My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

:'(

So I had to take my dog in for a fairly large surgery yesterday. (she has Sarcoma cancer and has undergone two previous surgeries already) The minute the doctor brought her out to the lobby, my heart sank. If you've ever seen someone you love or care for dearly in the hospital, you'll know what I'm talking about. She looked so sad, and like she just wanted to die.

She has had a tumor on her side just in front of her hind leg and we got it removed. Then it came back and we had it removed again. It came back a third time, bigger than before at the beginning of this last summer, and this last surgery she went through was to remove it.

I feel so bad for her because I know she is just in so much pain. This time, the doctor was really aggressive when removing the lump and she took out an extra 2in radius around the cancer origin. So this time she went all the way down to the muscle. I can tell it's just agony for her to move, even though she does get up and walk around a bit. But she ends up just standing in one spot crying and whimpering.

I don't know about anyone else, but she has been my first real pet. Yea, I've had a couple gold fish and I had a couple hampsters when I was little. But I remember the day we got her like it was yesterday. She was a stray that my neighbor picked up by her parents house. She has remarkable resemblence to our old dog and both my dad and I fell in love with her. We had to have her. So she became mine, and now, the thought of losing her breaks my heart. My parents and I have all agreed that this was the last surgery she would go through. Not only is it spendy, but it just puts so much stress and trauma on her. Hopefully, the tumor will not return after this, but if it does, hopefully this surgery will have helped to prolong its return. Unfortunately, if and when it does come back, we're going to have to let it do it's thing. Which will ultimately end up killing her. Or we may have to put her down depending on the kind of side affects it has on her.

I know she's not a puppy anymore, but she's really not as old as she could be either. She still plays with her toys and chews on her squeaky toys and throws them about. She's such a joy to watch and to play with. And I love her markings, she's got a little white spot on her forehead that's totally unique to her. :( I just know I'll never find a better dog.

Anyways, I'm sorry this is so long....I've just been really down about all this. I took a couple pictures of her today, I'll post em up once they get developed. (yes, I'm ghetto and still have to develop my pictures at Fred Myers)

Have any of you ever had pets like this?

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

I have but not to be cold, as soon as teh dog was having problems walking and was hurting alot, we put her down. there is nothing i hate more than to see a friend die of this. :( I feel for ya, good luck.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Yea, we had to put our old dog down because he had bad hips and could barely get up or lay down, let alone walk. That's what's so frustrating about my dog now. She's totally fine. (well obviously not right now) But as soon as she heals, she'll be back to normal. Runnin and jumpin and barkin at people who knock on the door, chewin on her toys and gettin into the garbage (bad dog). That's why it's so hard to grasp thatI'll have to let go because she doesn't act old. She's not in pain, even when the tunor is there. It's not a painful situation. But I know the surgery is, and that's what I feel bad for. Putting her through all this.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

I had a pitbull/boxer mix.I loved that dog so much.he was verry protevive of me and extremely agressive towards annyone other than me.What sucks is that I had to put him down couse some stupid bitch was snooping around my property and he bit her.Eveb though I had warning signs posted she sued my insurance company and they said I had to get rid of the dog or they would drop me and put it on my insurance record.Thats kind of like a credit report the insurance compannys use.It would of had cost me 4 grand a year for insurance if I would of kept him....I miss my dog :'(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Oh my gosh that's complete bullshit. I'm sorry. Could you have given him away? Or did they say you actually had to put him down?

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

He was too agressive.The only people he wouldnt attemt to maul was my friends and familey.He was so bad I couldnt take him out in public.The odd thing was that with me he was the most carying and playfull dog in the world.No one would take him so I had to put him down.

you cant even imagine what I felt like to see him how happy he got when I put his coller on to put him in the animal controll truck he thought I was taking him for a walk......... :'( :'(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

OMG. I burst into tears when I read both stories. I am sorry MakAttack and d16. :'(

I hope the tumors don't return. :(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

:'( I'm so sorry. I don't know what I would do if I had to do that. Probably lie. I can barely sit here and listen to my dog cry and me not being able to do anything about it. I couldn't stand having to put her down because some idiot decided they needed to snoop around my house.

