What would you do for you canine best friend?

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by RGD.

Carlos -

I have just made a choice for my beagle that is very similar though not exactly as yours.

My beagle, Rusty, is now 15 years old. He has a very large benign tumor/mass on his left shoulder. He has half a dozen other small masses here and there. Over the years the vets all said - it's benign no need to worry about. In the past year the tumor grew very fast - and seems to have stopped now. I have since changed vets - and they want to remove it. It's wrapped around his shoulder and fore-leg (sp?). Estimate to remove: $2500 to $3000 - just for the surgery.

I have in the last 4/5 months spent that much treating ear infections, pink eye, large gnash on his leg and skin problems. Those are without question must treat now, don't even think about it items.

But as you are now - I questioned and have thought long and hard on having the tumors removed.

My decision is - no. I will do everything to make him comfortable and pain free - but no surgery.

Rusty is half blind - some days doesn't even know who I am until he can catch the scent. He is mostly deaf - can't hear a loud clap 4 to 5 feet away. Most mornings - such as this morning - I had to roll him over a couple of times before he would even wake up. And some times he "leaks" when sleeping. He also runs and plays, gets excited (like most beagles) when it's dinner time, lays and rolls on the tumor - and at times just generally acts like a puppy.

But the truth is - he is 15 years old. His is already at the upper end of a beagles expected life span. I will do everything to make sure he is pain free - but no surgery. I won't put him through that at this stage. Surgery is painful and recovery is painful. I know. At his age I will not add this to his life.

And he has had a great life so far. I actually got him to act as a "hearing" dog for another dog we had at the time, Bandit. Bandit lived to be 23 years old - and went deaf at around 19/20 years old. Rusty was trained from the start that when he was called to go and tug on Bandit's collar and bring him. He did an excellent job of that. Actually took longer to house train him than it did that - LOL

Every dog is different and every situation is different Carlos - but know that you are not alone in having to make this tough call. And with that - my thoughts and prayers.


Ron

Ron,

23 yrs? Amazing!!!

You can only imagine what it was like to see my buddy slit from the top of his back, right at his spine, all the way around to his chest, taking up nearly half of his body. It was not a pleasant sight. I have photos and dare not post them.

What I found amazing is their ability to heal compared to us humans. Within 10 days, the wound was totally sealed, barely showing any scabs. Three weeks later, it is a faint mark. He came home from surgery, just four hours post and was running around and chasing my grandson down.

What I can imagine at all is one option they gave me which was to open him up again, cut around the current incision and remove another large area and then sew him back up again. At this point, I say leave him alone until which time another one grows.

I guess what makes this so difficult for me is while I have had two dogs in the past, many, many years ago, the first I had to give away almost as soon as I got him. The second one was really my parents'. When I moved out and moved away, he stayed with them and I saw him seldom. These two guys I have now are what I would call my first dogs that I have had for 12 yrs on one and 13 on the other. I guess this is really the first time I am going through this and why it is so difficult. While my second one is loved as much as this one and while I am sure I will feel it when it is his time, it seems Champ will be the first for me. I have reliving so many fond memories of him as result that I perhaps would have never thought of. Those thoughts will always be with me.