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.

Op ask the vets about rehydration drinks for dogs. We used them after our boy had surgery, he drank them when he wouldn’t take water. They are flavored so more appealing I think.
Hope your gorgeous boy makes a speedy recovery and fingers crossed for good results from the biopsies.

What a lovely dog, OP - he’s gorgeous. I hope he recovers quickly. My dog had a big exploratory op and lots of stitches and wasn’t herself for a few days, but after that she picked up quite quickly.

I used a Calpol syringe for water and just squeezed in a few drops regularly. I think my dog felt nauseous initially.

JKScot4 he’s perking up thanks (that may be the pain relief though?) he has started drinking a little and has been for a wee which is good, still whimpering a little though. We are sitting on the sofa having a little catch up snooze!
Breatheandfocus I’ve been using a calpol syringe too 😊

I'm going to say it again - veterinary chemotherapy and radiotherapy is NOT comparable to human cancer treatment. Dosages are many, many times smaller, and side effects are minimal or non-existent in the vast majority of cases. The aim of chemotherapy treatment in dogs is to maintain normal quality of life both during and after treatment.

I'm coming across as some kind of dog chemotherapy evangelist on this thread, which I'm really not, I only recommend it if appropriate for each individual patient, but where it is appropriate it can and does give animals a greatly extended lifespan WITH normal quality of life. I am just frustrated to read so much misinformed scaremongering. Opinion is one thing, if you wouldn't do it that's fine, but stating baldly that chemotherapy for dogs is cruel, painful, causes suffering, is not in their best interests, ruins quality of life etc. is just not true.

The OP's dog is still relatively young and if it is a MCT then there's a good chance that the surgery has removed all of it, but even if he does require further treatment in all likelihood he would tolerate it extremely well and could potentially have another 6+ years of healthy and happy life ahead of him. It depends on the prognosis of each individual case but there is absolutely no cause to write him off or doom-monger at this stage.

From the Fitzpatrick Referrals website: www.fitzpatrickreferrals.co.uk/conditions/canine-mast-cell-tumours/

Our goal with anti-cancer drugs is that our animal patients are not aware they are receiving chemotherapy, i.e. they live normal lives at home. Side-effects occur in less than half the patients and they tend to be transient and self-limiting, for example, loose stools for a day or two, or inappetence and nausea for a day or two. Most dogs on MCT protocols experience few to no complications.

This is why my pets are insured, yes, as a family we could afford veterinary emergencies (we have horses, dog and a cat) but it's not fair that it comes out of family money. DH has no interest in the horses but at a push he would probably pay for the dog and maybe the cat.

I'm sorry your going through this, my dog has a fatty lump that came back clear in cell aspiration but with the caveat they might not have got the "right" cells so it's always at the back of my mind.

Like you, my dog is not just "a dog", he's MY dog and I don't know what I would do without him.

Can you sell a husband's kidney? Pop him in an ice bath, he'd never notice 😎

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.

He's a border terrier. They're incredibly tough, strong dogs. At 8, he might only be halfway through his life.

Fight on OP. Good luck to you and your dog. I hope he recovers well and quickly.

@rhodacamel mine is a BT too! Maybe I will get the vet to test the lump again when I vaccinate.

I hadn't realised you had a Border, they are worth everything.

I have a cat who is currently having chemotherapy. She had a tumour removed last month and she was referred to a specialist veterinary hospital and will have five sessions over the next few months. She is currently sitting on my lap, looking very content and I can honestly say it doesn’t appear to impact on her at all...she is running around the garden and eating normally. It is completely different to treating humans and the actual ‘session’ takes about 30 minutes. It won’t ‘cure’ but it will reduce any symptoms and extend her life. The view we took as a family is that if the vet had said she had, for example, a liver condition, we would accept medication to treat it, so we shouldn’t view the chemotherapy any differently. If we felt it was negatively impacting on her quality of life, we wouldn’t be doing it, but you wouldn’t know she was having any treatment.