She actually bit some dumb asian guy when she was younger. She's got herding instincts in her, and this guy comes roller blading down our cul de sac with my dog in the street, not on a leash, and my neighbors rotweiler in the street as well. He was dumb, and my lil mutt went after him and nipped him right above the back of his rollerblade. Thankfully he didn't press charges since he was stupid enough to go down our street in the first place with two dogs in the middle of the road.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

that's sooo sad. I have 2 cats, my first pets, I haven't experienced the whole death-of-a-pet just yet...and I'm dreading the day. One of them was hospitalized for days 'cause he was super sick and I was crying when I went to visit him. I couldn't imagine what you're going through, Mary. I hated it to see my cat super sick that he couldn't move, he couldn't eat, he wouldn't even budge for a treat, it broke my heart...let alone seeing a pet going through pain ...whimpering and crying, I'd be in tears.

but ya...as for the dog biting and putting it down, I can see that happening. A friend of mine had to put her dog down because it was blind and old and this little girl kept on bugging him and breathing on him, so he bit her.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

I've got a 18 month old Beagle named Toby. He's a little ---- and gets in to everything, howls when we come home, howls when we open our own bedroom door, and howls if he thinks someone may be coming, just a hound instinct I guess. But even though he causes a lot of problems, we love him ( 6 guys live in my house).

Once were playing with him, and he fell and hit his head pretty bad, and starting walking all funny and shaking around, like his left foot went where his right should have been and vice versa. He couldn't go where he wanted to, and I thought he was seriously fucked. But when I got a treat for him, he still came for it, fell over a few times on the way, but kept coming, tail wagging and all. After a few minutes he was back to normal, and it didn't seem to bother him a bit. - A good thing too, cuz none of us can afford to bring him to a vet, luckily one of the guys was dating the daughter of a vet when we got him, so he got shots and everything super cheap...

I'd post the pic, but it's too big for this site, if you want to see my dog in all his glory, goto
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~frie0271/toby.JPG
he looks like the dog from the grinch in the pic,

best of luck with your dog Mary...

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

https://www.angelfire.com/indie/bigwig/wallace.jpg
If he died i wouldnt know what i would do with myself, literally.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Good luck to you Mak. :) Hopefully everything will be alright now.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Damn, those are sad stories. I'd like to think I'm tough as nails and I could handle something like that, but I couldn't. I had the best dog in the world named Stone. He was a Pitbull/Rodesian ridgeback and he was the greatest friend anybody could ever ask for. He was just like one of the guys. He sat on the couch just like a human and burped loud like a human. I loved that dog so much. I'll never be able to find a replacement for him. He was one in a million. He got cancer(Lupos)and ended up dieing. I spent an ungodly amount of money trying to keep him alive, but there was nothing I could do. I did everything I could to hold the tears back at the vets office. Before we went in he had to stop and pissed all over the entrance to the office. It was so sad because it looked like he couldn't control it and the look on his face haunts me. He was in so much pain. It hurt me to see him like that. He was such a tough dog. He was the neighborhood bully. No other dog would dare come near him. Damn I miss that dog. I know exactly what you're going through. I hope everything works out. One thing I would recommend is if the tumor comes back, it's probably best to put her to sleep. She will be suffering too much in the end. I know it's not an easy thing to do, but it is the best choice. You have to think of her and what she is going through. Good luck to you and your dog.
Here is a pic of my dog. I can't scan it so I had to take a pic of it so it looks like ----. If you look close enough, you can see his woody. ;D He was a happy dog.
http://pic1.picturetrail.com/VOL111/...8/40501445.jpg
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Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

good ending i laughed

sorry to hear about your pets

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Mary take care :(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

OK, everyone cheer up... here's an action shot of Toby trying to shake off his antlers... gotta love those ears...

