Dog having surgery tomorrow...

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DVMDream

DVMDream

DVMNightmare
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My dog, Snickers, is a 13 year old border collie mix. He is having surgery tomorrow to remove a splenic tumor that we just found out about today. Keep him in your thoughts. I have had him since he was 12 weeks old.. best dog in the world!
 
Let us know when he's in recovery!! :luck:
 
I just wanted to tell you that my 12 year old lab had a splenic mass removed earlier this year and pulled through fabulously! She's still doing great, even spleen-less! Good luck and stay hopeful!😍
 
Thank you for all the well wishes.

Snickers is home and recovering. The surgery went ok. The tumor had already ruptured in his abdomen, but his gums are much pinker in color tonight. Now the next 24-48 hours will tell us if he survives the recovery.
 
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i hope he does well!!
 
I wish you and Snickers the best of luck 👍
 
:xf: Good luck to Snickers, and hope for the best DVMDream!
 
Good Luck, Snickers!! Here is to a speedy and full recovery.
 
DVMDream, not only do I hope Snickers is doing well, I hope you're getting through this okay! Snickers is very lucky to have you caring for him. Hopefully you're both pulling through this well
 
Thanks for all the well wishes! Snickers is getting better minute by minute. He has finally gotten to the point where he can lay down on his own, he is drinking well, and he is eating very small amounts of canned food every once in a while. Now, if I could just get him to take his medications that would be good.

He showed a small sign tonight that he is feeling better: He actually let out a little bark and did a slight jump when someone came to the door. 😀

I think he is going to be ok. Now to just give him the best I can for however long he has left...
 
goldielocks137 said:
DVMDream, not only do I hope Snickers is doing well, I hope you're getting through this okay! Snickers is very lucky to have you caring for him. Hopefully you're both pulling through this well
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Thanks goldielocks! I am doing ok. The worst part was having to work while his surgery was going on and watching both doctors in there working on him... It was very nerve-wracking. I have not slept well since Friday night. Hopefully, tonight I can get some more sleep since I feel like he is doing much better.
 
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That's great to hear 😀
 
DVMDream said:
Thanks for all the well wishes! Snickers is getting better minute by minute.
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I'm a little behind (sorry 'bout that) but am so happy to hear that Snickers is recovering nicely. GREAT news!!! :woot:


DVMDream said:
I think he is going to be ok. Now to just give him the best I can for however long he has left...
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Very well said. 👍👍 And I'm sure he knows how lucky he is to have such a wonderful owner and will give you the best he can in return. 🙂
 
Unfortunately, Snickers is not doing as well tonight. Early this morning he became very pale so I took him back in and they put him on IV fluids and gave him some anti-nausea meds. His PCV and TP were actually not bad at all, so they are not sure why he became so pale. He pinked up while there, but he is not really responding at all. He just lays on one side, sleeping. He will not lift his head at all. It is so sad...

The doctor thinks that he may be getting sepsis, so he has had some good antibiotic injections. It will be touch and go from here. Hopefully, we should have a pathology report back tomorrow and they will do some more bloodwork. There is a chance his liver is not functioning well. I can't keep watching him suffer though, so tonight might just be the last one I have with him; it will just be dependent upon the pathology/bloodwork.

🙁 :cry:
 
Sorry to hear that, DVMDream. Hopefully the pathology report and bloodwork come back clean tomorrow
 
I am so sorry to hear this. I will keep you both in my thoughts and will be hoping for a good and quick turn around. Fingers crossed for clean path report!
 
So this morning Snickers looked awful. He could no longer get up on his own, he started having moments where he would wake up and kind of flail around. It was heartbreaking to watch. I had made the decision to just put him out of his pain. I dropped him off at the clinic I work at this morning and my dad was heading up there to be with him while they put him down. When my dad go there, the doctor told him that the tumor was NOT cancer!!! 😱 I am still in shock, that tumor was ugly and had looked like it had spread. Not only that, but there was only a 25% chance that the tumor was not cancerous.

The doctor really thinks he just has a massive infection and that is why he can't get up and looks so poorly. So plans have changed. He is staying on more IV fluids and getting LOTS of IV antibiotics. The prognosis is still grim... only a 25% chance he will pull through. But, he beat the odds once already and I can not put him down without giving him a chance to fight. So, I am still in the battle; hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. I know that if things continue to go south with him that I will not let him suffer, but I am going to give him a fighting chance first.
 
DVMDream said:
But, he beat the odds once already and I can not put him down without giving him a chance to fight. So, I am still in the battle; hoping for the best but prepared for the worst. I know that if things continue to go south with him that I will not let him suffer, but I am going to give him a fighting chance first.
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I admire your decision-making. Seems like Snickers has a great owner.
 
