So last year we rescue the most amazing dog I have ever known in all my years as a dog owner.

On Sunday her neck got very swollen, but it was the same day she got into it with a couple angry hornets in the backyard.

We call the vet, they suggest Benedryl. Swelling goes down about 75 %, but lymph nodes feel rock solid and she keeps coughing.

Bring her to the vets and they take tissue samples. Comes back as lymphoma.

Wife and kids are a mess and I feel like shit.

Dog is still happy, running around, licking faces, etc.

Vet gives her about 2 months and puts her on a steroid to help with swelling.

Vet and all the literature say chemo won't work, nothing can be done.

Anyone go through something similar? Jesus, 2 months? She just turned 3!

Any chance she gets, say, a year or 18 months?

Nothing much to do here. Love her. Enjoy her while you have her, and put her down when the time comes and she is in pain. I am sorry for your loss. Kudos to you and yours for rescuing her.

Yeah, it sucks. Big sucks. But not a thing that you can do about it other than make life as good for them as you can.

Depends on case but they can live longer. Had long-time pets that they wrote off in the same way but they all lived quite a bit longer beyond that. The problem with that though is as it progresses it will begin to affect their quality of life. Gets kind of pitiful when they get to the point where they're not able to walk and things like that. Then you have to kind of do it. Which is even harder than if they just passed quickly.

One bit of advice - Unless maybe it's a very clear case where there's a high probability of clear success, don't get trapped you into doing tests and treatments and MRIs and surgery and all of that kind of stuff. Not even (at least in most cases) that they're trying to take advantage, they may well have the best intentions, it's easy for them and you to fall into that trap. You'll just spend a ton of money and still end up with the same result.

Make life good and then let them go easy when it's time.

I'll go back to calling people assholes now. Troll out.

Just rename your dog Eesh, KKKillary KKKlinton, G2, Meade, Goat Fucker, or something God Awful like Mike O'Meara Fan and the dog will live forever on the Internets.

Okay, you could also make her a Pagan and mourn her on FFXU - like that Pagan Rusty from European Vacation.
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Sorry to hear of her illness. She is lucky to have a loving family.

My dog was also diagnosed with lymphoma several years ago. Apparently there are many different kinds, but two main kinds. Our vet was a mensch and told us the truth. He said that there wasn't anything you could do to stop the spread, and that it was very quick with dogs. He assured us there was no pain, although towards the end I didn't believe that. When your happy go lucky pup stops showing any enjoyment when you get home, when you feed them, when you pet them... time to bring her in, my friend. Sucks big time. I don't envy you and the kids will struggle, but it is a part of life. I would also hesitate in running out and getting another dog right away. Give it some time. You will know when time is right.

If you hurry, bro, you might be able to get a few bucks from Golden Palace before tumors spread too far. Just saying, shame to waste good food.

sorry to hear that. just love on your dog while you can. they are such loyal creatures and deserve to be rewarded with love and the occasional cheeseburger.

What is your wife's name?

Hard to prey for her without a name.

I went through that with a dog several years back. At that time we were given two options: Try a bunch of heroic options which might extend his life for a while, but which sounded like they would cause pain and give a lower quality of life; or treat the symptoms which would not slow the progress but which would provide a better quality of life until shortly before the end. We chose the latter option.
I think he was given prednisone. For several weeks this restored his appetite and he was reasonably active. When he stopped eating again it was a signal that the time had come to let go.

If those were the choices today I would go the same way.

Fortunately we had a great Vet to work with. She provided us with an extremely honest assessment and was supportive whichever way we wanted to go. In the past I have had Vets that were no help at all.

Thanks guys, picture of the dog.
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You heartless piece of shit.

And by the way, thank you to all of those who offered support and how to handle the end. I think we will follow what you laid out. Enjoy these weeks and months and the nice weather, then say good bye when it is no longer fun for her.

When dogs have any form of cancer, there usually isn't much they can do unfortunately. Vet medicine hasn't progressed as far as human medicine in this regards. I had a dog a few years ago who I had since I was about 11. Great dog, loyal, and loving. in Her 13th year, she had a few health problems, and after a checkup, we discovered she had liver cancer. Wasn't much to do other than put her down. As others have said, enjoy her, love her and take plenty of pictures to remember her by. I'd also recommend you cremate her and put her in a nice urn, so you can keep her around.

OP, so sorry to read about your dog. It's just an awful, gut-wrenching situation that pet owners have to go thru. Just love your pup all that you can and don't let her be in pain.

The vet can come to your house and put the needle in them there. That's what we did..

I came here to make fun of you because I dislike dogs because of the prevailing attitude that its considered normal for neighbors to bring their dogs to shit in my yard (they call it taking it for a walk), but now I feel bad for you.

Blow weed smoke in the dogs face, might just help.

420/Volcano Wrote:
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> Blow weed smoke in the dogs face, might just help.
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REally sorry about your dog - sucks. Ask about meds to keep dog comfy and toward the end Id recommend asking for a doggie xanax to calm the dog for the ride to the vet to be put down. It can help the dog be relaxed rather than frightened in its last moments here on earth.

Again very sorry for this sad situation

bummer dude Wrote:
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> REally sorry about your dog - sucks. Ask about
> meds to keep dog comfy and toward the end Id
> recommend asking for a doggie xanax to calm the
> dog for the ride to the vet to be put down. It
> can help the dog be relaxed rather than frightened
> in its last moments here on earth.
>
> Again very sorry for this sad situation

Our dog just laid down on the front step. The vet sat next to him, put the shot in his hind leg. Was not stressful.

