Drum roll please

Wot x I had a horrible experience two years ago, one of my Westies had surgery , something went wrong, will not do into detail but never want a dog to go through that again and I never want to see it again.

Lottie is eating, playing in the garden, bossing Phoebe, sleeping comfy with me , she did sneak off the bed last night and cuddled up to Phoebe in her bed ?

Dear Annie, so sorry about Lottie. After one of my dogs having had two surgery's I said no more. Unless Sophie, my current dog is in pain, I won't put her through surgery. They don't know you're trying to help them it is so hard. Thinking of you x

Best I switch off from it , a long weekend ahead

It is such a dilemma; if the vet can give you a fairly good prognosis after surgery etc then perhaps worth considering.
Having a needle aspiration biopsy is unpleasant but at least other invasive surgery would be under anaesthetic . How long would the recovery period be?
I am sure you will decide whatever you think is in her best interests, it's a difficult decision to make, so sorry.

No, there certainly isn't any assurance, Annie. We can only do what we think is best. I really hope you get some helpful input from others, so you can come to a decision.
I'm so sorry, but you will do right by Lottie, I know.

Nfk x

The nearest vet is twenty miles from here, I haven't a car, son in law and son in law who isn't work full time , have no other family here . My brother will be unable to help, his sons lovely partner is having a mastectomy next week so he will be driving to Cardiff every day .

MissA, if I could be sure Lottie could be cured then probably would but with cancer there is no assurance .

It needs to be talked about, Annie. You are very welcome. Not a pet, but I'm speaking as someone who watched a battle against cancer which could never be won, and in the end involved lots of pulling around and procedures. Isn't it sad, all of it?

Could the PDSA help or suggest an alternative vet for a second opinion or ideas. It would be helpful surely to know how bad/what sort of cancer it is.

Willow, thank you x . No prognosis. Just they will give her steroids and painkillers and frequent check ups. I would pay for them to make home visits but they charge £80 a time and this year has proved to be very costly .

MissA, Lottie's emotions must be considered, she is queen bee at home. Took her quite some time to come to terms with loss of .Honey, she plays with Phoebe, is the boss - first time in her life. surgery, Phoebe would have to go to daughter2 in Lincolnshire until Lottie recovers, Phoebe would be fine but Lottie would surely miss her. Thank you so much for letting me talk about it. X

Ah Annie - I've just caught up with this thread and am so upset you've had this dreaded news about Lottie. You've been through so much and now you've another mountain to climb. There are so many mixed emotions about our pets diagnoses - I think you probably have to weigh up the quality of life she will have if you do nothing against her prognosis if you put her through the operation. Did the vet give any information about treatment post op if you decided to go that way and they did manage to remove all the cancer? Would she need tablets and more x-rays and visits to the surgery? And also was there any indication of how long she would have if nothing was done? I think you know in your own mind when the time has come to save them from suffering but it may be that it's slow growing and she could have quite some time with you. I know how hard it is - sometimes the worst part is the waiting and watching them knowing what you have to do in the end. So sad that this has happened at the same time as what should be so much fun with your new fur baby. Hope your arm is on the mend

I was just reading how fearful Lottie is, and my thought was "ahh, just leave her be". She doesn't know what her prognosis is, bless her.
I hope you can find a way to come to a decision, neither of which will be easy. It's awful being in that position.

Thank you all x

I am not sure what to do, I asked the vet what she would do and she said - I have never been in this position !

My son in law chose surgery for their dog who had cancer, he said he would never make the same choice again, the dog was on steroids, pain killers, antibiotics and his life was extended by approx a month.

Lottie gets fearful having her nails clipped, she was distressed when they took the biopsy last Friday, that was just a needle.

I have to decide on her having a short life but happy with me or putting her through the X-ray, operation etc and the vet said there was no assurance the cancer wouldn't spread .

I don't want to lose her but can I subject her to the trauma

We only have one vet surgery here so can't get second opinion. I will give it more thought , they can't do anything until after next Tuesday .

I am leaning towards no surgery but then I look at her and think no, I can't let her go.

There's a vet here who's known to up the charges if he knows the quite a bit if he knows insurance will cover it. But he charges a lot less for those he thinks can't afford insurance. Robbing Peter to pay Paul. I do wonder how many vets do this and how much effect it has on premiums.

Thanks for that. Pretty bad of your vet not to keep you informed about the cost. We couldn't really afford anything that wasn't covered by the insurance and had to keep checking. Fortunately we did have good insurance for that very reason. I have heard about vets who simply ask if you're insured and if you are, they just go ahead with what they think needs to be done without further reference to the customer (talking cost here, not treatment choices). Sorry to hear about the shaving. It sounds nasty and I've not heard anything like that before and tbh it would probably put me off going to that vet again.

She just reacted badly to the shaving etc and was very raw and sore. They did the x rays prior to operating so they knew that nothing had spread to her lungs etc and they then operated at the same time. They then took a very wide margin out around what they thought was a tumour, and she still has a scar running down her neck. The next time she had a lump they did a sample from it [heck; forgot the name of the process; they just put a needle in and took some cells out] and from that they were able to ascertain what sort of tumour it was and what grade. That's when we decided not to have another operation done. She'd had one operation that had cost @ £700 so a bill for 1300 was a huge shock. I'm still angry about it, to be honest.

Tegan why did the x-rays have such an effect? Did the vet anesthetise your dog first?

Annie I'm so sorry it's bad news about Lottie. I know you will be guided by your vet, but I thought I would mention that a dog's mammary glands are different than humans. In dogs they are outside of the muscle, so the surgery is not as invasive. The good thing is Lottie is still young. When do you have to make a decision?

Are there different kinds of mammary tumour and, if so can they tell you what it is and what grade it is? Hattie had x rays to see if a cancer had spread and the x rays knocked her for six; it then turned out the lump they were concerned about was just a cyst. With the removal of the cyst as well as the x rays the bill came to @ £1300. Pet plan did, fortunately, pay up. She already had a spindle cell cancer which is why they were concerned but she's now had that for several years and is still ok. It was low grade. We often say to a vet 'if it was your dog, what would you do' which is easier for them to answer than 'what shall I do'.

So sorry, Annie - two lots of bad news in one day. I know you’ll do what’s right for Lottie. Take care of yourself.
Love and God bless. X

Oh no Annie, that’s awful news. So, so sorry. Shysal is right, if you can afford to it would probably be best to have the x-rays to see how bad things are. What does the vet suggest?

Oh dear, what bad news about Lottie. I suppose it would be as well to get the xrays done then make a decision on how to move forward. Do you have insurance? Otherwise the cost will be an important factor too.
I am so sorry you have so much to contend with, hope the arm improves soon. (((hugs)))

Oh Annie I'm so sorry to hear of Lottie's results - such a hard decision for you to make on top of everything else. I wish I could offer some help and advice, but even if I had personal experience of this condition with one of my dogs, it would still be you who had to decide. But I know you'll choose the path that is right for Lottie.
I hope your arm is improving and the setback is just a reaction to the meds. Hopefully your GP will find the right treatment for you and all will be well.
God bless you and keep you and Lottie safe x

Oh dear, so sorry

Are you taking penicillin? DH suddenly developed an allergy to it having been OK beforehand.

Oh annie what a difficult decision. So much worry at the moment with your own health and your dear Lottie. Sending love and hugs.