Our Bullmastiff has a tumour on heart:(

[julie111]

Not a horsey post but I'm sure that lots of you own dogs. Our bullmastiff had a heart scan and biopsy yesterday, the scan showed a huge tumour and biopsy results say that it is a very aggressive tumour. Red is my husbands dog and he is devastated. Vet has said he might have a few days possibly weeks left and has prescribed him steroids to help his airways. Has anyone been in a similiar situation with their dog? I would like to add that we will not let him suffer, he will be pts but the steroids will give us a little more time to say goodbye.

 

[Charlie007]

No advice but just wanted to say how heartbreaking for you both. Huge hugs x

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I'm so sorry to hear your news.

I haven't had a dog with a heart tumour but have had a Rottweiler who took steroids for a tumour on her liver. We were warned that it was not a long-term treatment but it did give us a couple of extra weeks with her, when she seemed to be back to her normal bouncy self. Unfortunately she suddenly deteriorated one evening and had to be pts as an emergency whilst still taking the preds.

ETA there is a dog board on here - you might find that Admin move your thread to it.

 

[julie111]

No advice but just wanted to say how heartbreaking for you both. Huge hugs x

Thank you x

 

[Chestnut horse]

My Alsatian who is nine yo, was diagnosed with a tumor in August this year. My Vet was quite pessimistic and asked if I wanted to put a dog of his age through surgery. I said yes as to me he is not that old and very fit. The vet phoned me in the middle of the operation to say the tumor was attached to his kidney and it was very vascular - saying he only had a 50/50 chance. I told him to carry on and remove it. He came through the surgery and they phoned me the next morning at 8am to say he was up and moving but not eating. My son and I picked him up at 2pm and he was overjoyed to see us, cried for 3 hours when he got home. That was three months ago and he is still fit and active going out on his daily walks and visits to the stables. The tumor was cancerous so odds on it will come back, he is due for a blood test in the next few weeks to test kidney function (the one remaining, he lost the dammed tumor and a kidney). To me it was very worthwhile, I know my dog and I know he was not ready to go, I will keep a careful eye on him and if and when it grows back I will make the final decision. Don't know how old your dog is and being near the heart sounds much more difficult, has the vet given you the option of an OP? I know if I had listened to the vet I would not have gone ahead with the operation, but I listened to my gut and heart instead and Cody is still with me and very happy, it may only be another year but that is enough for me.
Good luck

 

[julie111]

I'm so sorry to hear your news.

I haven't had a dog with a heart tumour but have had a Rottweiler who took steroids for a tumour on her liver. We were warned that it was not a long-term treatment but it did give us a couple of extra weeks with her, when she seemed to be back to her normal bouncy self. Unfortunately she suddenly deteriorated one evening and had to be pts as an emergency whilst still taking the preds.

ETA there is a dog board on here - you might find that Admin move your thread to it.

Thanks, that's what I'm worried might happen if he had a bad turn in the night. We are taking turns to stay by him tho. I'm sorry you lost your dog!

 

[julie111]

My Alsatian who is nine yo, was diagnosed with a tumor in August this year. My Vet was quite pessimistic and asked if I wanted to put a dog of his age through surgery. I said yes as to me he is not that old and very fit. The vet phoned me in the middle of the operation to say the tumor was attached to his kidney and it was very vascular - saying he only had a 50/50 chance. I told him to carry on and remove it. He came through the surgery and they phoned me the next morning at 8am to say he was up and moving but not eating. My son and I picked him up at 2pm and he was overjoyed to see us, cried for 3 hours when he got home. That was three months ago and he is still fit and active going out on his daily walks and visits to the stables. The tumor was cancerous so odds on it will come back, he is due for a blood test in the next few weeks to test kidney function (the one remaining, he lost the dammed tumor and a kidney). To me it was very worthwhile, I know my dog and I know he was not ready to go, I will keep a careful eye on him and if and when it grows back I will make the final decision. Don't know how old your dog is and being near the heart sounds much more difficult, has the vet given you the option of an OP? I know if I had listened to the vet I would not have gone ahead with the operation, but I listened to my gut and heart instead and Cody is still with me and very happy, it may only be another year but that is enough for me.
Good luck

Hi, unfortunately he can't be operated on as it is so big and there are some big arteries there. I'm so pleased you still have your dog, vets don't always get it right.
Red is only 5, it's so unfair. Give your dog an extra hug tonight!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thanks, that's what I'm worried might happen if he had a bad turn in the night. We are taking turns to stay by him tho. I'm sorry you lost your dog!

Thank you, she was wonderful, a rescue as a pup and pts aged 9. She is the reason we now have 2 x 18 month old Rotties.

Best wishes to you and your dog.

 

[Sukistokes2]

What a horrid thing to have happen!
Hoping it all goes as well as it can.

 

[Chestnut horse]

So sorry, you give Red a big hug from me too - thinking of you. xx

 

[Wagtail]

I am so sorry to hear about your dog, and support your decision to PTS soon, before the cancer takes him. My biggest regret of my life with animals was when our beautiful 3 year old Pyrenean Mountain Dog got diagnosed with lymphoma and we were encouraged by the veterinary hospital to put him on chemotherapy. He was crying in pain and the chemo did give him a couple of weeks of comfort, but it returned with a vengeance so that he could not lower his head or lie down. They never admitted it but I think he was misdiagnosed and it was a very painful brain tumour and lowering his head was agony. £8 k vets fees later and they still wanted to try more treatment. We had to insist he was PTS. That dog suffered SO much! It must have been living hell for him. I so wish we had just PTS immediately on diagnosis. It pains me so much every time I think of it. I wish I could turn back the clock.

