2020 is fucking awful

Sorry to hear that, OP.

Thanks r1. And just to add: I’m not trolling. This is really happening.

That really stinks OP. Sorry.

Devastating. I'm so sorry, OP. Make the most of the time you have left with him/her, cherish every moment.

Oh honey I'm so so sorry.

....

Hugs OP! Prayers to you and your pup!

Love him and care for him now and make arrangements. My roommate lost her dog too and she is just waiting for our contract here to be over to adopt a new dog.

So sorry OP. 2020 is horrible and my pet is the one thing keeping me going. I get it. So many hugs to you. Animals are simply the best.

I'm so sorry!

I'm sorry, too, OP. I still think of the dog we had while I was growing up....like weekly!!!

Sorry, honey. This has to be a miserable time for you. I wish I could help somehow.

Thanks for your kind words. This place may be vicious at times but I appreciate your kindness. We need it more now than ever.

Oh no, sorry OP. BIG HUG for you and your dog!

Well, fucking fuck OP. When my dog died I was quite surprised at how comforting the DL was. Anyway, hugs, good thoughts and let us know how doggie is doing, and you as well.

I am so sorry, OP. I lost my cat 7 years ago. It was so emotionally devastating. She is in my thoughts every day.

I hope your dog pulls through. Many hugs.

What a fucking crappy year I agree. Make these days with your pup special. Savor these moments with your pup - big and small.

Your future self will thank you.

OP, sorry to learn this. My Dane was diagnosed with cancer 16 months ago and he's still going strong. DL helped me to make important decisions in the early days so I hope you get the same support here. There's a world of grey between radical treatment and doing nothing Best to you both

I'm sorry OP. But never treat pets for cancer. Medicate them and put them down as soon as necessary. Anything more is weak human behavior that is cruel to animals. Good luck. Spend some sweet time with your Dear Old Dog and then let him/her go. It's humane and painless. Doing the right thing for the one you love IS love. There is no need to suffer before we die.

I believe you, OP. My spouse was diagnosed with terminal cancer a week after this COVID-19 shit started. Despite the border being closed we shuttle across for chemotherapy as I'm conducting "essential travel.". If I were still in Seattle, where the confirmed cases are numerous, and the SPD and Prince-paid provocateurs inciting hostilities against each other, I'd be a basketcase knowing I was losing my spouse (I'm not a US citizen -- I abandoned the US and my resident alien status last year).

Fuck 2020 and fuck (dog) cancer. I’m so sorry, OP.

OP, I’m sorry about your dog. Enjoy every moment while you can until your dog lets you know it’s time.

Whatever you do, OP, don't listen to R19. Do your research and you'll recognise the right path ahead.

Sorry, OP. Our one pug was diagnosed with cancer last Halloween and died 3 short weeks later. We had no clue he was as sick as he was as he had no symptoms until the end. He was diagnosed palliative right away. Our other pug was diagnosed with diabetes this past March. We ended up having to put him down because of his age - he had just turned 15. It sucks. They really are like your children. You do what you think is best for him - you'll know.

I am so sorry for you , OP. I have been waiting that some asshole declares that COVID-19 is transmitted through dogs, at which point I would run amok...

I can no longer associate myself

R19 You're correct. Please, OP, read his post again. Don't delay giving your sweetie a sweet relief.

I think we sometimes keep our loved ones alive for our reasons not their comfort. Please help your best friend.

Been through it, OP. Multiple Myeloma. Absolutely one of the top two worst times in my life, and like a lot of DLers, I've been through the shit forward, backward and sideways but little else holds a candle to the pain of losing my sweet boy.

My heart goes out to you. And yes, fuck dog cancer to hell and back. We will see them again.

I’m not R19, but there’s some merit to his argument. I’ve had several cats with various forms of cancer. The vets all recommended very expensive treatments I couldn’t afford at the time, and the cats all died within a few months anyway.

A couple of those times, I was in very dire financial straits, put the treatments on my credit card, which took years to pay off, then the cat died shortly after in great pain after an almost immediate recurrence of the cancer. And the vet guilted me into it, saying she had a patient that lived for many years after chemo and was now a very advanced age.

