I just found out my best friend has cancer

a reply to: Bigburgh

I took in many strays as well. I'm sorry to hear your dog is elderly. I had one cat that passed away at 19 years of age.
I have an adopted Siamese cat right now, a rescued rat from being snake food and a few goldfish from being food for someone's bigger fish. He let me have a few. I felt bad for them. My turtle is a rescue too. There are always so many animals that need a good and loving home.

I always cry with our ATS family when bad things happen. I am so grateful to be a member here. I hope that we are able to help in this thread in some small way at least.

I have to join in with my condolences. I've been there too, and it's so painful. Everybody else has said it right, although it's hard, it's better for them in the long run. Try to have a good loving few hours. I baked some hamburger meat in bite sized pieces about the size of a half dollar, and boiled some chicken and took it off the bone. She tried a little of each. Laid on the floor with her and her stuffed animals. She was almost blind. It hurt to be touched, so I just laid with her for a while then made the call.

In a sense I was relieved for her. She had had enough.

I'm so sorry.

My deepest sympathy. It's a devilish decision.
When our cat had inoperable cancer I begged the vet to tell me how to know when I should call him. He said, "You'll know." He was right. You'll get a sign that you'll recognize and your breaking heart will find a measure of peace amid the pain. My thoughts are with you.

a reply to: Hijinx

So sorry. Hang in there. Those who had to make that decision know all too well how tough it is. As NewzNose and diggindirt mentioned, my pets pretty much told me it was time. We opted for home euthanasia. Costs more but was wonderful for our family and pets.

Sorry you are going through this. It helped a great deal for me to remember the welcome home I received by my pets in returning home from hospital after weeks of lymphoma treatment for myself, and the wonderful times and love we were able to share while they were here with us.

The time with them goes much too quickly in the rush of life.

Thank you everyone for the replies. Last december we had to put my Dalmation down, this september It's looking like I will have to put Brodie down as well.

I know it's right to end her suffering... I know it's inoperable, she is calm now but it's because she is so drugged up. The decision is unanimous in the household, it's simply a matter of when.

It was just so fast. 2 months ago we were running around together playing catch, tug of war... too soon

a reply to: Hijinx

Well we are all here for ya bud, I am so sorry for the situation you are in.

it might be worth looking into tumeric paste, i'm reading a lot lately about dogs/cancer and tumeric with some incredibly good results, can't help to check it out...

i had to put my 15 year old springer spaniel to sleep in january, it's a heavy burden on the heart,... so i wish you the guidance to do the right thing for your companion.

edited to add link... www.greenmedinfo.com...

You owe it to your sweet dog.

She has been a very good friend for you, and now you owe it to her to make sure she goes in peace and in dignity.

This is the ultimate act of love we can do towards our ailing pets.

originally posted by: Hijinx
My coon hound Brody was diagnosed with Infiltrative Lymphoma at age 11...

There is basically nothing they can do at this point, she has been in and out of the vet the last two months for issues with her legs and the biopsy results just came back.

They can't do surgery because this kind of cancer is like spider webs through out the bodies tissues, muscle, bone, organs... It causes a great deal of pain, inflamation, bruising swelling.

We initially brought her in because her leg had swollen up and we thought she had been stung by something or took a fall. It eventually bruised a great deal, then it got better with some meds and time, and most recently same thing.

Extreme swelling, horrible bruising. The vet initially asked if she had been hit by a car it was so bad. So we did the biopsy...

And here we are... inoperable cancer.... extreme pain. she won't eat.. she doesn't want to walk or get up...

so she is laying on our bedroom floor. Doped up... and we have to decide... do we do this... keep her just this side of conscious.. until when... or do we have her put down...

I don't know what to #ing do right now.

You might still be able to save her. A client's dog AND father both had large, cancerous tumors. I suggested that she use CBD oil, non-psychoactive (no THC), which is available at amazon or do a google search for others. Both the dog and her father have no traces of the tumors or the cancer. It works and I hope you can catch it in time.

Put Her Down.
When an animal is suffering and there's just no way to fix it, the kindest thing to do is let them go. Our heart tells us to try to keep them around as long as we can, [ my sister spent $20,000 an her dog ] but we're doing that for ourselves, not what is best for the animal. I know it's hard. I recently had to put down one of my cats that I'd had for 15 years. But, put yourself in her place. Would you want to hang on, in pain, so medicated on pain killers you can't even function?
Steel your heart and make that final trip to the vet.

a reply to: AceWombat04

I had one of those too. My big tuxedo boy, AC. Killed me when we had to say good-bye.

I've lurked here for a few years now, and this thread made me so sad I had to create an account and respond. As hard as it will be to part ways, just know that it will be in the best interest of your best friend. She will remain loyal to the end, willing to suffer just to stay by your side but now you need to show her your loyalty by letting her go to sleep. I'm so sorry, remember all dogs go to heaven.

Hey, I'm really sorry to hear that I know how that can feel. On December 17 of this past year we had to put my dog to sleep. We had her for 9 years since she was a puppy. Not sure what caused it but she was getting older anyway , but it was kidney and liver failure. She was the greatest friend I could ask for and I truly miss her . It's almost been a year . Once again I'm sorry to hear about your friend.