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My buddy has nasal tumor - how do you know when it's time?

5K views 55 replies 23 participants last post by  sterling18 
#1 ·
As I'm sitting here watching my beloved faithful pup dose on and off. I can't stop tearing and sobbing throughout the day knowing his time is extremely short. I've got a vet visit in the morning with him to check on his weight and see how he's doing. He's been having nose bleeds the last 8 weeks on and off. He got a biopsy and a CT scan to confirm he's got a tumor growth of the nasal passage. They told me it was inconclusive. They couldn't get a proper sample, only thing they can identify is inflammatory cells. Said, they could put him under again to obtain a better sample. I am not going to risk it.

He's a beautiful golden at a young age of 11. His name is Scout. Sometimes we call him Scout Beast, because he's such a beast. So full of life and nothing he would try to eat. Master thief when it comes to food. Over the years, we've learned to keep stuff way high to keep him safe. He's great at hand shakes.

He's been battling nasel carcinoma (we believe) and the growth has been kept in check with prednisone. He is on tramadol / and carprofin (dropped as soon as we went to prednisone) for his degenerative spine which he's dealt with the last 12 months. We've added an herbal component to his regiment. He's been having a tough time doing his favorite thing, eating. Because of the lack of smell, even a raw diet is unappealing. For some reason, he's still working throughout the day on his grain free kibble. He'll snack on it when he can.

His behavior has slightly altered. He's still pretty alert, but he's sleeping away from us lately. Normally, he's on my side at the foot of the bed. Sometimes, he might roam to my wife's side.

Today, I took him on a walk around the neighborhood. He was kinda fearful after awhile and lost his footing twice. I'll see if he wants to go again tomorrow but he was glad to go into the garage. Normally he would be pulling me to go out.

The growth is slightly blocking his view on his left side.

He's been a faith companion since we first brought him home. He has so much love to give and ask for nothing in return. He's been excellent with the kids and watched over them diligently throughout the years. We've traveled over 2500 miles on the move and he took the car ride like a champ.

He hasn't found a snow patch he didn't love diving in.

He's never ran off when he escapes from the yard when he was younger. He's always sits on the fronts steps to be let in. He hates being alone. He's like my shadow. Sleeps at the side my bed.

He's been struggling to sleep lately because his breathing is keeping him up. He's tired. He sleeps a bit and pops back up to breath and then sleeps again.

He's got good day and hard days.

All his doctors have been great. We've been treated like family throughout this ordeal.

I won't do radiation or chemo because I don't want his last days to be in pain and agony just because we can extend his life. So we're keeping him comfortable and loved as much as possible.

I do know he would gladly do it just to stay with us. He's that type of friend.

Getting him to take meds is becoming difficult but we think we might have cracked that. He's started to do his usual begging at the dinner table again the last day or so. We've been able to hand feed him some food we set aside just for him with his meds in it. Let's hope he hasn't caught on.

His current regiment is;

Prednisone twice a day. We've noticed an uptick in his water consumption. We've also noticed his back legs are getting weaker.
Tramadol twice a day. He's been taking that for his back.
Chlorpheniramine twice a day. Hoping to keep the histamine in check. He snout and face swelled up recently and the vet told us to goto the local pharamacy to pick that up.
Azithromycin twice a week incase of infection.

For his nose bleeds - we've started him on Yun Nan Bai Yao. Two pills twice a day. We believe it's slowed things down. He still has a lot of mucus discharge, but we just wipe it for him.

He loves his K9 Immunity Plus. Three in the morning and three in the evening.

He gets something called Bone Renewal due to bone loss in his nose due to the tumor.

When he's willing to take it, he gets CoQ10. Boost his natural immunity.

On his bad days, we struggle to give him just his western medicine. On his good days we can get him to take his eastern medicine too.

I want to do what's best for him but every day I feel even more helpless with caring for him.

edit to add - my appologies on being a long time reader and first time poster.
 
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#3 ·
Sterling



Sterling: My heart is breaking for you and Scout. I completely agree with what Pilgrim wrote.
For my dogs, whenever we know there is no hope we don't want them to go through anymore pain.
It's a decision we all have to make, because we love them so much.
Praying for Scout.
 