I’m at the stage now where I’m not a big fan of invasive treatments for older pets. It just prolongs the suffering for a lot of them. I’ve also encountered several very pushy vets that guilted people into doing what they knew the person couldn’t afford to do.

When someone is elderly and their pet is their life, telling them the animal will live for years if only they contribute their life savings (which happened to an elderly person I know), that’s despicable.

And animals themselves often hate taking medications, dread it all day long and fight and spit it out over and over every day, and you just ruin your relationship with them because they become afraid of you. I saw that too. Animals don’t understand what you’re doing, they just know they hate the medicine and don’t want it, and you’re forcing them for no reason.

I’m a big believer in letting nature take its course after a certain age. If you do go with treatment, keep a close watch in your pet’s behavior. If he starts hiding or cowering because he fears the medicine, or has to take topical ointment and gets painful inflamed skin at the site, review the situation as you go. Do what’s best for him, not you.

R19 / R29 I was very fortunate to have a vet who explained outcomes to me and was not interested in making money at my sweetie's expense. We put him down, in my arms, peacefully. I've never regretted it.

It’s a fucking dog dying of cancer. it’s not like my neck being broken by the white man’s knee and having to die from suffocation while being recorded for YouTube.

Fuck off.

Trolling Boris trolls DL.

2020 ISSS indeed and awful year. We are in the age of Karma & ‘Rona

Sorry OP 💐

I went through this earlier this year with my old girl.

She was too old for surgery (osteosarcoma), but she had a good 6 months with us with lots of love, treats, and very gentle walks.

CBD oil helped her a lot. Btw tramodol is not an effective painkiller for dogs - I was prescribed this by my vet who wasn't up on the latest research.

Nah, R31. Tacky even by DL standards.

R34 - we used CBD oil for our pugs, too, but the vet prescribed prednisone for the one that had cancer. She said it's probably the best drug you can give for pain management to a palliative dog. It did help quite a bit, but only for a couple weeks or so.

R31- I cant breath, white man. Wish someone who have just put my ass to sleep in a nice, clean hospital room with candles and white people crying. Instead, I died like a flea-bitten dog in the fucking Street begging for mercy.

Fuck You

R29 has a point. Our cat Oliver died of very fast acting tongue cancer. We noticed symptoms (weight loss, drooling, grooming issues) at Thanksgiving. We put him to sleep 12/11.

In those few weeks he progressed horribly, in large part because his tongue grew a huge tumor that prevented him from eating.

I'll never forget my vet's face when he first saw that tumor. Looking back, he knew there was only one outcome but he saw likely saw the despair in my face. He prescribed all sorts of painkillers that we eventually had to inject almost hourly.

Our dear cat was miserable those final weeks. We were miserable. He hated all the forced pills that became forced shots. We hated them.

He would just lie in place on our bed or in the back of the closet, urinating where he lay because he was too weak to bother getting up. He wasn't eating anything and looked like a kitten.

We went and got a second opinion. The vet gave more medications. However, we were obviously in so much denial and pain she couldn't be firm with us about how pointless it all was. Vets are human too.

OP, seriously enjoy the simple things you and your pup can do now. Savor your walks, feeding rituals, play rituals. Sit/lie with him/her. Listen to how his/her body reacts and it will change as the cancer progresses. Take it easy when that happens. You'll see your pup will no longer be the same, and you'll know if/when you need to make some tough but ultimately loving (final) decisions.

Fortunately we pulled it together to have a very tender last week with our dear Oliver. We spent as much time as we could just sitting and watching over him. We could tell he knew we were thanking him for sharing 15 years of his life with and apologizing that we couldn't do more.

If I had to do it over again, we would've put him to sleep a week earlier as he really was in suffering, we were. I woulddn't change anythjng about savoring all the small moments we shared right before, however.

Maybe this won't be your outcome, but no one lives forever. Man, I broke down writing this. Good luck to you both.

Reading the updates has been heartbreaking.