The Swamp

So, we brought both of our pups (Tank, 7 y/o lab and Belle ?y/o Aussie cattle dog- her age is ? because she’s an adopted stray, vet thinks 8/9) with us to France. Over the last couple of months, Tank has had an on again/off again limp in his front left leg. Over the last several weeks it’s gotten significantly worse, and in the last week he’s barely been able to put any weight on it at all. Found out today it’s most likely osteosarcoma. Really weird spot for a dog to get it, but the CT scan showed the bone is seriously fucked.

The shit part is my wife is currently in the US to attend a wedding. I had to tell her right before she boarded a flight. And Tank is primarily her dog, and is her FIRST dog. First as in she had him since he was a puppy. She didn’t grow up with dogs and saw her sister attacked by one when they were kids. My old dog Dignan (rip little sweet buddy) won her over quickly and she became a dog lover. A year after Diggy died, her best friend called and let us know her lab Duke knocked up the neighbors dog, and she wanted us to have to pick off the litter.

There’s not a lot we can do. Without a doubt his leg and shoulder will have to be amputated, and that’s tough for a big dog and a dog his age. Even with that, no guarantee all the cells are removed. On the plus size, and a genuine surprise for the vet, it hasn’t metastasized anywhere else. So that’s a good sign removal wouldn’t lead to just an immediate return. But no good news. Breaks my heart as he’s a damn fine dog and has a big heart. Pamela is devastated.

Sorry, bud.

Hate to read that man. Really sorry y'all are having to go through that.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Bob.

All I want to do is get high by the beach
Not cry by the beach

https://www.freep.com/story/news/column ... 649836007/

I love Scout

Thank you for sharing that Rass. I love scout too.

Why do I read this thread? Sorry Bob, that sucks about Tank.

Scout rules.

Sorry, Bob.

Shit bobp I just searched for this thread and didn’t see you had posted earlier.

Oh that is so awful.

So sorry.

I'm so sorry man.

Some absolute fucking idiot on a town facebook group posted something like "I'm so sorry to say this but there's a dog dead near the intersection of X and Y" and she posted a fucking picture.

mister d wrote: ↑Thu Sep 14, 2023 10:02 am Some absolute fucking idiot on a town facebook group posted something like "I'm so sorry to say this but there's a dog dead near the intersection of X and Y" and she posted a fucking picture.

That happened here as well a bit back. It's a terrible way to handle it.

And you can't even say its malice, its just 100% pure stupidity.

So, we met with the oncologist and dropped Tank off for amputation yesterday. Leg and shoulder will be removed sometime this afternoon. Oncologist is optimistic because his scan showed no cancer anywhere else but the shoulder. If it IS osteosarcoma, it’s almost certain it will come back. He will go on chemo to slow it down, but it will come back and he should get about a year. If it’s not, he has a much better chance to live out a normal (if tripod) life. ~80% of the time this type of tumor is osteosarcoma, but he’s got a couple of factors going for him: first, osteosarcoma typically hits other joints, not the shoulder. Second, typically with osteosarcoma, by the time you find it it’s already spread elsewhere, which is not the case for him, and by the deterioration of the bone and the fact he’s been limping for quite a while he’s had it for a while.

He’s extremely close with my wife. It was pretty heartbreaking for her to come back from the US to see him like this and then only get one day before we dropped him off.

I’m consoling myself with the knowledge that after today, regardless, his pain will be gone. The surgeon let us know that he will be walking on his three legs the day after the surgery. Depending on pain and how the sutures go, he will come home Saturday or Sunday. To help his recovery we had to out our other dog at the kennel for a week. I leave for the US for work on Sunday, so the wife will take care of him for the week.

One comforting thing, culturally, the French don’t sugarcoat things. They prefer to be matter of fact. Talking with three different vets that have looked at his scans, all three would have gone ahead with the surgery were he their dog. That makes me feel a lot better. The wife has joined a couple of tripaws groups and has already gotten good info. She saw one giant Rottweiler that had the exact same front leg amputation when he was 10+ and he’s still going strong.

It’s shocking how much cheaper vet care is here. His surgery isn’t cheap (€1700), but I had a much less invasive surgery done for Diggy that cost a LOT more than that. That said, I’ve been really impressed with the vets and the clinic we are dealing with.

Sending positive thoughts to Tank.

Meilleurs vœux, le blindé

Good luck, but you may have to rename him "tsar" now.

Good luck Tank!

You got this, Tank!

