gocomics.com/The Other Coast
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Unfortunately that is all too true for older dogs. KB at Romping and Rolling in the Rockies lost her precious K to bone cancer three years ago. Here’s a tribute KB created:
I have to admit, I cry when I watch it.
Now Natasha over at The Thundering Herd had a mass plus her spleen and 30% of her liver removed. They’re seeing how she recovers and whether or not the mass was malignant before they decide what the next step is.
Natasha, The Thundering Herd
Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Our hearts go out to them.
Banshee, Sammy’s sister, became seriously ill in late summer, 2009 and had to have extensive surgery — she lost part of her pancreas, stomach and intestines, and the vet thought she might die. The vet couldn’t remove all of the mass, so Kaitlin and Torben didn’t have it checked to see if it was malignant. They knew they wouldn’t put her through chemotherapy if it was cancer, and quality of life was the important issue. She did recover and was her old happy self for about six months before it was time to call it quits.
Here’s a picture of her (on the left) and Sammy on a car trip shortly after the surgery.
And here are two picture of her (on the right in the second one) up on the land when they came to visit that Thanksgiving.
She was only seven years old in these pictures, and eight when she died. Yes, canine cancer is heartbreaking.
July 18, 2015
When pets suffer, and they are unable to convey their pain, it is the most frustrating experience that the family around them undergoes. And finally they die, it is heart breaking all the more.
Yes, trying to decide whether it’s better to give them more medical care or to let them go in peace is a wrenching one. In Banshee’s case she had another six great months and it was worth the recovering from surgery, but when she got ill again the decision was clear, even though it was heartbreaking.
agree…in another lifetime, I had many furr-balls… but not now.
Thank you so much for your good thoughts for Natasha. We are cautiously hopeful, but will know more over the next couple of days.
Canine cancer has taken previous members of The Herd, so we know all too well the pain it causes. All we can do for our canine friends is fight when it is right to do so, and provide them comfort when that is the best answer.
I loved your post, sharing your experience with others who are going through something similar: try to do what’s right for the dog, within the limits of our resources if that’s an issue. Those are hard decisions.
interesting how vet practices and technical know-how has changed to a point where they know [or maybe they did know, but spared owner] what ails a pet of whatever kind…
People are willing to pay a lot more money on healthcare for their pets now, so the field is developing.
Poor Banshee. That’s how old K was too, just 8. It looks like Banshee lived life to the fullest to the very end.
I still cry every time I watch K’s video. I still miss her. Thanks for showing it here.
I’ve been watching out for Natasha too. Those pathology studies take *so* long. It seems to go on forever while you await the big news. I sure hope it was benign or a not aggressive cancer. We had the same scenario with our yellow lab about 8 years ago or so, and it turned out to be a non-aggressive cancer that was completely cured by removing the spleen and part of the liver. I hope that the Herd gets similarly good news.
That was a beautiful video tribute. Thank you.
Apparently Hu-dad got the results back already, and the cancer may be like your experience — non-aggressive. They don’t know for sure and will be checking her liver function regularly and scanning for new masses. Natasha is home already, which is always good news.