Hi jetred,
From your post a year ago… this is exactly the type of information I'm searching for, "I know this might not be survivable for her but I can't find any advice on how to get a dog through cancer, what to look out for, when is she truly in pain, what spindle cell does over time and when is enough for her and time to set her free."
So I am wondering, what was your plan with Luna? How did you make decisions? What information did you learn that you think is important to know about the spindle cell cancer disease process?
I have a 15 yr old girl (aussie shepard mix) who is in good spirits, enjoys slow short walks, putting her nose in the wind, eating, etc all normally. We've had two surgeries already to debulk the tumor on her rear leg. One in 2013, and the second recently in June from which she recovered well for her age. Though it returned quickly (3 mos) and larger this time. It's now an open lesion. I am both astounded and perplexed at how she acts pretty normal given this! My vet (who is a new vet to us as I just moved) initially discussed end of life decisions and then also offered amputation as an option to consider. I would so appreciate any thoughts you have and/or hear more about your story.
Thank you.
Chiomba Dayo's Unexplained incident
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Chiomba (god is good) Dayo (God has arrived)
Chiomba is a rescue and is my little princess. She's about 5 years in age and I've had her since she was about 6 months. She is the joy of my life and a huge pain. We do every thing together, from watching tv, hanging in the sun, eating breakfast, running and i even take her into the woods where we build jumps for our bikes. She is awesome! But she's a pain! She doesn't like when my girlfriend is on my lap or laying aside me in bed, so this causes an awkward moment. we live with my parents and younger brother, but she only shows this protectiveness over me. It's as if I'm only Chiomba's and no one else's. But all around i love her with all my heart!
An unexplained story….. When she was about 2 years in age i found her breathing weird and laying on the ground lifeless like. i turn my back to put what ever i had in my hands down, and when i turned to her again, she stopped breathing. I picked her up and ran to my truck with my mother in the passenger side crying while i was breaking more than the speeding laws to get Chiomba to the hospital. with in seconds of being in the car, my mother was covered in chiomba's excretions. She was dead. My mother was giving chiomba CPR on the whole ride to the hospital, and then, a blessing from God, Chiomba came back to use. After being in the Vet hospital for over 3 hours, and $4.5K later, they can't explain why she had died.
To this dayshe goes to the vet once a year some times twice. And besides a small leak in her heart, nothing has been found or thought to of caused this incident. In better news, she's a happy dog, strong, energetic and very protective of her man.... She's also excited it is getting nicer over here in NJ so she can be naked in the sun soon!
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WOW thats pretty scary! Im SO happy Chiomba is okay today…I (as well as you!) really wish you knew what it was that caused her to die like that. And you're very lucky she didn't suffer any neurological issues from that event. The scariest event I experienced with my basenji Anubis is when he had an unknown stomach issue which caused him to pass blood instead of feces and him to go unresponsive. The vet said it was HGE (google for more info...its too long to explain here). Its basically an intestinal infection....but its not Parvo. He had a 50/50 chance of living and close to $1000 later he was alright. Please post some pics Id LOVE to see your little princess
Lots of Baroos from Anubis!
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@Anubis's:
The scariest event I experienced with my basenji Anubis is when he had an unknown stomach issue which caused him to pass blood instead of feces and him to go unresponsive. The vet said it was HGE (google for more info…its too long to explain here). Its basically an intestinal infection....but its not Parvo. He had a 50/50 chance of living and close to $1000 later he was alright. Please post some pics Id LOVE to see your little princess
Lots of Baroos from Anubis!
We did that nasty HGE with Zest! at this house. Nasty, nasty stuff, but after a night in the ER and $1000+ vet bill she pulled through. The frustrating thing is that there doesn't seem to be much info on how/why/where it comes from. Mostly speculations.
I will agree that Whammo is very lucky to still have his basenji. I'm sure your quick response is the only reason Chiomba is still here.
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Hey about the feces. My princess, Chiomba Dayo, had dark feces as well. Brought her to the vet and they said it may of been blood. Some tests were done and $ was spent to find it wasn't blood but bilirubin. apparently its caused from to much stomach acid and or the liver not being able to break up fats… We were told to try a low does antacid, over the counter no name brand. This improved her feces color and her appetite! But its just one more thing to do every morning. I feel like she owns me, not the other way around.