One of the things I was going to mention the other day but thought better of it (because you still had a decision to make) is how quickly dogs adapt to life on three legs.

Yup. My brother had a 4 legged dog that became a 3 legged dog and he said it was weird for a few hours and then new normal.

Look on the bright side...Tank can now be on the cover of an Alice in Chains album!

Thinking the best for all of you and really hoping Tank's around for a long time.

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:21 am Good luck, but you may have to rename him "tsar" now.

Also ... "Tan".

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2023 10:46 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:21 am Good luck, but you may have to rename him "tsar" now.

Also ... "Tan".

Way too soon

Best wishes to Tank! And you and your wife too, Bob, but mostly to Tank.

My Lucy went through two bouts and cancer and chemo. And then went on to live to 15, so Tank may have a lot left in the tank.

Good luck, Tank. And you too, Bob.

mister d wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2023 10:46 am

A_B wrote: ↑Fri Sep 15, 2023 7:21 am Good luck, but you may have to rename him "tsar" now.

Also ... "Tan".

It’s front left so ank might be more appropriate.

Thanks all. He made it through surgery but is in a lot of pain. They removed his lymph nodes too as they were quite swollen. Not a good sign for metastasization, but it is what it is. We might get to bring him home tomorrow, but if his pain is still bad we will let him stay with the vets annd the good IV drugs until Monday.

Good luck there, Bob.

Bonne chance to Bob and Tank.

Better news from vet this morning. He did well last night and is much more comfortable today. They’ve already taken him off the pain med drip. Keeping him through weekend because drain they put in collected 30ml of fluid last night. They think one more night with the drain and it can be removed. Normal full appetite this morning and they said he was friendly and much more normal than yesterday.

Allez Tank!

Great news, Bob.

I can relate because our geriatric animals (especially our 15 year-old retriever mix, Cinders) have become less mobile, occasionally stumbling and smacking a face on the floor. But every time we think the end might be coming they rally and seem to be better again.

Best of luck, Pentz.

I've taken to humming songs to Dinky and Dewey, but replacing the lyrics with meows. I caught myself cat-singing "Breed" probably because I saw somewhere that today this is the 30 anniversary of the release of In Utero which put Nirvana in my subconscious.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 12:14 pm I've taken to humming songs to Dinky and Dewey, but replacing the lyrics with meows. I caught myself cat-singing "Breed" probably because I saw somewhere that today this is the 30 anniversary of the release of In Utero which put Nirvana in my subconscious.

Post a video, I gotta hear this.

Toying dangerously with the idea of getting a second dog. Anyone want to push me one way or the other or give any advice on how to introduce a new dog into an established house and routine?

ETA: for g-d's sake it won't be a puppy. Current jerk is about 1.5, so we'd be looking for a pup at least that old if not older. Fully house trained will be a must, not going through that again.

I heartily endorse it, especially if you avoid a puppy. when I was ready for a second dog again we made it happen within a week and the last 6-9 months as he's been out of the puppy stage have been especially fun

Feels like a tougher decision than having a second kid because I think I'm more concerned about how the first dog will react than I was the first kid.

rass wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2023 1:09 pm Toying dangerously with the idea of getting a second dog. Anyone want to push me one way or the other or give any advice on how to introduce a new dog into an established house and routine?

ETA: for g-d's sake it won't be a puppy. Current jerk is about 1.5, so we'd be looking for a pup at least that old if not older. Fully house trained will be a must, not going through that again.

Done it several times...started with one; ended up with four of our own plus a foster or two at a time. They say to introduce in a neutral setting...a park or whatever...something that is not currently either one's "territory" and see how they get along. Our dogs were all pugs so they were more people-focused than paying attention to other dogs so we never bothered with that. So I would say it depends on your dog and the new dog...how do they react when they have met other dogs? Do they always try and engage/play or cower any? If they seem ambivalent to the existence of other dogs then you are probably safe to just throw them together.

Current pup is super dog-friendly and expects every dog to love him and want to play. He was in a rescue/foster with a mix of other dogs (including his mom and sisters) until we took him home. Other than being boarded* a couple of times since then, about the only extended time (multiple days) he's spent with other dogs in a house was with my sister's two large senior dogs last Thanksgiving and he seemed to quickly learn to leave them be.


*the boarding place reported he's easily startled and gets snippy sometimes when a dog approaches from behind, but we explained to them going in he's deaf and can't sense someone/thing sneaking up on him and can get surprised and they told us going in they were fine with that so what's the issue??