I just gave mine prednisone until she started to get worse. Then I put her down. No need for her to suffer.

When I posted this thread, I was ready for a bunch of heartless assholes to make their ridiculous comments, but posted because I was hoping to hear from a few genuine and wonderful people who had been through something similar so that I might know what to expect.

What a pleasant surprise to read that the vast majority of comments have been useful, helpful, and compassionate!

We started the Prednisone four days ago, and the reduction in swelling in the lymph nodes in her neck has been nothing short of amazing. The coughing has stopped and she has been sleeping much better.

I know that the end is going to come pretty quickly, but the short-lived bounce has me hopeful. Maybe she can make it through Christmas. We lost our 13 year old dog last month, so the kids have been put through the ringer.

Thanks for all of the kind words and advice! Despite what many might say, the sight can be informational, and shows that most people have good hearts.

Many of us here are red blooded Americans that love dogs. For the most part, we love them more than people - because well... dogs are better than most people we know.

When the libs get home from protesting the latest statue that offended them later tonight and find this, they will post some hateful shit because that's who they are. They hate dogs.

Cancer is becoming epidemic among dogs. When I grew up (far out in the country) we had dogs and they all lived very long lives (there were no vets around, and the things they got into, like noses full of porcupine needles etc, we had to take care of ourselves, the old fashioned way, with clippers and pliers). They ate what we ate plus some regular kibbled dog food, but that was made in America in those days, not China like today. And we had unpolluted well water and spring water right out of the hillside, but that was long before the fracking wells started in Pa.

I am wondering if the dog foods sold off today and the water chemicals might be doing our pets in. Does anyone monitor where their store- bought dog food comes from (countries of origin) and research what is put in it, and give their dogs filtered water for the time they have the dogs from puppy hood until old age?

Dogs are a member of the family, so it is a huge loss when they have to move on, people ought to start experimenting with the better food choices for their pets and publish their experiences. Modern medicine can do a lot BUT there is a heck of a lot they won't do at all. If people seek out some answers themselves, and get together re their experiences, it might serve to change the way dog foods are manufactured and bring an awareness of what ingredients are really bio-hazards in disguise.

All the above, and just an extra thought..all the chemicals in our homes..new carpet..off gas of chems..new sofa..sprayed with chems, new floor, chems..in our grandparents day, their environment did not emit chemicals

John b Wrote:
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> All the above, and just an extra thought..all the
> chemicals in our homes..new carpet..off gas of
> chems..new sofa..sprayed with chems, new floor,
> chems..in our grandparents day, their environment
> did not emit chemicals


Bullshit.

You has asbestos, lead paint and a whole host of other toxic shit present in every home back in the day - and they drank soda and beer from ferrous metal cans and ate food from the same. The dyes and chemicals used in furniture and many household items were exponentially more toxic than today.

I'm not saying there aren't still some issues, but to pretend that "back in the day" there was this all natural panacea of health is utter bullshit.

I wish you the very best during your time of trouble. I know how difficult dealing with such a great loss can be.

Mike
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Unfortunately, I think it is almost time for our pup. She took a turn for the worse and despite eating everything we give her, the weight just keeps falling off.

Hard part is there are times when she can be her old self. Two days ago, she saw a squirrel on our fence and ran like a bat out of hell after it.

Unfortunately, when she came back inside, she was breathing real hard, coughing, and had trouble getting comfortable even when laying down.

Have to give the vet credit - he laid it out exactly as it has happened, as did some folks on here. He said one to two months, and I thought that was crazy, as she was a big, strong dog with full energy at the time.

We are five weeks from diagnosis, and I am hoping for Halloween. Looks like Thanksgiving is out of the question. Does anyone know of a vet that comes to your house ? Lots of folks on internet wrote about that, but none seem to be close to us here in NOVA.

Damn, it is harder than I could have imagined. I feel like I have let her down somehow.

I am sorry. You did get an extra month of good quality life for your pet. Unfortunately

I do not know any vets who will come out to your house. However I suspect if that is the way you want to go, your current vet may be able to give a recommendation. Hopefully someone else here will provide some as well. If not you can google Mobile Vet Northern Virginia and get some names.

Sorry, man.

When it came time to euthanize one of our cats, we used Lap of Love. I believe it was Dr Shibley who came to the house. I only have good things to say about our experience, considering we were saying goodbye to a much loved member of the family.

https://www.lapoflove.com/Locations-Virginia-NOVA-Washington-DC

I'm so sorry about your dog.

Wow, I never thought I would get emotional about a Fairfax Underground thread until tonight...

To to the OP - first, my sympathies to and your family for what you are going through. We just went through the same thing and it was probably close to or the worst thing I've ever been through in my life. Whatever you do, do it at home. It is worth every dollar for everyone's sake - your precious dog and your family. We used someone in Fairfax and he was awesome. The whole process was very compassionate and respectful and he walked us through every step. I won't post his name here for obvious reasons, but I found a website that had a great summary of services by country (this person happened to work with our vet we later found out).

Our thoughts and prayer are with you, and thanks to all the good hearted people on this tread.

County... Prayers... Thread...

Sorry about the spelling errors.

And one more thing to the OP (and I respectfully disagree with "Agreed...") I think rescuing sooner than later can also be great for the healing process. But just make sure you make the right choice (and perhaps that is what "Agreed..." is getting at). We rescued soon has worked out great (but we vetted and felt good about the new addition to the family). I just couldn't live another night in the house without that "life force" in the house.