On 1/19/2007
Roupii wrote:
Dear Pet Owners:
I am the owner of a 12 yr old Austraslian Shepherd mix. His name is Boomer. He was diagnosed with transition cell carcinoma (bladder cancer I believe) this past spring. I have been all over the internet trying to get more information on this disease. It is like you have all said the hardest thing for a pet owner to do, is watch their pet suffer. I just would like to know how or when it will be time. He has been on Piroxicam for 3 mnths. He has no apetite for dog food unless there is a treat or people food mixed in with it. He is lethargic an needs to pee about every 2 hrs.
He is also having problems with his bowel movements. Otherwise he seems ok, with the exception that he vomitted today. I just would like some advice as to what the symptoms are during their last days. I, like everyone else do not want my dog to suffer. Also if there are any other support groups/books we can look into to help ease the pain (for us). He has been like a child to me for 12 years. I am going to be crushed when he goes to sleep in my arms forever.
Thanx Rhea & Boomie
Dear Rhea,
I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis you and your beloved Boomer had to experience. I well remember the day we heard the same news about our also 12 year old Oggie, an otherwise healthy terrier mix (mystery breed - she was dumped from a car - their cruel stupidity ; our wonderful luck!)
Oggie was diagnosed in January of 2000. The tumor was about 1 cm (which the vet said was considered large), located on the "neck" of the bladder, and was technically transitional cell bladder cancer. We were advised to put her on one course of antibiotic for any infection there might be, and piroxicam to alleviate the bladder irritation.
(I can't actually remember everything the piroxicam, also known as feldene - a human arthritis drug - is supposed to do for canine bladder cancer. I actually found your message while looking up info on piroxicam to see if it would help my parents' 14 year old fox terrier's incontinence.)
With this regime we were given a prognosis of about nine months of life. We found the best dog cancer vet in the area, who told us about the various chemo and radiation options available. She said it was possible we could extend her life with more treatment, and so we picked three sessions of mitoxantrone. She had no bad effects from the chemo (dogs do better on chemo than humans we were told, and this particular drug is supposed to be esp. mild as far as side effects). Unfortunately, as both vets had warned us, our precious girl stayed with us almost exactly nine months to the day.
You wanted to know what the symptoms were like at the end: we found a vet early on to "stand by" so we could have her sent to dog heaven without going to any scary vet offices. The piroxicam helped alleviate the constant need to pee problem that seemed to really bother her in the beginning. We had a good last nine months, with walks and good appetite, good comfort. We wanted to make sure she didn't suffer, so watched for any signs of pain. Finally one afternoon she vomited what looked like coffee grounds - the classical appearance of blood in the vomitus. The rest of the evening she "hid" under a table in the living room and whimpered a litle. We took her to the after hours vet at our clinic who did ultrasound or xray which seemed to show a rupture starting in the stomach. We declined euthanasia which was recommended and stayed up with her all night at home to be with her and try to figure out if it was her time to go. She wanted to kind of hide behind the toilet (dogs seem to find comfort in bathrooms - during thunderstorms etc - vets think it's the cool floors and fixtures and little "den" size of most bathrooms).
Towards morning she made her first clear sounds of pain so we took her to our vet just as they were opening, and he came out to the car so she could go to dog heaven directly from her favorite place. He gave her a sedative and then when she was very sleepy, a very quick injection of whatever it is they use. He urged me to kiss her quickly, as it really is as quick as one breath, with no distress whatsoever for the dog. But any human along for the ride should have someone strong along to help the vet take the pup from that point while you turn your back to not see her leave. That's the one sight I wish I had not seen - the lifting out of the car etc. Other than that it went as peacefully as could be. On the way to the vet we stopped in a drive'thru and bought a hamburger and sausage patty for Oggie (who LOOOOOVED to eat) and were rewarded with tail wags and delighted sniffing of the food which made the trip much easier to bear. We realized the time was right -- she was too ill to be able to eat anymore, but not suffering so that she was too distressed to show any interest in food.
You are too far away from needing this kind of advice so I hope I haven't upset you too much. I will add just one thing that comforts me so much, and that is saving locks of my pets' hair along with their collars. I even find stuffed toy animals that look like them and put their collars on them but that may be too wacky for you! I've heard of some people who make paw prints to save with their mementos and I think that's a nice idea too. Keeping piles of photos around to look at is incredibly helpful too. I sent a bereavement notice out and was very comforted by the cards and notes I received from Oggie's many fans.
The one other thing I should impress upon you from my experience is that I decided to take Oggie to a naturopathic vet after the chemo didn't shrink the tumor. He told me that there were things I could have done if I had not done the chemo, but that the chemo had made these natural remedies impossible. It just depends on how each person and their dog feels about taking a lot of pills and potions with a restricted diet, as naturopathic regimes for cancer can be pretty extreme. So even though we did it the way we did, I don't regret the chemo. I think that way she had much less disruption to her life. Some dogs may not mind but Miss Oggie definitely hated to be pilled. We did do several homeopathic things through the naturopathic vet but I can't tell you whether or not they made any difference. The ones I did were non-invasive and tasteless kinds of nutritional and immune boosters. I won't look them up for you as it was 7 years ago and there are probably other and better treatments by now.
I know a lot of people whose pets have cancer say acupuncture is great, but the one time I tried it it was a horrible fiasco, with Oggie crying out more than I've ever heard her. The guy was supposed to be very good, so I don't know what the story was there. I'd say look into it though as I've heard so much good about it. We may have just had a bad day. Oggie did also cry during the ultrasound, so she may have been "complaining" rather than been in real pain, but she sounded like she was really hating it!!
We have a new rescue pup now, also an Aussie mix, 7 mo old Luna. We are looking in her eyes and are just about ready to conclude that Oggie has come back to us in Aussie form. Something about the way she eyes our food and actually "borrows" food off our plates...
My very best to Boomie and to you. I hope you find the best vet around and that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Vivia Boe, Seattle