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#5 ·
I am soooooo sorry for you and your sweet Scout :( . I came to this forum just about 1 year ago with the exact same question. My 9YO golden Cosmo had just been diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer. I was beside myself and shell shocked! I highly recommend as Pilgrim123 recommended reading "Better a day too soon than a day too late". All I can say is if you listen to your dog you will know when its the right time. My Cosmo stopped eating even his favorite foods and was extremely restless and finally looked at me one day and I swear he was telling me "its OK mom to let go". He had always been there for me I knew I needed to do this for him. Then NEVER expecting to be in the exact same situation 2 months later with my 12YO golden Harley :(. Take a deep breath, spoil Scout with all his favorite foods, take him to all his favorite places and tell him how much he's meant to you and how much you love him. Trust yourself and when its time you'll know :( . If we didn't love them so much it wouldn't hurt so much. Praying for you and Scout.
 
#6 ·
Your post was heart renching. I'm sure most of us, have been in your shoes. It's obvious, how much you love Scout. I have waited one day too long, once and I still regret it. Having said that, when my last Golden was in kidney failure, I promised him, as long as he wanted to be here and had quality of life, I would be there for him. I knew, when the light went out of his eyes, it was time. He let me know and if I had it to do all over again, I would do the same thing. I am so sorry for your pain. Hugs and prayers for Scout.
 
#7 ·
Thank you Lynn and everyone else.

Yes, I kept the thought of "Better a day too soon than a day too late" in my heart and in my head while at the vet today.

I guess when I asked her the same question, and mind you she loves him and has cared for him over the years, saw him through a couple of major procedures, she said "he's willing to stay with you as long as you need him, he loves you that much" (not the other way around), my heart broke. I barely kept it together.

He's staying for me, probably concealing his discomfort to give me a few more moments, I couldn't help but start to make arrangements.

We're scheduled for any day this weekend and she will come personally to be with him and us.

I've got a business trip that I can't reschedule midweek (single over nighter - but the family will be here with him) but I will be taking the last two days off to spend with him. Even if it's just having him rest on my lap while he sleeps. Every meal will be directly from the dinner table. He will be fixed a plate. Tummy rubs and head to head rubs.

One of my favorite silly sayings I've come across is "If you are not a Golden, you are just a dog" - or "A house is not a home without a Golden".

Our vet is very kind. She helped me make some of the general arrangments. He will be coming home permanently after this ordeal.
 
#8 ·
Your post broke my heart as I read it in tears. So many of us here have been where you are now. It is a gut wrenching decision to have to make but, as others have posted, better a day too soon than a day too late. In my case I knew it was time when my girl could no longer do the things that gave her joy because of the pain. We bring them into our lives with a promise to do what is best for them...even if, at the end, letting them go breaks our hearts. I am so sorry. My thoughts are with you.
 
#9 ·
Oh my goodness, your post about Scout made me cry. I am so sorry that you and your family are going though this with your sweet baby. Having gone through this with two previous dogs, it is gut wrenching trying to figure out how to navigate. It sounds like you have an awesome vet. My old vet was not as helpful, and didn't make home calls, so I used a doggie hospice provider to help me with these decisions. It is heartbreaking. Sending my thoughts and prayers your way. <3
 
#14 ·
I'm so sorry to hear about your beloved Scout. This is what we've learned to do. On a calendar draw a smiley face on his good days, a straight mouth face for ok days, and a frown for the bad days. When there are more frown face then good and ok days, that should help you know when it is time. As pet parents, we tend to not realize how they are doing on a day to day basis. Visually seeing it helps a lot. I hope you both have great days together in the future. Dogs live in the moment and want us happy.
 
#15 ·
Thank you for the kinds thoughts and prayers. He had a pizza dinner tonight. Two helpings. We plated him a plate at the table. He was thrilled. Cut up his food since he can no longer chomp and go to town. Poor guy kinda knew what it was, but when hand fed, he was thrilled. He so wanted to sniff his food.

