Our dog, a lurcher (well whippet x jack russell) died yesterday from cancer. It has all been so quick, he had a funny turn about five weeks ago and then we discovered a lump on his side. Test results came back on Friday (took ten days!) and we were hopeful he could get on to some meds to help reduce the tumour and give him some more months. We had been told by that point it wasn't operable.

However over the weekend he took a real turn for the worse and was struggling to breath etc and then yesterday on the x-rays it showed that it had spread and he had very little lunch function left. We had to let him go.

I keep wondering if we had allowed them to do a CT scan last Tuesday they may have been able to help earlier and may have still been alive. We said no to the CT scan because we were told we would probably need to wait for the lab results to come back anyway later in the week. We thought it better to wait than put him through a CT scan he may not need. We were also a little anxious about cost because the CT was going to be £1200 and if he could be operated on the operation was going to be £3500 so we were trying to work out how best to use our money. I now feel like we made the wrong decision and he could have maybe lived for a bit longer.

He was 10.5 years old, we thought we would have him until he was around 14.

I am now sat on my own because my partner has had to go to work until 11pm.

It is hard, i hope we made the right decisions but to go from well to dead in five/six weeks is just so difficult to accept.

I don't know the purpose of this post now, i just wanted to write it.

Years ago one of my mum's,dogs had a tumour which the vet operated on to remove. 8 weeks later it returned and the dog had to be put to sleep. In hindsight my mum said she wished shed never had the operation done and the dog had had a better quality of life for the last few weeks and had been put to sleep earlier.

Sometimes there really is nothing to be done but to not have drawn out the suffering really is the best thing.

I am very sorry for you, but you done the right thing for your dog. He did not have to suffer weeks or months.
And get comfort that your dog had a good life with you.

I agree with this.

If my dog was over ten years old I would not want to put him through surgery and prolonged treatment like that without any real guarantees. Dogs do not have the same understanding as us regarding being pulled around and having to go through pain and suffering in order to be cured. All they know is that they are being pulled around and are going through pain and suffering.

The most responsible thing IMO would be to have the dog humanely put to sleep.

My sympathies gilesb.

You made the right choice.

An expression that sticks with me about letting our pets go is 'better a week too early than a day too late'

I put my poor cat through so many interventions - medications, operations, vet trips - just to extend his life. All I was doing was prolonging his death.

I still feel guilty

My dog on the other hand, hard as it was we let go without treatment. In his case, he was old (17) and the onset of symptoms caused what ever it was (tumour on the liver is vets best guess) was fast and severe (they think the 'tumour' was bleeding) so it was an easier choice to make than in your case. 10 is still 'youngish' so I can understand why you might be second guessing yourself. But please don't. For a lively Jack Russel it wouldn't have been a good life for him. Invasive surgery and crate rest to recover? With no guarantee of any real return to quality of life? Better to go out after a great life, short illness with little discomfort.

You made the right choice for your dog. But it probably doesn't feel like the right choice for you

Give yourself time to grieve. Be kind to yourself. You made the right choice. xx

Thank you everyone - I think the "what ifs" will plague me for a long time. What if we had gone back to the vet a few days earlier, what if we had the CT etc... but in the end i suppose it would only have delayed the inevitable. The speed at which this horrible cancer took over the thorax was just a speed at which very little could be done.

I am comforted by the fact he didn't appear to feel much pain, he didn't show any pain he just looked a little bit fed up. He was a lovely dog, loved by all and will be much missed but the memories will remain.

gilesb, I am so sorry.

You did the right thing for your lovely dog, never doubt that.

Unfortunately, things can take a turn for the worse very quickly in those situations and all we can do is our very best for them and sometimes that means letting them go and stopping their pain..

I had to watch my 15 year old dog put to sleep last year and it was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life, but I feel comforted that she is no longer in pain.

(Her heart was failing and it happened very quickly, woke up one morning after her being full of beans the night before and I had to whisk her off to my vet).

Please try to take comfort in the thought that you and your vet did the absolute best for your boy.

Hugs to you and a big kiss from my two doodles.

So sorry to hear this. Please don't beat yourself up with 'what ifs'.
You can't know what the outcome would have been if you had had the scan. Nor can you know if an op would just have extended pain and suffering. Sounds like it was a fast acting cancer anyway.
Take care x

So sorry about your lovely dog, but I would just echo what others have said - it is much better that you let him go without prolonging any suffering. You did what was right.

We lost our 13 year old boxer just over 3 weeks ago, it's still hard but we take comfort knowing he didn't suffer.

Thank you everyone. I have to admit i am finding it incredibly difficult, more so than i ever thought i would. I also feel so guilty that I keep bursting in to tears and my poor partner (whose dog it was for two years before we got together, i just hopped on board 8 years ago) is being very strong, so I feel like my constant tears is just making it worse. Very difficult but all your kind words are very comforting.

You are grieving, let the tears out....and don't worry, it's normal.

I hope this helps
https://rainbowsbridge.com/poem.htm
The Rainbows Bridge Poem
RainbowBridge.com Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.
When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown...

Me now
Sending you sympathy

I'm so sorry - you absolutely did the right and brave thing. You've lost a member of the family so of course you're grieving. We all grieve in our own different way and it's good that you have a supportive partner who also loved him and so can understand your feelings of loss.

Aww. I don't know what to say because I have a new pup. I still miss dogs we had in the past. It's several years now since we had three dogs and cat. They've all gone now but they are still missed. I guess after you have grieved for a while perhaps you could look towards getting a new pet. It won't replace the dog that died but will provide it's own joy.

You tried your best - Its impossible to know exactly what to do in a situation like this and at least you can tell yourself that he was cared for and loved. I tried to rescue a little feral kitten last week but then a week later had to watch while she was put to sleep - I didn't want her to be with no-one who cared while it was done but I can't stop thinking about her now and how she didn't even have a chance of a nice life. Your dog was loved and you should feel upset - my cats are like my kids (I don't have actual kids) and to me (and my wife) they mean everything...Its a bereavement for you at the end of the day...

Just a thank you for all your kind words it really has helped.

My partner and I went on holiday quite soon after Mickey died and that also helped although coming home to him not being here was very hard.

In the end we decided we wanted another dog, in many ways i was surprised at how quickly we felt that this would be a good idea and today we collected a new little puppy. We decided on a bitch and a totally different breed of dog so that there was no comparison to the much missed Mickey - we felt we had a good home for a dog and a lot of love to give so we should take another dog. Little Willow is now here, a x breed and we are not 100% sure of what the breed is. My partner is thrilled and to be honest so am i, although a little apprehensive, i know Mickey will be looking down from Rainbow Bridge wagging his tail wishing he could be here to play with Willow and glad that his death didn't, in the end, put us off loving a new dog.

Mickey was the name of a dog my dad had but I was only very young. I remember him because I named him but also he was the first dog we ever had that I remember.

Lovely piece here by Sue Perkins about her dead dog.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/201661385/A-letter-to-Pickle