http://www.tc.umn.edu/~frie0271/toby2.JPG
;D

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

I would post up a couple pictures of my lil mutt, but my mom's scanner decided it's gonna be a painin the ass and not work. Soooo, hopefully in the next day or two.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Mary. I could of sworn you just told the story of my dog. Except she is no longer with us. She had a cancer lump on her sided, just infront of her thigh, but she was too old for surgery. (16yo). At first it didnt bother her. Then she started limping. Then she wouldnt even jump on the couch or bed. We couldnt do anything but put her down so she would feel no pain. She was a part of our family for 16 years. The scheduled date w/ the Vet happened apon a day I was scheduled to work. No one there would take my shift. I left for work that afternoon knowing i'd never see her again. WHen my parents picked me up from work I was faced with a car full of crying people.

She was the best dog anyone could ask for. Friendly, fun, caring. . She would literally check in on my brother and I every night. She would walk up to the doors and nudge them open. Peek inside and turn around and leave. After she had visited both our rooms she would go off to bed. She was the best companion anyone could ask for. God rest her sole. I'll never forget her.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

My american bulldog (4yrs) got lymphatic cancer, which if you know your cancers there is nothing to do about it except be selfish and put the dog through hell with treatments. We put him down once he couldn't hold liquids on his stomach. That was one big ass dog though, we got his ashes back and it was like ten pounds of ashes, hehe.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Thanks for all your kind words everyone. She's doing alright I suppose. I know she's in a lot of pain, and today, she was very naughty this morning. The doctor put a drain in where she removed the cancer to let fluids run out, and Ms. Hollie decided she didn't want that there anymore this morning and chewed it off. >:( Rotten dog. Oh well, I took her in this morning and she got it looked at and fixed a little.

And all these sad stories, just make me want to cry. I know what you mean when you say you've lost the best companion in the world. (well I almost do) I haven't lost her yet, but I feel her time is drawing nearer. And when it is finally time to say goodbye I really don't know what I'm going to do. I will always miss how protective she is of me, and yet, as soon as you even look at her like you want to pet her, she's your best friend . ;D She's so well behaved.....when we're home ::) There will never be any other dog who can replace her. I am sorry for everyone elses loss. I'm doing as much as I can right now, to prolong mine.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

I can feel for you as well. When I moved away from home I got my first "real" pet (a pound mutt named Homer). He is about 6 now, and he still acts like a pup too. I couldn't think of my life without him waiting for me when I get home. Good luck, We are all pulling for her.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

So as I mentioned, my wonderful dog thought she'd perform pre medical precedures on herself and took out her sutures friday night. I took her in the next morning and they stapled her up. Unfortunately, the incision didn't get better, it got worse, and infected. So we had to take her to the hospital on Sunday because the incision was coming open and not healing, and there were new openings above the incision due to the skin being dead. They had to go in and take out the dead skin from the original incision, create a new drainage opening and put in a new drain and sew her up again. So something around 1400 dollars later, shes now resting on her bed with one of those goofy cones on her head. It's been a ------- nightmare this past week. And now I get to spend the next two weeks in the house watching her. Aren't I lucky...good God does this ever stear me away from ever having kids! No ------- way. Sleep deprevation is waaay different than staying up all night because you want to, or because you just can't sleep. :'(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

sorry about your dog mary. i wish you and your dog the best.
my dog got hit by a car before. but she took it like champ and never had to take her to the vet... didn't break anything. also had a miligmant growth on her that was about as big as a baseball dunno how she got it. but had to have that removed. the thing i noticed the most is how bad she smelled after being at the vet for like 4-5 days. it was wierd. anyways here is a couple pictures.

https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota5.jpg
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota1.jpg
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota6.jpg
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/worthless_dog2.jpg
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss...thless-dog.jpg
my fat cat thomas.
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/thomas2.jpg
https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss...n_twenties.jpg

