Hand hold please, elderly dog. Waiting for surgeon's opinion.

[SleightOfMind]

DDog1, 16, has broken her hind leg. Waiting to hear if the orthopaedic surgeon thinks she can do anything.
Was staying quite positive for the dc & DH but am having a wobble
Can anyone share stories of old but well dogs coping with surgery etc?
Want to be more cheerful when the older DCs get home (assuming no bad news from vets)

[ErrolTheDragon]

I don't have any experience - I'd guess it might depend on the size and weight of the dog as well as age and general physical condition. Poor old girl. Hope you have some positive news.

[SleightOfMind]

Aw thank you Errol. Was up at the emergency vets with her all night and stayed upbeat & calm for her sake then for everyone else.
Was clearing up the toddlers' lunch when I saw her collar and burst into great snotty sobs.
Twins were fascinated, they'd never seen mum cry!
She's a greyhound. 28kgs.
I think I'm realising this might be a struggle too far for her but I can't bear the idea of losing her like this.

[DanielCraigsUnderpants]

Have you had any news? Sending all best wishes

[Daftaboutthecat]

Best wishes sleight hope you get some good news

[SleightOfMind]

Hi all, thank you so much, it's horrible waiting.
Still no word from the surgeon but in the meantime DDog has had lots of tests and is in excellent health, so theoretically suitable for the anaesthetic, operation and recovery.
It's now just a question of whether she has enough bone density to hold the plate and screws in place, or if it would just crumble apart.
We've got everything crossed, dcs being quite positive but I have gently prepared them.
Hoping so hard.

[luckylambchop]

I hope you get some good news xxx

[SleightOfMind]

So, surgeon is willing to have a go. Haven't spoken to her directly so not sure what the exact balance of risk is. Thrilled it's not completely hopeless but worried that surgeon is happy to take a punt without taking into account the post-op risks - well, they don't do they!
Lots of questions for tomorrow. Thank you everyone. I know she's a 'just a dog' but it's been really awful. xx

[DanielCraigsUnderpants]

She isnt just a dog, they're never just a dog, she's your family and that's why you care.

Let us know what happens

[AFawnDawn]

Hoping you & your hound are doing okay

[SleightOfMind]

Surgeon was lovely and said he'd fix the fracture if we wanted but that he thought it had been caused by the onset of bone cancer.
She's coming home from the hospital tomorrow to be with us all at the end.
DH and I are devastated. The older two DC are going to be so upset.
Thank you all for the handholding it was lovely to feel all your best wishes. Can't believe it really.

[ErrolTheDragon]

Oh, I'm so sorry.

[ExitPursuedBySpartacus]

So sorry to read this.

[SleightOfMind]

Thanks guys. We're planning all her favourite things for when she gets here tomorrow. Want her to go feeling really happy & loved.

[Sparklywine]

I'm very sorry. If it's any consolation, your love for her bursts off the page, she must feel so cherished and lucky to have you all as her family.

[Daftaboutthecat]

Im so very sorry sleight

[AFawnDawn]

Oh, I'm sorry sleight It's good you will have the chance to spoil her. X

[Lilmisskittykat]

I'm so sorry to read this xxx

it's so hard even when you know it's the kindest and right thing to do by them xx

[TheCatsBiscuits]

I'm so sorry. We lost our beautiful hound to cancer this summer, and we spoiled him thoroughly at the end. Though it was a shock, and it broke our hearts to make the final decision to let him go, I'm glad we knew a tiny bit in advance what was happening, so we could spare him days of suffering - dogs are so good at hiding symptoms. And they're never, ever 'just a dog'.

[Goingtobeawesome]

Could you have tests to see if she has cancer? I ask as the vet thought my cat had a brain tumour and in my being pregnant and losing my nan state I was close to agreeing to her being PTS rather than face a long journey and a scan for the same result. The vet was wrong and we had eight more years before losing her to breast cancer.

Good luck.

[DanielCraigsUnderpants]

Thinking of you today Sleight

[Scuttlebutter]

I'm so sorry, Sleight. Bone cancer takes far too many of our precious hounds.

[SleightOfMind]

Thanks everyone. It was awful, the vet was dreadful & we didn't get to bring her home.
I feel like I failed her.
Am focussing on the happy times we had but her end was dreadful. It shouldn't have been this way. Although she had bone cancer, she had no symptoms yet and was a healthy dog with a broken leg.
She didn't even know we were there

[ExitPursuedBySpartacus]

That's shit.

Hugs to you and yours.

[ErrolTheDragon]

you didn't fail her (though sounds as though the vet could have been better, thats a shame). She had a long and happy life with you, and if she was apparently healthy until the fracture that was better for her.

[TheCatsBiscuits]

Oh, Sleight. You didn't fail her. Far from it. You got her to the emergency vets, you spared her pain, you asked all the questions, and if she'd reached the ripe old age of 16, you'd obviously been doing something right! Please don't let a handful of sad hours spoil what must have been years and years of happiness and love between her and all of you. You did everything you could, armed with the information you had. I'm sorry the vet wasn't as good as s/he could have been - your dog will have known you were there, on some level. Their sense of smell is incredible, and something will have registered, in a distant part of her brain.