Don't know what to do.... 12yo Boxer dog and surgery????

[3littlewomen]

Hi,

we have a much loved Boxer dog who is a huge part of our family. The kids adore her and she spends her days with me, just being and enjoying the rhythm of family life.

We were away over the early summer and were called by an emergency vet to say our dog was in a bad way, distressed and had a large liver tumour - he estimated she had days or at most a week to live. Thankfully we were due back the next day, we collected our girl and brought her home with the intention of holding her paw, continuing to love her and ensure she felt no pain. This was almost 3 months ago and she has continued to thrive, recover physically and is back to loving life.

These past few weeks, we have been mystified as to the great health of our dog, to the point were we brought her into the vet last week to see if we were doing a mis-service and infact should be looking at surgery etc... They too were shocked at how well she appeared, both in behaviour and physically. They suggested a tentative ultrasound so we could gain information and this was done today.along with blood tests.

The results strongly suggest the tumour is from the spleen, and as such if left it will kill her (could be days or weeks or months) but there is an opportunity to remove the spleen and tumour. Our girl however is old and they are very hesitant to operate on a boxer of her vintage.

AIBU to really want my girl to have this chance? They did say her blood work was fab for a dog of her vintage and with the tumour - and in fact if asked to guess her age they would think she was 8/9. Is she dies on the table, will i ever be able to forgive myself???

Such a tough decision and I'm so sorry you're faced with it.

FWIW, I wouldn't put such an old girl through it. My very healthy, very strong 10 year old large crossbreed has just has very minor surgery to remove a lump and recovery from the anaesthetic was much slower and seemed to take a lot more out of him than previous anaesthetics have. I fear a much larger, more serious operation would have taken even more of a toll.

Have the vets scanned for signs of secondary tumours? I ask because we lost a dog to cancer last year and it was only detected when it was in her lungs and quite advanced. However, it appears to have started in the spleen and then spread...there were also signs of it in the kidneys and spine by the time it was detected as cancer of the spleen is pretty symptomless. My worry would be that they remove the spleen only to find out soon after that it has spread elsewhere anyway and then the dog has suffered an operation needlessly.

It's an awful decision to have to make but, IMO, 12 is a great age for a boxer. She's had a lovely life by the sounds if it and I'd make the time she has left all about quality over quantity. But that's just me. I'm sure you'll make the right decision for your girl.

Thank you so much Badthings. The vet did a quick ultrasound check of the body and picked up no secondaries - they also said the spleen tumour was nicely encapsulated.

This dog is so so loved. She is my constant companion and we just adore and trust each other. If she does from the tumour in a few weeks would I always regret not giving her the chance.

She has had 4 surgeries in the past, and has always bounced back from the anaesthetic (aged 9ish).

Oh how awful for you all

I'm. No expert but my thoughts from what you posted are that you have been blessed with a lot of extra time that no one expected you would have, and that has given you a chance to spoil her rotten and show her even more than usual just how loved she is. 12 is a fab age and I honestly don't think I could put a dog her age through it.

You must do what you feel is best though.

YANBU to want her to have the chance, but whether she makes it through the op is not the only issue. It's also the pain and recovery period if she does.

I would be thinking very carefully and discussing with the vet about how much extra good quality time you would expect her to have with the tumour removed and whether or not it is in her best interests to take the risk and put her through it for that extra time.

So sorry, I know it is hard.

If she's insured or you can afford it, I'd get a referral to a specialist to see if there are any non-invasive treatment options.

I've found that practice vets as opposed to oncologists don't really know much about treatment options.

If that's financially not an option, then I'd just be concentrating on keeping her well and comfortable as long as possible.

I wouldn't have surgery done on a dog that old, tbh.

I mean, it's an individual decision and I wouldn't judge somebody that did, but it's not what I would do.

An update on geriatric boxer dog.....

Against the grain, but with the support of our vet, ancient boxer dog had surgery yesterday.

A 3kg foot long bowel tumor was removed and she is doing brilliant. I went up to visit last night and she was stubborn enough to insist on lying on my lap for a cuddle and hug.

The vets are in shock at what faced them when they opened her up, but she was rock solid under the anesthetic and so far they are delighted with her. We in this occasion made the right decision, though it was a very tough one - she only had days left with that huge tumor (well they couldn't believe how she was behaving as she was - totally normal).

Thank you so much for taking the time to give your opinions, all were listened to and they really made me think.

I didn't see this thread until today ,but for what its worth I would have made the decision you made , I hope your dog continues to make a good recovery .

Oh gosh, I've only just seen this thread too. Hope your girl is continuing to do well :) A 3ft long tumour is mind boggling, I'm off to google now!