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

when i was in like 5th grade, we got a german shorthair from the pound. he was technically my moms dog, but he followed me around and would walk on the leash when i took him around the block. he slept on my bed with me, and was always there when i was sad. he had a lump on his chest and we thought it was just a wart or soemthing like that, but then it got bigger and bigger, so we had it removed, but they wanted like 300 bucks to take it to the lab and figure out what it was, so we couldnt do it :( about 3 months later, it came back and he stopped eating. he just layed on the floor next to my moms desk until i came home, and when i came home hed lay on the couch next to me, or on the floor next to where i was. one night he was laying on the couch and he couldnt move his head. my dad carried him upstairs and put him on my bead, and died in his sleep next to me. he used to crawl under the covers in this crazy retarded way. i miss my puppy :'(

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Sorry to hear that mak i hope all goes well. We use to have a black blak dog ( don't know what kind) but he got in a accident and ended uo losing his frt right leg. Even though he only had 3 legs ,buddy ( his name)was still a god damn speed rocket and could almost jump over me. That is when he tried and ended up running into my chest and knocking the ---- out of me. Well unfortunately he started having problems with his rear leg and it was giving over time. My dad told me to take him to the vet so they could see what they could do. The next day i went there to see whats up. It ends up that my dad had them put buddy to sleep and didn't tell me ,i was in shock. Never got to say goodbye, after that i had a pet ferret named bandit. He passed away later to due to broken ribs and some internal bleeding. He got attacked by a neighborhood dog and i managed to get him but the damage was done....happened so fast. He later passed that night in his bed with his toys and i got to say my good byes. Hope it all goes well .This feeling sucks

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Due to the current change in my technological ownership (Mary got a digital camera for Christmas ;D ) I decided to put up a few pics of muh dag. Sorry if you get grossed out by blood and guts, just thought I'd show ya'll what she's gone through.

(sorry, I didn't resize them before I put em on the net, and they're huge, so you get links, instead of embedded images :P )

http://www.ants4pets.com/tink/000_0004.JPG
(her lovely Elizebethian Head Dress)

http://www.ants4pets.com/tink/000_0007.JPG
(This is the incision, the red circle towards the bottom is where the drain came out....that she surgically removed herself, damn dog)

http://www.ants4pets.com/tink/000_0009.JPG
(Aww, there's muh puppy, just chillin)

http://www.ants4pets.com/tink/100_0001.JPG
(Another pic)

http://www.ants4pets.com/tink/100_0004.JPG
(Christmas morning. She's a celebrity! ;D )

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

She is a very cute dog ,im taking she is feeling better. Sometimes i miss having a dog but my girl has a pet saint bernard we call tiny. He is a very cool dog ,hope it turned out well.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

hey mary your dog doesn't look very old!

looks like its got a lot of years left. looks happy too. not all bum'd out about havin the ---- done to her... (dogs get depressed too)

what kinda camera did you get... my mom bought me one... but it was crap :) lol i took it back and sweet talk'd the lady in the photo department to give me the christmas deal on a different one... so i got a 3.2mp kodak easyshare for 98 dollars. i soon found out that taking 3.2mp pictures sucks down the batteries... here pictures of my dog with my digi... ive been goin picture crazy since i got it lol

these pictures are on the lowest setting... i believe 2.0mp... can't really tell the difference between 2mp and 3.2mp unless you're doin a macro shot or somethin... dakota is about 9 years old...

https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota_1.jpg

https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota_2.jpg

https://www.homemadeturbo.com/jbliss/dakota_3.jpg

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Aww cute!! Yea my puppy doesn't look old, but she's 9, believe it or not. She looks like she's about 5 though and she acts like it too. That's why I want to keep her around so badly, because she doesn't act old, she's still the best dog in the world, ya know?

And I got the Kodak EasyShare 3.1MB ;D I like it. But yes, those things suck up batteries no other. Good camera though.

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

thats a serious lookin scar,

Re: My 9 yr old puppy :(
 

Yea, thanks to her pullin out stiches and removing her drain on to different occasions now, the last inch and a half of it is having a really hard time healing. Who knows how long it will take. If worst comes to worst, we'll have to treat it as an open wound. Which, yaaaaay that could take up to 6 ------- months to heal. >:(