Hi everyone. I'm trying to gather information. Please bear with me if I
ramble a bit... I"m distraught.

We took our oldest dog in to the vet's today for her annual check-up and
shots. For the last week, she hasn't been eating as she should (about 1/4
of what she usually eats). She is about ten (is a rescue dog, so we don't
know exactly). Overall, she has enjoyed good health, although she had
bladder stones a couple of years ago. She is a golden mix.... possibly with
some border collie.

The vet initially found two peanut sized masses in her neck. She then felt
the abdomen, and when she got to the very back, our dog yelped and jerked
around toward her. Since Missy is usually a very sedate dog, this alarmed
the vet a bit; she knew she really must have hurt her. She said we should
do an ultrasound, because it appeared that the bladder stones may be back.

We left Missy for a couple of hours, and when we returned, our vet invited
us back to the exam room, where we watched about 25 minutes of ultrasound.
The vet explained that she went to look at the bladder and found that the
bladder was pushed out of the way by Missy's spleen, which is about five
times the normal size. There are many, many large hypoecholic areas
throughout the spleen -- probably about 20. The liver is a bit smaller than
usual. The bladder did show some calcified areas (bladder stones) and 1/2
of the bladder wall was signficantly thickened. The vet had aspirated the
two lumps in the neck: one only showed fatty tissue (she said she probably
didn't go deep enough), the other showed strange fibrous cells that she
couldn't identify. She's sending the tissue to the lab, along with a
urinalysis and blood work.

A little background he prior to our marriage, my husband had a Golden
that was his "baby". The dog developed lymphoma at the age of 4. My
husband was devastated. He actually borrowed several thousand dollars to
provide a couple of different kinds of chemotherapy for the dog... but the
dog died anyway. This vet watched him through all of this.

The vet referred to the other dog today. She also indicated that she didn't
want to say anything, because she remembers what it was like for my husband
during those months.

I'm glad she is sensitive to my husband's needs... but I'm a different kind
of person. I need to know what it could be, what the odds are... all of
that. The office was closed when we left, and so I didn't get to talk to
her afterward. I went on the web, but my knowledge in this area is so
limited, I'm afraid I'm scaring myself, possibly needlessly. I see
references to lymphoma, and to histiocystic sarcoma... but maybe I'm reading
it wrong.

If anyone has any information they can provide me, I'd greatly appreciate
it. The lab work is supposed to come back Monday night, but I'm kind of
going crazy here, and would like to get as much information as I can.

Thanks in advance for any direction you can give me.

Sheila

All I can give you is some support, no real info. Maybe your husband will
remember back to the other dog and how things were drawn out so. Sometimes
the best gift you can give is helping them pass without discomfort.

"George Moran" wrote in message
news:SvSje.12242$6d.9216@trnddc04...
Hi everyone. I'm trying to gather information. Please bear with me if I
ramble a bit... I"m distraught.

We took our oldest dog in to the vet's today for her annual check-up and
shots. For the last week, she hasn't been eating as she should (about 1/4
of what she usually eats). She is about ten (is a rescue dog, so we don't
know exactly). Overall, she has enjoyed good health, although she had
bladder stones a couple of years ago. She is a golden mix.... possibly
with
some border collie.

The vet initially found two peanut sized masses in her neck. She then
felt
the abdomen, and when she got to the very back, our dog yelped and jerked
around toward her. Since Missy is usually a very sedate dog, this alarmed
the vet a bit; she knew she really must have hurt her. She said we should
do an ultrasound, because it appeared that the bladder stones may be back.

We left Missy for a couple of hours, and when we returned, our vet invited
us back to the exam room, where we watched about 25 minutes of ultrasound.
The vet explained that she went to look at the bladder and found that the
bladder was pushed out of the way by Missy's spleen, which is about five
times the normal size. There are many, many large hypoecholic areas
throughout the spleen -- probably about 20. The liver is a bit smaller
than
usual. The bladder did show some calcified areas (bladder stones) and 1/2
of the bladder wall was signficantly thickened. The vet had aspirated the
two lumps in the neck: one only showed fatty tissue (she said she
probably
didn't go deep enough), the other showed strange fibrous cells that she
couldn't identify. She's sending the tissue to the lab, along with a
urinalysis and blood work.

