I'm seeking urgent advice on whether to subject my dog to
surgery or not. I live in a remote part of India where there
are only a few vets in government service and no private ones.
The system of pet health care is still quite rudimentary if
not downright primitive. While most of the vets are basically
nice people, they are concerned mostly with routine care of
farm animals.

My dog P.J. is 3 1/2 years old, a medium-sized cross-breed who
weighed a little over 60 lbs when healthy. On the 10th of last
month (May), I noticed a slight bulge on his right side. It
didn't go away and in fact grew in size over the next few
days. So on the third day I took him to the only veterinary
hospital in town. The doctor did some poking and simply told
me to keep him under observation.

The lump is hard, non-mobile and at first seemed to be between
the skin and the ribs. It was apparently painless unless
pressed hard. It kept growing and PJ refused to eat and grew
thinner and weaker. On the 16th May, I took him to the
hospital again where another vet examined him and prescribed
Ivermectin tablets and an antibiotic injection. It didn't
work.

I took him to another vet who works in a small zoo. He guessed
it to be an inoperable tumour and referred me to another vet
who works in the lab at the same hospital as before. This vet
was out of town and I managed to get him to look at PJ only
last week. In the meantime, the bulge had grown to nearly the
size of a soccer ball. He drinks a lot of water, but the only
thing I can get him to eat regularly is raw eggs. He's grown
really thin and seldom climbs up onto his favorite chair in my
home office.

This last-mentioned vet suggested surgery. My wife went alone
on that visit and he didn't tell her how he rates the chances
of success. It will obviously be a very major surgery with
massive trauma for PJ. I'm not very optimistic about the
outcome and I don't want to subject PJ to a lot of pain and
suffering in a futile gesture. On the other hand, if nothing
else is done, he'll surely get worse and die in the very near
future.

PJ is such a handsome dog that bitches in heat usually single
him out from a pack of eager males, or they slip away from
home to seek him out at my home. Even now, weak, skinny and
deformed as he is, they still come. Today two females, a
dalmatian and an alsatian, came and stayed until their owners
dragged them away. He's very intelligent, loving and gentle
yet very good in a fight. Dog breeding practices are still
relatively unsophisticated here and owners often ask me to let
PJ mate with their pets.

Don't get me wrong. PJ's value to me as a show-piece is only
secondary. I love him for the gentle, intelligent and loving
companion that he is. It's very hard to make an objective
decision. I cannot rely blindly on the vet's advice because of
the circumstances stated at the beginning. Please help me out
by posting comments, suggestions, your own experiences, etc.

Considering the size of the tumor and since no biopsy has being taken to
even know what you are dealing with it's a slim chance that removing it at
this time will do much good. Since it's grown to such a large size if it is
cancer and I'd bet it is then removing it won't cure him but only make him
maybe more comfortable for a while. I personally would seriously consider
having him humanly put to sleep.

It's a tough decision to make and one no one ever wants to have to do.

Good luck
Celeste




"ztk" wrote in message
...
I'm seeking urgent advice on whether to subject my dog to
surgery or not. I live in a remote part of India where there
are only a few vets in government service and no private ones.
The system of pet health care is still quite rudimentary if
not downright primitive. While most of the vets are basically
nice people, they are concerned mostly with routine care of
farm animals.

My dog P.J. is 3 1/2 years old, a medium-sized cross-breed who
weighed a little over 60 lbs when healthy. On the 10th of last
month (May), I noticed a slight bulge on his right side. It
didn't go away and in fact grew in size over the next few
days. So on the third day I took him to the only veterinary
hospital in town. The doctor did some poking and simply told
me to keep him under observation.

The lump is hard, non-mobile and at first seemed to be between
the skin and the ribs. It was apparently painless unless
pressed hard. It kept growing and PJ refused to eat and grew
thinner and weaker. On the 16th May, I took him to the
hospital again where another vet examined him and prescribed
Ivermectin tablets and an antibiotic injection. It didn't
work.

