<p>That is wonderful! It is nice to hear some good news!</p>
<p>Just wanted to update this thread as I see so many dog avatars, it’s clear we have a lot of dog lovers on cc. We did complete all of the chemo - 16 treatments - and while there were a few bad days here and there - most were very good. Finished chemo in June, and Otto had a great summer. I will always be thankful that my son was able to return home from college and have a great time with his dog. </p>
<p>Fall went well until November, when oncologist told us that remission was over and cancer had returned. We decided against more chemo at this point as a second round has less chance of lasting remission and the expense was also a factor, having spent $8000+ already. Put on prednisone and vet gave him 2-3 months.</p>
<p>Went really well until last week, and then the end came very suddenly. He was clearly dying and suffering when we brought him to vet. She did a beautiful job with the final steps - it was loving and peaceful and calm. As sad as I am today, tears streaming as I write, I would encourage anyone who gets a cancer diagnosis for their pet to have hope. We had 14 months with Otto after the diagnosis, most of it great. The experience has reinforced the belief to live in the moment rather than worry about the future - it will arrive soon enough.</p>
<p>My Sally died on New Year’s Eve. She was diagnosed with histiosarcoma a year ago, and we were initially led to believe that there was no effective chemo. It turned out that this was wrong. The initial masses were removed and studied, which is where the somewhat ify diagnosis came from. She appeared to be cancer-free until late August, when more masses appeared. This time we consulted the oncologist, and found that there WAS effective chemo for histiosarcoma. She started treatment, and had a huge, atypical reaction to the first drug that ended in her being hospitalized for several days. She recovered, though, and we proceeded with the chemo at a lower dosage. Her visible cancers disappeared quickly, and the chemo didn’t seem to bother her at all. But just as we were about to wind up chemo, the cancer broke through. Given organ involvement, we switched to palliative care. We kept her going at least a month longer than expected, with devoted care, but eventually the cancer invaded her spine and she could no longer stand at all. We made the decision to let her go. I was out of state and couldn’t be there. Torture. The house is cold and lonely.</p>
<p>If I had it to do again, I would at least consult a canine oncologist at diagnosis. I found that they know of treatments that are not cited on the internet and not known to general veterinarians. At least you know what the real options are in that case. </p>
<p>My condolences, rockvillemom.</p>
<p>Thank you, and my condolences to you as well. It is very difficult to transition from empty nest, but with dog to completely empty nest. I strongly agree about the canine oncologist - we found one fairly close by who specalized in canine lymphoma and she was amazing.</p>
<p>I am so sorry Rockvillemom and Consolation. </p>
<p>Thank you. BTW, love your dog. 
I’ve been interested in the field spaniel as a breed…are they hard to find? Do they have any particular health issues?</p>
<p>So very sorry, rockvillemom and Consolation. We lost D’s dog on June 22. This was the one I wrote about in my previous post in this thread. He had been hanging in there until late on a Friday night, he seemed to be having trouble breathing. There was a scared look in his eyes that had never been there before. My H yelled to me at one point that the dog fell over. H thought he was seizing, but it was not a seizure, he just fell over. D and I made the decision then to take him in the next morning. I could have handled it better if it was just me. But this was D’s dog and he was the perfect dog for her. She had only had him 4 months. I ached for her and there was nothing I could do. </p>
<p>We have since added two dogs - a wonderful bassador (bassett/lab mix) who loves everyone, and a welsh corgi. D always wanted a full corgi (the last one was a corgi/lab). We found this one thru a rescue as well. We were told he had dry eye that is managed with drops and he does have some vision impairment from it. But he also has skin issues that I don’t think they were aware of. And two weeks ago he ended up at the emergency vet in the middle of the night because he was having breathing issues and did not look well. Quite a few dollars later he was diagnosed with pneumonia. He stayed for a day and a half so they could do IV meds and fluids. And we had to take him off the steroid meds he was taking for the skin issues so his body could fight the pneumonia. They also weren’t sure if they saw a mass in the lungs along with the pneumonia. But the follow up xrays didn’t seem to show a mass, fortunately. He will do one more set of xrays on Friday and I am just praying they are normal. We had to put him back on his skin meds today as his hair is falling off him and the skin is so irritated again. D and this dog are two of a kind and I am just hoping we find a balance with it all! She can’t lose another in such short time! It is such a rollercoaster.</p>
<p>My 9 year old lab had cancer . We did go with chemo. Money wasn’t an issue as my Mum worked at a veterinary college where everyone just adored the dog (when Mum went on vacation people would beg to be allowed to look after Bonny for her) and they fought desperately to save her at no charge. In the end we wished we hadn’t done the chemo as she suffered and we had to out her to sleep anyway. But if it had worked I’m sure i would feel differently. (Gosh, it’s been 30 years since she died and I still get tears thinking about her, she was such a sweetheart)</p>
<p>I guess it is just like with humans, if we could foresee the outcome these decisions would be so much easier. {{{hugs}}}</p>
<p>Consolation- They are not easy to find but we didn’t have any problem. Ours is a pet quality one which is fine by me as I don’t show in conformation. (I just got a smiley face on here and I don’t know why) We went to the Field Spaniel Society of America web site and looked for breeders in the midwest. No real health problems that I know of. I think they tend to live to ~12- 15 yrs which is an improvement over my beloved flat-coated retrievers. I do really like this dog but he is more reserved than my flatties.</p>
<p>I’ve heard that flat coats are real charmers. I love goldens dearly, but having lost 2 to cancer circa age 8, I am reluctant to take a chance on another one. Our previous dog was a GSD–the breed I always had growing up–but despite looking for German lines he developed significant pain from hip dysplasia at age 2, and he died of hemangiosarcoma at age 8! I really want a dog that will live to be old. I’m happy to adopt a mixed breed from a rescue, but dogs of the type I like seem to be few and far between. Mostly pit/boxer/lab mixes. I like a dog with a coat. I tend to like the herding/sporting breeds. And of course I have to convince H…</p>