A little background he prior to our marriage, my husband had a Golden
that was his "baby". The dog developed lymphoma at the age of 4. My
husband was devastated. He actually borrowed several thousand dollars to
provide a couple of different kinds of chemotherapy for the dog... but the
dog died anyway. This vet watched him through all of this.

The vet referred to the other dog today. She also indicated that she
didn't
want to say anything, because she remembers what it was like for my
husband
during those months.

I'm glad she is sensitive to my husband's needs... but I'm a different
kind
of person. I need to know what it could be, what the odds are... all of
that. The office was closed when we left, and so I didn't get to talk to
her afterward. I went on the web, but my knowledge in this area is so
limited, I'm afraid I'm scaring myself, possibly needlessly. I see
references to lymphoma, and to histiocystic sarcoma... but maybe I'm
reading
it wrong.

If anyone has any information they can provide me, I'd greatly appreciate
it. The lab work is supposed to come back Monday night, but I'm kind of
going crazy here, and would like to get as much information as I can.

Thanks in advance for any direction you can give me.

Sheila

Sometimes you just can't heelp murderin a dog, eh zpl?

"George Moran" wrote in message
news:SvSje.12242$6d.9216@trnddc04...
The vet initially found two peanut sized masses in her neck. She then
felt
the abdomen, and when she got to the very back, our dog yelped and jerked
around toward her.
snip
The vet explained that she went to look at the bladder and found that the
bladder was pushed out of the way by Missy's spleen, which is about five
times the normal size.

............did they run any bloodwork? If not, you'll need to have that
done - CBC and full chemistry panel.

........spleens can be removed. What you do depends on what is going on and
you don't have enough information yet.
snip
She's sending the tissue to the lab, along with a
urinalysis and blood work.
snip
The lab work is supposed to come back Monday night, but I'm kind of
going crazy here, and would like to get as much information as I can.

.............It's tough contemplating possible cancer, but all I can tell you
is to not try to drive yourself crazy until you have all the facts. It
either is or it isn't and cancers vary enough that what kind it is and how
healthy your dog is makes all the difference in what you may or may not do
about it.

........First you need all the facts. Then you need to ask about possible
treatments and question the vet closely on possible outcomes of these
treatments. Chemotherapy, BTW, doesn't necessarily cure, but sometimes
extends the life of the dog.

..........Between now and Monday, hug your dog, and like your dog get up
every day eager to greet the sun and breakfast.........Please come back when
you have lab results and we'll go from there.

my sympathies are with you - been there more than once

buglady
take out the dog before replying

"buglady" wrote in message
nk.net...
.........Between now and Monday, hug your dog, and like your dog get up
every day eager to greet the sun and breakfast.........Please come back
when
you have lab results and we'll go from there.

my sympathies are with you - been there more than once

Got back from the vet. The bloodwork had some abnormalities, but nothing
that definitively said what was going on. The cytology report came in too.
The vet had said that she didn't think that what she was aspirating was a
lymph node... it didn't feel like it. The lab, however, said it *was* from
a lymph node, although the cells were abnormal. Given the entire clinical
picture, it looks like it might be lymphoma.

We have an appointment with the internist/oncologist Wednesday morning.
They will do a more complete ultrasound, and probably do a needle biopsy of
the spleen and any other organs that look suspect. At least we'll know one
way or another.

We are taking her up to our mountain cabin this weekend. It is her favorite
place in the world.

Thanks for the words of support. I'll report back once we know what is
going on.

Sheila



buglady
take out the dog before replying

"George Moran" wrote in message
news:Gotke.8872$6d.5003@trnddc02...
Given the entire clinical
picture, it looks like it might be lymphoma.

........I'm so sorry.

We are taking her up to our mountain cabin this weekend. It is her
favorite
place in the world.

........good for you; hope she feels well enough to enjoy it.

buglady
take out the dog before replying