feel terrible that my dog suffered with bone cancer

[stella10]

Just had to have our beloved dog put to sleep he had an osteosarcoma in his leg he had been limping for a while and not getting better then a lump began to appear we took him to vets and it was bone cancer and nothing could have saved him so he is in heaven now before he suffers anymore. Trouble is I am looking back at pictures from this last month of him and his eyes look haunted and I've read how agonising this kind of pain is and I feel terrible that he suffered:-( he was stil keen to go out for walks and eating jumping up even trying to dig with the bad leg but how much pain was he likely in??

Sincere condolences - absolutley horrendous time for you.

My old dog never complained about the pain. He tried his hardest to be chipper through whatever torment he may or may not have gone through. Its funny because Ive also looked through old photo's near his time of death and seen a 'haunted' look - maybe we are attributing that because they are no longer here.

Its hard but tell yourself you loved him - so you would not have done your best.

our grey hound had the same. limping around so took him to the vets and it was bone cancer. practically no bone left
rip little doggy friends xxx

I was going to say that 'Time heals the Pain of Loss' but it doesnt really - it remains raw, you just learn to avoid going to 'that place'.

Many dogs do cope with the osteosarcoma pain quite well. From what describe that your dog was using his leg I don't think he was suffering terrible pain.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing only we can't change the past.
I see around one or two dogs like yours each year, please don't feel guilty about it.

Thanks for replies it stil doesn't feel real. Such an aggressive cancer two months ago he was running around fine I just wish I'd paid A bit more attention to his limp instead of assuming it would get better.

Also I asked the vet about the glazed look to his eyes lately and he said it was chronic pain:-(

The x rays showed his bones of the leg weren't as eaten away as some of u describe but the tumour must have been pretty painful. I know I need to stop thinking about it and let go but u feel such responsibility for them its unreal. Especialy when you've had them from a tiny pup.

You're grieving - if you could have done anything more, you would have - trust yourself that you would have recognised extreme pain.

I am so sorry. I think that you loved your dog and he knew that you thought he was the best dog in the world. He carried on because he loved you and wanted to be with you. Now you have done the best and kindest thing for him beacause it was time. Dogs don't have complex emotional feelings they just love their owners. He loved you and you loved him. That was enough.

My condolances, i lost my beloved dog to this bastard disease,it creeps up on you so sorry for your loss

Stella, I am so sorry.

My old girl was pts a week ago for exactly the same reason. She was just shy of 13 and half and had started limping intermittently. We thought it was just a touch of stiffness/old age as it seemed to come and go and figured we'd get the vet to check her over when she had her vaccinations, as they were due shortly.

Then she suddenly stopped using her leg at all. Vet seemed pretty sure what it was likely to be and xrays confirmed it, the tumour was aggressive and had severely attacked a large proportion of her leg. They asked if we wanted them not to wake her from the anaesthetic, but I couldn't handle making the decision that quickly, so we brought her home and she was on anti-inflammatories and tramadol while we spent some time with her. She seemed a lot more comfortable, continued to eat well, enjoy cuddles, beg for treats and even ask us to play and throw her toys for her to retrieve, not to mention using her bad leg to scratch with.

She was checked weekly by the vets, the first appointment they were happy that the pain meds were keeping her comfortable, as she was happy to have it examined. Then within the next week we noticed she seemed to be coughing a bit. At the second appointment the vet said that she though she wasn't suffering too much and we arranged for her to have a chest xray later that week. When we got there they discovered her leg was unstable, although it hadn't been at the appointment two days before and the xray showed she had sustained a pathological fracture through the damaged bone - she hadn't shown any sign at all that the pain had increased, so we don't know when/how she did it. Xrays also showed numerous lung metastases. Of course we had to do the kindest thing at that point and say goodbye.

The vet explained that some dogs are just incredibly stoic about pain and will keep on going regardless. It's apparently quite common with osteosarcoma.

I am still wracked with guilt for not realising how much pain she must have been in before she reached the point where she stopped using her leg and of course feel even worse that I couldn't face letting her go before she ended up fracturing the leg. If I had been as brave as you, I would have let her go as soon as we found out what was wrong, but I just couldn't marry her still eating/playing and acting normally etc with her being ready to go.

We had her with us for just under 3 weeks from initial diagnosis and what I do know is that during that time she felt safe and loved and that when she went she was ready and safe and comfortable in my arms.

You did the right thing by your boy. You did what you had to do, coming from a place of unconditional love and he couldn't ask any more that that of you.

Allow yourself all the time you need to grieve, but please don't blame yourself, you have nothing to feel guilty for.

Thanks for reply moose and I'm sorry for your loss too.and everyone else dealing with effects of this vile disease. Atleast it sounds like your old girl had a lovely long life my darlin boy was only 7 which seems so very cruel. Just wondering how similar their tumours were in that my dog's was suddenly very visible after just being a painful leg for a few weeks...could you actually see the tumour or was it all inside? Its not your fault if you didn't know she was in pain thats the whole problem we cant know because they cant tell us and for some reason just seem to carry on regardless. They are at peace now

Stella, we lost our boxer cross gsd boy a few years ago, to a similar cancer on his hock at 7 years old - and you're right, it does make it seem so much more cruel when they are still so young.

That said, I'd always thought my old girl was one of those sturdy crossbreeds that would keep on going into a ripe old age. For some reason I thought we'd have her until she was 16/17, so it knocked me sideways when she was diagnosed.

There was no obvious sign when she was limping intermittently. I kept checking her paw and hip because I thought it was most likely to be one of those, particularly as she'd always skipped a bit on her back legs and we'd been told it was likely due to 'poor' hips. Then the day she stopped using her leg completely, we noticed her lower leg was visibly swollen and rushed her to the vets straight away. It was almost as if it became visibly swollen overnight.

Ditto it was the same with us like it was suddenly visible swelling over night. I'm guessing thats at the point it was forcing its way out the bone. And like you I'd been checking his paw and leg. I remember thinking it was definitely a sprain or something similar as wen I lifted the leg to look he yelped and no wonderi had probably grabbed right where the tumour was:-( but I just never imagined it could be something like that and I think in future I would veer on the side of caution as its now knocked me sideways to have lost him and to have left him hoping he would get better wen we could have atleast had him on painkillers sooner. But on the other hand this was the world's clumsiest dog if there was a steep drop, pond or something he would fall in/off it so I really did assume it was something rest would heal. He was a gsd also....a crazy mad loving one.

I know these posts are old but we lost our beloved girl this year. She also had a limp that didnt get better and when i took her to the vets it was a terrible shock to find out she had bone cancer. We decided the passive care route with pain killers to keep her comfortable even getting her canna pet from the USA which she loved and gave her relief and to give her a fun last 3 months doing everything she loved but now i cant help feeling guilty that i should have taken her to a specialist and had a second opinion and i have to live with that decision for the rest of my days. I let my beloved friend and companion down it is an awful disease that she didnt deserve. I miss her so much.

We lost our 9 year old doberman last month in similar circumstances. At the beginning of August she had suffered a twisted stomach and we almost lost her then but amazingly she rallied and seemed to have a new lease of life. Then at the beginning of October she woke up one day not being able to put her back leg down, the vet suspected a pulled ligament so decided to do an x ray. She had a huge tumour inside her hip and there was nothing that could be done, we decided it was kindest not to bring her round from the sedation but it was absolutely crushing. We all miss her incredibly especially my daughter who is the same age. I hope she didnt suffer too much in her final weeks but she definitely knew she was loved!

I feel for you all lets hope they are all running free together now and enjoying the after life