I don't think you unreasonable. That said had a friend who spent a lot of money on a beloved but old rabbit who need a op, I had a house rabbit at the time myself and spent plenty on his issues over the years but this was a lot. I do think the vet should say how likely it is to have a good life and recover if there are good chances than yes definitely its worth it. Unfortunately my friends vet didn't say and I do think the vet shouldn't of let her spend so much on her old rabbit. It died a month later after that expensive op. It was £500+ aftercare meds

I love my pets.
I would spend every penny I could afford on making their lives better but at the end of the day they are not human and sometimes treatment is NOT in their best interest. I sometimes watch The Supervet and think that they are putting the animal through far too much for the benefit of the owner (not saying that’s the case here OP).
I do also think sometimes that it’s odd that you can be prosecuted for prolonging the suffering of an animal but prosecuted for NOT prolonging the suffering of a human. DHs beloved Grandma had food and water withdrawn and he watched her die slowly, when he took one of our very poorly cats to be euthanised he said he wished that had been an option for his Grandma. Controversial I know but it’s how he felt

Chemotherapy was living hell for me. I’d never put a pet through it.

Can nobody RTFT? A VET has commented about canine chemo and how it is not comparable to human chemo 🙄

vetoncall thanks for that, I am not going to dismiss further treatment if needed. I don’t see it as being selfish if it does not cause suffering to the animal. I feel he deserves a chance of life and living if there is a chance of recovery. He is a truly lovely natured dog and the world will be a darker place without him here (when he eventually skips over the rainbow bridge, which hopefully is a long while off yet 🙏🏾).
bluenoir after years of lads weekend pub crawls I’m afraid DH’s kidneys and liver are of little value these days - although I may be able to send him out to stud? He does make beautiful children
vanhi and bluenoir* According to the vet, he is a norfolk terrier (We rescued him so no real idea) many people do comment that he appears to have some border in him, so maybe?
olliethecat glad she is doing well, hope she all goes well for her.
hoppinggreen I do understand, we had to watch our 4 year old niece lay dying for 4 months from a brain tumour, it was truly horrendous, no-one would ever put their pet through that 😞

He seems quite good this afternoon, is eating and has drunk quite a bit of water, amazing how quick they perk up. Still a bit snoozy on the sofa though but he can milk it for as long as he wants!

When it comes to thoughts of treatment, it's natural (at least it was, for me) to think "we must do everything possible". But then you have to look at it from the pet's point of view - the treatment will be distressing, they won't understand what's going on, why you keep taking them to the horrible place with the horrible people who do horrible things to them. Unless there's a realistic prospect of a cure, I don't think it's fair to put them through that just to give us a bit longer with them.

Norfolk's have pointy up ears, shorter legs and their coat is much lighter, definitely looks like a full Border from your picture.

Op please remember the blue cross can help if you can't afford treatment. They assess case by case.

bluenoir I’m think the pointy eared variety are the Norwich terriers, May be wrong though? I’d quite like to do a dna test on him as I do wonder if he may have border or even Yorkshire terrier in him?

bluenoir think he may be a bit of everything 😊

How’s the patient today?

He’s perking up quite nicely thanks JKScot4, had a good night and eating and drinking well.

That’s good to hear, they are very resilient wee souls 🥰🐶

Glad to hear that he’s doing well. He really is a gorgeous boy.

He looks full or mostly Norfolk to me. Norwich Terriers have 'up' ears, Norfolk have 'down' . He's lovely I'm glad he's recovering well from the surgery.

What a handsome wee chap you have.

I’d pay out any money for my dog if the vet didn’t feel it could cause unnecessary suffering. Thankfully I have insurance as he cost £6000 before he was 16wks with illness. He means the world to me and the children, people say they are one of the family but I genuinely love him with all my heart and I’d go into debt for life if I had to for him.