Good luck. Saying a prayer for you and Snickers. I know how hard this is. I had to put my little girl, Corky, down just over a year ago due to cancer. She held on 6 months longer than they thought she would but I eventually had to let her go and it still hurts. But one day we'll play again at the rainbow bridge.

So I guess what I'm saying is I'm praying for the best but if the worst happens please know that Corky will be up there keeping Snickers company until we're there to play.

(And I'm shutting up now cause I'm tearing up...)
 
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Oh no, poor doggie. 🙁 Fingers crossed. I can only imagine how stressful this is for you.

Yeah splenic masses can be really tricky. Sometimes it is just a big hemangioma or cavernous nodular hyperplasia, and you can't tell the difference between that and a hemangiosarcoma or lymphoma or whatever until you do pathology - so the decision to take it out was a very good one. Even benign tumors can still rupture and cause massive internal bleeding. Don't get worried that it wasn't a necessary surgery.
 
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DVMDream said:
I know that if things continue to go south with him that I will not let him suffer, but I am going to give him a fighting chance first.
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I didn't bring this up earlier because I didn't want to jinx the thread, but we put our 13yr old lab Daisy down last February because of a huge splenic mass. To be honest, we could have removed it and pulled her through the recovery but to me, I'd rather remember her as the happy dog she was rather than frail and old and just fighting to stay alive without enjoying anything. Thirteen isn't bad for a Lab, either.

I don't at all condemn your decisions, so please don't take it that way. I think it's important for owners to know when to let go - one of the reasons I hated SA was because so many owners were so selfish (not saying you are!) and wanted something like to have their 15yo Golden with cancer all over the place go through chemo, etc....It's just not nice. Again, not at all saying you did the wrong thing - I'm glad you'll evaluate again soon. I hope it all works out :xf:
 
Oh no, poor hon. We (well,my folks, since I am in another state) just had to put down our family dog, 15 year old Border Collie, and its rough on us too, so I know, at least somewhat, how it feels - PM if you need an ear to vent.
 
I'm sorry DVMDream. 🙁

I know all of us have lost animals that are important to us. It's gonna hurt - there is nothing you can do but give yourself time to heal. You'll miss him everyday and I'm sorry. :*(
 
Hey DVMDream, so sorry to hear that. I know how you are feeling, having had similar moments with our various cats dating back a decade. Try to take care of yourself now, it's a vulnerable time.
 
I was really hoping to ready good news when I opened this up. I'm so sorry! I second those who said that we've all lost pets that we loved dearly and it's NEVER easy. It's hard and it sucks.

I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.
 
I'm so sorry DVM. Hurts like hell but it does get easier to compartmentalize it a little, well a lot, later. You are in my prayers.
 
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I am sorry to read this DVMDream🙁. I know that there are no words to ease the pain of your loss, I will only hope that it will do so in due time.
 
I am very sorry for your loss, DVMDream. Take care of yourself at this vulnerable moment. You are in my prayers.
 
I am so, so sorry. But you did all you could and cared for Snickers the best possible way. A lot of owners don't realize when it's time to let a pet go, and you gave Snickers a shot to pull through. I know this is tough, but try to focus on all the good times you had with him and not how tough it was at the end. Again, I'm really sorry for you and your family DVMDream.
 
🙁 DVMDream, I am so sorry to hear of Snicker's passing.
 
🙁

So sorry for your loss. Sounds like Snickers couldn't have had a more compassionate owner and probably had a wonderful life.

*hugs*
 
Thank you all for your condolences. They mean a lot. As hard as it was to make the decision to put him down; I am relieved that he is no longer suffering. The doctor did bloodwork on him after they set up the IV fluids and antibiotics to find out that his kidneys were failing and his liver enzymes were so high they could not even be registered. At that point I knew it was time. I feel comfort in knowing that I gave him every shot at fighting this, but in also knowing that I stopped his suffering before it became any worse.

He will be missed, very much. The tears have been cried and only time will ease the pain; it already is. I know he is happy and healthy again running around on Rainbow Bridge... having a blast with all of the other doggies that went before him.

Again, thank you all for your condolences. In an awkward way I am relieved that this is over, relieved that he is feeling so much better.
 
So sorry DVMDream for your loss. At least Snickers is in a better place now with no pain. Unfortunately only time (as you know) will make it easier for you.

I really hope you get off the Mississippi waitlist...you deserve to be the first off!!! 🙂
 
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