I took him to another vet who works in a small zoo. He guessed
it to be an inoperable tumour and referred me to another vet
who works in the lab at the same hospital as before. This vet
was out of town and I managed to get him to look at PJ only
last week. In the meantime, the bulge had grown to nearly the
size of a soccer ball. He drinks a lot of water, but the only
thing I can get him to eat regularly is raw eggs. He's grown
really thin and seldom climbs up onto his favorite chair in my
home office.

This last-mentioned vet suggested surgery. My wife went alone
on that visit and he didn't tell her how he rates the chances
of success. It will obviously be a very major surgery with
massive trauma for PJ. I'm not very optimistic about the
outcome and I don't want to subject PJ to a lot of pain and
suffering in a futile gesture. On the other hand, if nothing
else is done, he'll surely get worse and die in the very near
future.

PJ is such a handsome dog that bitches in heat usually single
him out from a pack of eager males, or they slip away from
home to seek him out at my home. Even now, weak, skinny and
deformed as he is, they still come. Today two females, a
dalmatian and an alsatian, came and stayed until their owners
dragged them away. He's very intelligent, loving and gentle
yet very good in a fight. Dog breeding practices are still
relatively unsophisticated here and owners often ask me to let
PJ mate with their pets.

Don't get me wrong. PJ's value to me as a show-piece is only
secondary. I love him for the gentle, intelligent and loving
companion that he is. It's very hard to make an objective
decision. I cannot rely blindly on the vet's advice because of
the circumstances stated at the beginning. Please help me out
by posting comments, suggestions, your own experiences, etc.

On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 01:47:09 GMT, "Spot" wrote:

... I personally would seriously consider
having him humanly put to sleep.

It's a tough decision to make and one no one ever wants to have to do.

Yes, I agree. :-(

When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

"Michael A. Ball" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 01:47:09 GMT, "Spot"
wrote:

... I personally would seriously consider
having him humanly put to sleep.

It's a tough decision to make and one no one ever wants to
have to do.

Yes, I agree. :-(

When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

Thanks for responding, Mike and Celeste. It's past midnight
here and I'm still trying to come to a decision.

Although emaciated and surely suffering from a lot of
discomfort, PJ does not yet appear to be in any great pain.
Earlier today, a dalmatian bitch called to him from the main
road. My own bitch, a tiny cross-breed, got jealous and tried
to scare her off. PJ ran up to greet the dalmatian (the road
is at a higher level than my house) and was clearly exhausted
when he came back. Another of his former partners came calling
in the afternoon on one of her regular visits and the three of
us played a bit. I've never known any other dog that was so
popular with members of the opposite sex. Sorry, I guess I'm
babbling.

Yes, ever since the tumor started growing rapidly, the
possibility that he may have to be put to sleep has always
been at the back of my mind. I'll probably do it myself, but
not yet. Not for a couple of days at least.

Thanks again. It's good to hear from others who care.

Sounds like you both need a few days yet.

"ztk" wrote in message
...

"Michael A. Ball" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Jun 2005 01:47:09 GMT, "Spot"
wrote:

... I personally would seriously consider
having him humanly put to sleep.

It's a tough decision to make and one no one ever wants to
have to do.

Yes, I agree. :-(

When I die, I want to go where dogs go!

Thanks for responding, Mike and Celeste. It's past midnight
here and I'm still trying to come to a decision.

Although emaciated and surely suffering from a lot of
discomfort, PJ does not yet appear to be in any great pain.
Earlier today, a dalmatian bitch called to him from the main
road. My own bitch, a tiny cross-breed, got jealous and tried
to scare her off. PJ ran up to greet the dalmatian (the road
is at a higher level than my house) and was clearly exhausted
when he came back. Another of his former partners came calling
in the afternoon on one of her regular visits and the three of
us played a bit. I've never known any other dog that was so
popular with members of the opposite sex. Sorry, I guess I'm
babbling.

Yes, ever since the tumor started growing rapidly, the
possibility that he may have to be put to sleep has always
been at the back of my mind. I'll probably do it myself, but
not yet. Not for a couple of days at least.

Thanks again. It's good to hear from others who care.