts showing signs of severe weakness or dementia, we'll go ahead an have her put down instead of making her ride it out.

Pretty tough to even type about it. She's the closest thing we've got to a kid. Never knew I'd be this attached to a dog.

My question is, we've been looking at ways to extend our time with her. CBD oil, Keto diet, etc. Anyone here have any experience and opinions on this?

i cannot answer your question request.

but it's good you got her checked out and seen about.

we treat our animals so much better than old people.

personnally, when she's in pain, suffering, is the time to implement the decision.

we can only hope someday we humans will be treated as humanely.

Sorry to hear this Potsy.

All I can say is enjoy the time you have left, after going through this twice in the last 6 years it doesn't get any easier.

Potsy,

Our dog Harriet has hemangiosarcoma. Thought we were going to lose her 16 months ago. She tumors on her skin removed then and recently had larger tumors removed that grew on the skin and then inward.

Turns out there are 2 or 3 types of hemangiosarcoma and none....according to the last two vets.... can be cured. However one of the types is slow to spread and that is the type our dog has. Indeed, one consequence of the sarcoma is a deterioration of cognitive ability. We see that in Harriet, but she is also aging.

Wife decided that there will be no more surgeries so we just treat symptoms and the like. The past 16 months has been for us and good for the dog, but nonetheless, the end is in sight.

I am so sorry for this diagnosis. They really do become part of the family.

TF

It's too bad that pets can't tell you if they're suffering. A year or so ago, my lab started gasping. It was the 1st sign of anything. I took her in and an xray showed widespread lung cancer. I had to put her down on the spot.

Sure hate to hear that.

I wouldn't want to go through it myself.

Expensive?

The surgery was a grand. Honestly, I was mentally prepared for double that, so, though we've seen times we couldn't have afforded it, now we can, and there's no way to really know exactly what it is or what the odds are before they send off the mass.

Not sure how much the chemo costs, but we ain't going there anyway.

She's snuggled up against me on the couch now. She's an incredibly intelligent dog who could have been anything. We made a house pet out of her and tried to give her a good life. She loves people (pretty sure if a burglar scratched her butt and gave her a treat, she'd open the gunsafe for him), she loves kids. Hates cats. Hates squirrels. She's the most alpha 65 lbs. I've ever seen. How she has the bluff over on our neighbors 100lb. Rottweiler, I'll never know.

Potsy,

I am currently undergoing chemo for angiosarcoma which is very similar to what your dog has. Short of chemo I am personally convinced that there is not any treatment out there that can really extend lifespan for these types of sarcomas. My father died from pancreatic adenocarsinoma. Since the Dr's wrote him off due to his advanced stage he tried everything from Cesium Chloride,Hot therapy, Rife machines, etc. He got rid of sugar, gluten, eggs, diary products, etc. and made every effort to eat nothing but organic foods. He even went to the mecca of alternative medicine i.e. the Livingstone clinic. Despite spending boatloads of money there he died pretty much when and how the conventional Dr's told him.

I think that there a viable palliative medicines out there such as CBD although I cannot personally attest to this. I think quality food with as few "chemicals" or filler as possible helps and should also help prevent early damage to liver and kidneys. Not necessarily the more expensive food but the one with less stuff added into the mix. Vitamins, minerals, etc. which help support the immune system, healthy kidney and liver function, an ease pain are a worthwhile expense in my book.

Sorry to hear your pup is ailing Potsy.

I can't answer your question but I can tell you your approaching this the right way.

Lol, I got a 12 lb Shih Tzu that lays down the law to my 54lb AST.

Let the vet help you keep her comfortable. Sorry about the news.

Years ago my Brit, Daisy had a malignant mammary tumor. Put her on a daily regime of shark cartilage and garlic capsules and she hung in there (happily) for almost three more years. Don’t know if the shark cartilage and garlic really helped, but it sure made me feel better that I was at least doing something.
Never really had a dog that couldn’t get around, but over the years when any of my dogs quit eating it was time.
It’s very hard to lose a good dog.

Damn, is all I can say.

Never easy, we had to say goodbye early (10 years old) to one of ours a couple of years back. Devastated my poor wife as we were hoping to have her around 4-6 more years.

Like you, we made the decision to not go the chemo route when the Drs at Davis told us she had lymphoma. The treatment would have been too much for Jasmine and my wife to go through.

Hang in there, sounds like you're doing it as right as can be.

More than one of us here is feeling it for you too.

Geno

Man, I don't know what to tell you on that specific type of cancer, ours had a cancer in the bones in her nose, and our vet had her on prednisione to stave off it's final effects as long as possible. It bought us probably 3-4 months or so.
Ahh, the dang heartbreak of being a pet owner...
Good luck. Part of gaining that "good luck" may be the realization that whatever time left you have with Lola may constitute that luck, and just cherish that time for what it is. She sure sounds like a fantastic dog.
I wish I could post a pic of my two old rescue Collies, they are 13 & 15 (ish?), and dodder around like two old fools, but they have a quality of life, and enjoyment. Soon though, I'm afraid. Soon...

Went through the exact same thing with beloved Sheltie several years ago after the splenectomy she lived for over a year before Hemangioma came back this time on her liver....my prayers are with you, hug that dog everyday!

Prayers sent for you and your girl

What can I say that’s significant except dogs are the most “soulish” creatures other than man God made provisions for? Dogs get into your heart and then eventually break a piece of it off but..it’s really just like paying some tax on a fortune.

It's been said that each one leaves a piece of their doggy heart behind as well...

My Wife had a family lab mutt when we met. About 5 years later she had same thing and I would have remortgaged the house to cure her. It wasn’t possible so we kept her comfortable and when it was time we took her in. Feel for you, after having the pup for 17 years and growing up with her my Wife was a mess, after only 5 so was I and I grew up on a farm where we had all kinds of dogs and cats.