We concealed his western meds in the crust so he was ok taking those. I didn't want to stop his pain pills or the steroids that's been keeping him moving. We've stopped the eastern herbal meds Not worth over doing with the meds only to give him an upset belly. I want him to be thrilled with his food and enjoy it.

Since it was Halloween, he even got a few woof woof bellows out to those trick or treaters.

He's snoozing and seems pretty content now. I'm going to let him just sleep where he lays.
 
#19 ·
Pizza, :) Scout you have a wonderful family with you, and it's good to have a bit of a bark at those tricker-treaters...

Sterling
Just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and Scout and your family and sending prayers for comfort and strength. Scout is in your loving care and in the kind stewardship of your vet. My heart goes out to you at this difficult time and I hope that knowing others are supporting you will be of some help.
 
#20 ·
Pizza, :) Scout you have a wonderful family with you, and it's good to have a bit of a bark at those tricker-treaters...

Sterling
Just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and Scout and your family and sending prayers for comfort and strength. Scout is in your loving care and in the kind stewardship of your vet. My heart goes out to you at this difficult time and I hope that knowing others are supporting you will be of some help.
Karen,

Thank you and everyone else for the comforting words and prayers.

This morning after the kids lunch sandwiches were made, he got his share of oven roasted chicken wheat sandwich bites. I'm going to let his tummy rest (most of his life it was like an empty pit that couldn't be filled), and let him graze on his favorite kibbles throughout the day.

btw, Karen your Merry has a very similar look to Scout in that picture. Scout is what I call a leggy blond. I think somewhere in his line there was a poodle in somewhere. But his mom and dad was your typical Golden. He is the child of Misty Slushy and Rovers Tiller. I don't know how many brothers or sisters he has. He does have an adopted little brother who's a miniature schnauzer. He's been pretty good to Scout. Always wanted to play with him as with him getting older this kept him active.
 
#21 ·
Tonight was a good night, he enjoyed a couple of slices of pork loin and mix veggies plate. Spent the afternoon moving his tail every time he got scratched behind the ear from what the kids told me. He's content. Still has that spark in his eyes. He's such a brave dog. The tumor has gotten slightly bigger on him. But not a whimper, just a big old smile when I got home. My oldest taking it pretty hard. My middle is either good at hiding it or dealing with it differently. My youngest, she's not going to know or understand until it's time. I don't know how she will react, but Scout loves her the most as he's watched over her since the day she was born. He's always been protective of her.

He's currently getting a belly run while I hen peck away.

Good night all.

edit to add - maybe I'll use this thread to keep a log of Scout.
 
#22 ·
The people here are such wonderful folks. We all feel some level of sadness when we read the story of a lost close friend, and how the last few months, weeks, days and hours went by. This is a special time for you and Scout. I know you will treasure each day, each wag of that fluffy tail, and every look from those beautiful brown eyes. He's your dog. He's your buddy, and you are his.

Dogs die in funny ways. Sometimes "we" know and sometimes we don't, when it's the right time.

And sometimes, very often, we don't get to decide. Fate, time, and the disease decides for us. Don't assume, ever, that there will be another day, that you will get to decide when the time is right. Hug him every night before bed.

Here's hoping that the days that remain are mostly happy ones!
 
#23 ·
Scout crossed the rainbow bridge this evening. He was surrounded by his family and departed very peacefully. He was tired so this rest was well deserved. I believe all his ailments are gone. His back pain is gone, his nose works again and can smell, and his eye site is sharp again.

My apologies for not updating the thread. Between my work travel and he had more needs that cropped up the last couple of days, it's been busy.

His last couple of meals included his favorite dessert, Bowl of Vanilla Ice Cream.

Thank you, everyone for your support, prayers and well wishes.
 
#27 ·
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#29 ·
I'm so sorry for your loss. Your sweet Scout is running and playing with all the other Goldens now. RIP Scout
 
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#30 ·
I woke up this morning expecting him to roll off this back (favorite sleeping position) and walk to the kitchen to be let out. I for some reason went through and walked to the kitchen and got a treat while walking out there about to open the door. I stood there waiting for the click clack of his nails on the floor until I realize I wasn't going to see that.

This hurts. When or how does it stop?
 
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