To think he isn’t ‘just’ an animal?

[RhodaCamel]

My lovely, lovely little dog has to have a lump removed tomorrow.
He has had this fatty lump for a couple of months and I honestly thought it was a fatty lipoma so was absolutely shocked to hear the vet tell me on Saturday that it’s a mast cell tumour, it will need removing, sent to pathology and in a week we will find out what we are dealing with.
The vet did start to talk about what happens if it has spread and there was talk of possible radiotherapy or chemotherapy etc, which are obviously very expensive treatments. I would have to borrow the money for something like that tbh but he is the absolute joy in my life so I would definitely consider it.
However, dh says he says he wouldn’t want to put our dog through it and in all honesty what if we spend all that out and he doesn’t make it anyhow etc, that we have to think of the expense.
I’ve mentioned it to a couple of friends and several have said no way would they spend that kind of money, some wouldn’t even have the lump removed!! And according to them he’s only ‘just’ a dog at the end of the day.
This saddens me so much because these friends would quite happily spend thousands a holiday or something materialistic yet look at a beloved pet as something almost disposable.
I am a dog walker so spend a lot of time with dogs and I can honestly say they are nicer than a lot of humans I know!
So maybe I am BU but he’s been with me 8 years, he’s with me all day every day and has helped me though depression etc. I can not think of him las a nothing, to me he is a huge part of our family and not ‘just’ anything.

he's coming home? hurrah!

Can't say I wasn't taken aback when I saw those stitches!! He's so spaced out bless him, I don't think he realises he's home! Lots of peace and quiet for him for the next few days.

Bless his heart! It will soon grow back, but he might need some warm pants for the meantime. I hope it all turns out as well as possible - what a dear little man he is!

Wishing your little dog all the best!

Hope he's soon on the mend

That’s lovely fannia

Mast cell tumours are unfortunately very aggressive and do like to spread to all sorts of places. Honestly I wouldn't put my dog through chemo, and that's a common opinion with my colleagues too.

Just because a vet offers you what we call "gold standard" options doesn't mean they think you should do it or that lots of other people do the treatment. They have to give you the option because it's not there decision to make, they can't decide you don't feasibly have thousands to spend for all they know you could be loaded and thousands woild barely touch your pockets but if they don't give the option there will always be the odd person who complains they weren't given the choice to save their dogs life.... even of it was never going to happen...even if best case scenario all treatment woild do would be give a extra few months.

I firmly believe in quality over quantity 🙂

Poor baby. He’s absolutely beautiful and sounds very loved. All the best.

@buzzwizz619
MCT are not all aggressive, my girl had a Stage 2 removed and has been cancer free for 10 months.

You need to think about your dog, not you.
Is it worth spending a lot of money on painful , intrusive operations/treatment /time away in a cold lab and cage that is probably not going to improve on a dog who will be upset/disoriented/confused/distressed throughout the treatment cycle? Or is the money spent to make you feel better?

Oh bless him, hope he's feeling more like himself soon! I totally understand OP, my dog is my absolute world and I was worried sick when she had to have a lump removed herself recently (and like you I was so taken aback when she came home with a bald tummy and stitches - she had to wear little pyjamas for a while!).

Really hoping you get good news once its been tested and it hasn't spread - he looks like such a sweetie

Oh what a lovely boy!
Praying everything turns out well.
YANBU @RhodaCamel xxx

I'm glad he's home again Rhoda. It can look alarming as such large margins have to be removed around the tumour, but this gives the best chance of getting it all out.

I'm so glad he's home and I hope everything goes well moving forward.

Fils lab developed cancer in his leg at about two years old, he'd broken the same leg at one year old jumping a fence and then developed cancer in it the following year.

Fil did go with the chemo and his dog coped very well and lived until he was almost 12 years old. This was about 12 years ago and the treatment then would have cost Fil over £3,000 which he would not have been able to afford without insurance.

We have a lab now and she's my life, I have good insurance which I might not have had without having a dog need cancer treatment in the family, nobody. I'd hate to be in your position, if it's potentially thousands of pounds it's a lot of debt to get into so I do understand where your husband is coming from with his reluctance too. Will keep everything crossed that you don't have to cross that bridge

One of my dogs keeps getting mast cell tumours, the first time aged approx 5, 2 tumors removed, then again at age 7 where she had 6 tumors removed then chemotherapy. She was fine on chemo and steroids she went quite skinny and even more crazy and bouncy than usual, but she wasn't sick and seemed happy enough. She put her weight back on after she finished chemo and she's been fine since. If they came back again I would possibly put her through chemo and surgery again depending on her age, overall health and quality of life. She is approx 8 or 9 years old now and still exactly the same as when I got her 6 years ago, jhst abit grey around the muzzle. I understand how you feel, my dogs are family members not disposable objects.

My pets were everything to me, I always considered their needs. I loved them with all my heart & miss them terribly. They are family. I’ve forbidden myself from having another cat or dog because I end up wanting to spend all my time with them & not go anywhere. I want to travel around for a bit now & wouldn’t do that if I had animals at home.

Oh posted before I saw his photo, what a sweetheart.

Oh, he's lovely @RhodaCamel - hoping the news is good news.

I can imagine how confronting the sight of those stitches would be. Our cat had a penisectomy and the shaven state of him when I picked him up had me questioning briefly whether we had done the right thing. However, he bounced back in no time and went on to give us eight more years of the best company. Our first dog (boxer) had two MCT ops, and our current dog (another boxer) had a lump aspirated last week and vet has assured us it is a fatty lipoma, so we are much relieved.

Thank you again everyone. We had an unsettled night (as I expected), he was whimpering a lot but is more settled this morning, I have given him his pain meds so hopefully he’ll sleep a bit. He has eaten some meat but worried that he won’t drink any water. I’m going to ring the vets in a min and ask for advice on that one.

That is heartbreaking. And also why I pay Petplan, so I never have to make that decision.

Hopefully his pain medication will help him sleep today. See what the vet says about water but in the past I’ve used a syringe to get some water into them or even just kept dipping my hand in water and they tend to lick it off. I’m sure in a few days he’ll be doing much better. When we went through this with our boy, he slept a lot in the first few days and surprised us by managing to jump up on the sofa on day 10 post op. Once he started healing he improved quickly, I hope the same happens for you lovely boy. It’s really awful seeing them this though.

I’ve just re-read my original post and when I mentioned ‘borrowing’ the money it does read like I mean via a bank loan/credit cards etc. Sorry I didn’t mean getting in debt for his treatment, I mean a loan from my parents and in-laws, they love Archie as much as we do and have offered to help pay.
chicklitlover I’ve been trying to get some water in him via one of the kids calpol syringes but he won’t take it, I’ve rung the vets and they are going to ring me back. I did think of making up a watery gravy but don’t really want to give him anything too salty.

How’s the boy this morning?

*afternoon

I love dogs but I agree with your husband. Some dogs only have a life span of around 7 to 10 years anyway, so depending on the breed I wouldn't put a dog that's already had a decent innings through cancer treatment.

You can't explain to a dog why you are putting them through surgery and then potentially months of unpleasant treatment that will see a huge downturn in their quality of life just to give them an extra couple of years. It's likely to come back again at some point, so what then?

Trying to save them is for us, not for them. It depends on the age of the dog, the illness and the severity of the treatment but it isn't always the kindest thing to do.

I've been there - it's hard to say goodbye, but it's a damn sight easier than having to watch your dog suffer when they are really unwell. That's just awful.