Comments on: I Can See The End, But I Am Not Ready

By: Donna

Donna — Fri, 29 May 2009 17:53:35 +0000

Our family is currently dealing with, barely, the decisions to be made regarding our dog Max. He has a mouth cancer. It was small when removed surgically and grew back in two weeks to an enormous size. He is strong, comfortable, happy to be with family, but the growth is growing and it will take away his ability to eat etc. We know what is coming but can’t stand to think of it. Max is a German Shepherd mix – probably with Husky. He is 1 month shy of turning 16. He has been a great dog. Our three girls 27,21 and 18 have grown up with him. We just keep wishing that this little bump in the mouth wasn’t bringing this otherwise energetic pups life to an end. This is the hard part. We took him on a picnic last week – he loved being at the lake. We took him for a last boat ride this past weekend – his other favorite thing to do. He is being spoiled with meals. What does an old dog get to eat “anything he wants”. Your words and advise have helped. Donna

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:53:29 +0000

It has been three months now since I lost Hunter. She was taking chemotherapy for internal mast cell tumors. She went in for an IV
treatment and then the oncologist told me that she wanted to keep her overnight for a blood transfusion. At 10:00 PM they called to say that she had gone into cardiac arrest. They revived her. I had questions but the attending vet (not her oncologist who was not present) was busy and cut me off. He told me that everything was fine and with that got off the phone. At 4:00 AM they called again to say that she had suffered a fatal heart attack.
I have lived with the guilt and anger of not forcing them to speak to me or having me see her. It was all so calculated and logical on the clinic’s part. The attending vet never expressed any compansion.

By: gary goodwin

gary goodwin — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:37:47 +0000

Can you do a blog post for those of us who have lost our dog suddenly during treatment for cancer? We lost our sweet girl three weeks ago as we arrived at vet heart clinic to get her a pacemaker. She was just being checked and she crashed. This was following two rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. We had no idea that we were going to lose her so suddenly. Sudden loss must be different than anticipated loss.

Thanks.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:35:57 +0000

This is exactly what I needed! My Emma, who is a 9 year old Great Dane, has Lymphosarcoma. She was in remission for about 6 months, but is now out of remission. I am still following her oncologist’s instructions to manage her cancer, however, I was told that time is maybe 3 – 4 months. My brain feels so scrambled since those first words confirmed my fears, but I look forward to sharing this special time with my precious girl. She is such a blessing!
Thank you Dr. D for this wonderful suggestion!

By: Sharon Festa

Sharon Festa — Tue, 19 May 2009 23:15:31 +0000

We,too, recently lost our beloved pet, Sammy. He had cancer all through his body. Each night, I had a routine w/him. I would turn off the lights for bed, sit on the floor by my bed w/Sammy’s head in my lap. This became such an awesome time for both of us that now that he is gone, I am grateful I did this for the both of us. He slept on our bed w/our other dog, Luke, but when he became so sick (my husband built stairs for him but near the end didn’t have the strength to go up them) he slept on the floor next to me each night. How strange it was that while I was taking care of Sammy, our other dog would lay at the end of the bed, head between his paws & listen to me. He never became jealous or anxious. He was truly giving us our space. Now that Sam is gone, Luke is a different doggie. He still continues to look in the bedrooms for him,look when we walk in the door, etc. How hard it must be because we cannot tell these precious animals what has happened to their companion/best friend. My Sammy went thru so much w/me in my life I just didn’t want him to leave me. I still miss him w/all of my heart. We now have Luke who is 12 yrs. old & is being showered w/attention. When they leave us, it is devastating. However, even knowing what is ahead, I can never be w/o my faithful & loyal friend, & once again those big brown eyes will look at me & I again will melt and bring him home.

By: Beth Thoma Robinson

Beth Thoma Robinson — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:40:30 +0000

Thanks for this post. We lost our dog Krishna to osteosarcoma a few months ago. Our vet had us do an abbreviated version of this as we sat with Krishna for the last time. We petted him and told him what a great job he’d done in this lifetime, and when we were complete we nodded at her that we were ready to let him go. It was incredibly beautiful and helpful.