 

[julie111]

Thank you everyone! Wagtail that is horrendous! Please don't beat yourself up over it, we listen to the experts and take guidance from them when we are feeling at our most vulnerable, we also hang on to any positives they feed us. It is all the more sad when they are taken from us at such a young age!

 

[_GG_]

Wagtail, that is awful As Julie said, please don't be hard on yourself, you were taking qualified advice. We are taught to trust that advice, but sometimes it is wrong...that is not your fault.

Julie111, I am so so sorry about your dog. You have my full support in your plan and I hope a little time to get some last meaningful moments together can help you and your husband to cope xxx

 

[Ceriann]

So so sorry about your dog - I hope you have some quality time with him and have the utmost respect re your decision. It is the last "right" thing we can do for our pets. X

 

[julie111]

Thanks again for everyone's kind words, it really helps when others understand the pain we are feeling!

 

[Dizzydancer]

So sorry,
Our old Bernese mountain dog had a Tumor aroubd his heart, he lived approx 9montha after diagnosis with no medication. His was around outside of heart and basically the tumour would one day just cause his heart to stop- he was pain free and it was very peaceful he passed in his sleep.
He had a couple of emergency vet trips to drain the fluid off his chest but that was all.
My parents have just lost a Leonburger who was given days to live with kidney failure and she lived a further 9weeks so the time frame is very rough.

I hope your dog has a peaceful end when the time comes. Thinking of you and hugs to red.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

2008 I had an appointment for HD x-raying my younger dog, but during the evening before, my older dog coughed two, three times in a row, and it sounded so strange and so wrong, that I phoned the veterinarian clinic in the morning, and asked if they also had time to give Humla a checkup.

They did have time for her, and the veterinarian found a tumour that, as I recall it, was growing on/out from her heart, and it had began to make contact with her windpipe/trachea. That was why she had coughed, she had felt it, and unsuccessfully tried to cough it away.
Maybe I could have taken her home for a few days, but since she had already began to feel it, even though they couldn't say which day it would happen, the way the tumour was growing, it would have began to slowly choke her, and I just didn't want to risk letting her experience something like that, so I decided to euthanise her then and there.

It was such a shock, she was 11 and ½ years old, but she was in quite good condition, e.g. she had won a Best of Breed veteran class only about 2 weeks earlier. Even though the cough had sounded very strange, it hadn't crossed my mind for a second, that it could be anything that serious.

I'm sorry to hear that you're in a similar situation, and I hope that you, your OH and your dog, can make the most out of the extra time that the steroids gives you together. ((((((Hugs))))))

 

[julie111]

So sorry,
Our old Bernese mountain dog had a Tumor aroubd his heart, he lived approx 9montha after diagnosis with no medication. His was around outside of heart and basically the tumour would one day just cause his heart to stop- he was pain free and it was very peaceful he passed in his sleep.
He had a couple of emergency vet trips to drain the fluid off his chest but that was all.
My parents have just lost a Leonburger who was given days to live with kidney failure and she lived a further 9weeks so the time frame is very rough.

I hope your dog has a peaceful end when the time comes. Thinking of you and hugs to red.

Thank you, they can really surprise us sometimes can't they! It would be lovely if Red surprised us like that as long as he is comfortable. I am sorry for yours and your parents loss!

 

[BBH]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say how sorry I am for your situation.

I lost one of my bullmastiffs two weeks ago to a massive heart attack and know the loss , I have another one and I dread the day she passes.

They are a breed that really get under your skin. X

 

[julie111]

2008 I had an appointment for HD x-raying my younger dog, but during the evening before, my older dog coughed two, three times in a row, and it sounded so strange and so wrong, that I phoned the veterinarian clinic in the morning, and asked if they also had time to give Humla a checkup.

They did have time for her, and the veterinarian found a tumour that, as I recall it, was growing on/out from her heart, and it had began to make contact with her windpipe/trachea. That was why she had coughed, she had felt it, and unsuccessfully tried to cough it away.
Maybe I could have taken her home for a few days, but since she had already began to feel it, even though they couldn't say which day it would happen, the way the tumour was growing, it would have began to slowly choke her, and I just didn't want to risk letting her experience something like that, so I decided to euthanise her then and there.

It was such a shock, she was 11 and ½ years old, but she was in quite good condition, e.g. she had won a Best of Breed veteran class only about 2 weeks earlier. Even though the cough had sounded very strange, it hadn't crossed my mind for a second, that it could be anything that serious.

I'm sorry to hear that you're in a similar situation, and I hope that you, your OH and your dog, can make the most out of the extra time that the steroids gives you together. ((((((Hugs))))))

Thank you and sorry about your dog. His tumour isn't causing him to cough but he is getting very tired. We are hoping he will pass peacefully but are ready to take him straight to the vets!

 

[julie111]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to say how sorry I am for your situation.

I lost one of my bullmastiffs two weeks ago to a massive heart attack and know the loss , I have another one and I dread the day she passes.

They are a breed that really get under your skin. X

So sorry for your loss! They are amazing dogs, Red is a big softie, he adores everyone, he will leave a huge hole in our family. xx