Worst week EVER! Poor Kamira...

[Redneck]

So, for those of you who dont know Kamira... Here are a couple pictures of her as a puppy that were on my photobucket. The rest are on my other computer... She was still quite young in the following photos.

She is still a puppy... Not even a year old! For the past week or so, Kamira had started limping in her rear left leg. I had kept an eye on it cause I thought it might have just been a catch, or she might have gotten bruised somehow...

Well, since she started to pamper both rear legs, I became even more worried. So, I took her in to the vet, they kept her up there for a few days, running test, doing x-rays, and whatever else they had to do...

So, I got a call from the clinic today... They ran all the tests they could, and come to a diagnosis. At less than a year old, my Kamira has been diagnosed with canine osteosarcoma.

The clinic said they could try to do surgery, as she has a tumor in her hip... But, it would be pointless as she will just continue to be in pain...

I didnt have Kamira a year, and I loved that dog! She was awesome! One of the easiest dogs to train, one of the funnest dogs I had. But the best part, she was the most loveable dog ever! She would jump in bed, and cuddle up next to me, or whoever called her...

She is still at the clinic right now. I have to decided weather or not I want to bring her home, or do the humane thing. I dont want to lose her, but at the same time, I dont want her to be in pain. If I bring her home, they want to amputate her rear legs for some reason unknown to me. I couldnt stay in the room... I started crying like a little girl, thinking of it makes my eyes water.

So, not everything I have stated is verbatum, just what my mom told me they said.

Anywho, I just needed to vent a bit, kind get this off my chest....

 

[OphidianDelight]

Tommy, I am very sorry that you are enduring this. The bond between a man and his dog is a sacred thing. I hope that whatever happens that you have friends and family to help soothe the ache. Take care, sir.

 

[Cuddly Cobalt]

i am so sorry, that is just terrible and she is so cute. I honestly wouldnt know what to do if i were in your situation

 

[jt39565]

That is the worst choice to have to make, I know you'll do the right thing by her. Good luck.

 

[pitbulllady]

I would seek a second opinion, honestly. Large-breed dogs are VERY prone to a condition called "panosteitis", which causes bone inflammation during growth spurts, and at a year, a mostly-Catahoula is still going to experience growth spurts. "Pano" causes sudden painful lameness that will affect one leg, then another, and is often accompanied by fever. There is no cure, but time, since the dog will eventually grow out of it. I have noticed that in both human medicine and veterinary medicine there is a trend towards diagnosing practically everything as cancer; case-in-point, my aunt went to a new doctor for a sinus infection, and without any tests, he told her she had cancer! She wound up having to go to an oncologist who put her though all these tests just to tell her, "why did you come to me for a SINUS INFECTION??" Get another vet's opinion on your dog before you make a decision to rule out Panno and Hip Dysplasia, both of which commonly occur in big dogs.

pitbulllady

 

[The Spider Faery]

Is she in a lot of pain? Is she whimpering/crying? Usually you can tell when a dog is suffering. My family had a dog that was diagnosed with hip dysplasia which caused her to have trouble walking at times. Our vet gave us a grim diagnosis that she'd need surgery if we wanted to save her life (we couldn't afford the surgery), etc. But she wasn't in pain with it....We just had to pay close attention to her and not strain her with walks if she wasn't up to it. She lived out her life pretty normally with the disorder for at least a few more years after being diagnosed. She ended up dying of something completely unrelated, yet tragic in its own right, which was a twisted stomach.

I agree with Pitbulllady. Get a second opinion.

 

[Spidershane1]

Yeah, who knows if they didn't muck up the dignosis and it actually turns out to be something treatable, or even very minor. Your dogs life is definitely worth further investigation, but I'm sure you already know this.

Also it may seemed far fetched, but not all veterinarians are in it for the animals. Most are, but there are some that only in it for the money & they will sacrifice a few animals along the way in order to line their own pockets.
E.g. a dog goes in with a fractured leg that will only cost a couple hundred to cast up, but they tell you your dog has horrible cancer and if you dont fork over several thousand for surgery then the dog must be put down. They know how attached people are to their dogs and will pay any amount of money they can afford instead of losing their loved one.
I've heard of heartless crooks in the animal and human medicine feilds. I'm not claiming that is whats happening to you, but I would go to at least 3-4 vets before making any life changing(or ending) decisions.

Theres also the possibility that they just misdiagnosed her unintentionally.


Good luck to you man, you and your awesome dog are in my thoughts. She is adorable

 

[Shell]

I agree with everyone saying get a 2nd opinion. Tommy, you know I'm a vet tech and in the small animal clinic I used to work in, we took a lot of 2nd opinions that had been misdiagnosed as one thing or another. We also, had many come to us after being told their pet was in pain and they needed to put it down, only to end up having their pet for many more years once we were able to get a good plan in place for pain management and coping.

Bone cancer in a dog that young just sounds odd to me. Not saying it couldn't be the case, but all the cases of it that I have encountered so far have been in older dogs, and almost all of them were either Rottweilers or Boxers (not saying it can't or doesn't happen to other breeds, but some breeds are more prone than others.)

I'm definitely in agreement with everything Pitbulllday said too. Get her checked by another clinic!

The fact that the "tumor" is in her hip and yet they would want to amputate both back legs makes me question them . Amputating a leg CAN be a way to "cure" bone cancer in a dog, IF the tumor is in a place where is it completely removed. In the hip it would be highly unlikely that they could get it all, and why both back legs? Did they find a tumor in both hips? The reason for amputating a leg with bone cancer, is to stop the cancer from spreading (sometimes this works, sometimes it comes back elsewhere.)

I could ramble on for a while here, so I will stop now and repeat myself again; get another opinion. Ask them for pain meds and bring her home, and go to another vet. Even if it is bone cancer, if you can manage her pain, she could be with you for a bit. A dog that is in an amount of pain where it is suffering, is typically pretty obvious. They will typically cry or yelp, be lethargic and depressed and go off their food. If she is eating, getting around ok and still in good spirits then her pain is not bad enough to be the reason to euthanize at this point. Good luck, keep us posted.

 

[J.huff23]

Oh Tommy....I'm so sorry. I really hope that things work out in your favor.

 

[Ziltoid]

I'm so sorry for this ordeal you have to endure, this is so hard to think about I can't even suggest what to do because I don't know what I'd do.

 

[pitbulllady]

I agree with everyone saying get a 2nd opinion. Tommy, you know I'm a vet tech and in the small animal clinic I used to work in, we took a lot of 2nd opinions that had been misdiagnosed as one thing or another. We also, had many come to us after being told their pet was in pain and they needed to put it down, only to end up having their pet for many more years once we were able to get a good plan in place for pain management and coping.

Bone cancer in a dog that young just sounds odd to me. Not saying it couldn't be the case, but all the cases of it that I have encountered so far have been in older dogs, and almost all of them were either Rottweilers or Boxers (not saying it can't or doesn't happen to other breeds, but some breeds are more prone than others.)

I'm definitely in agreement with everything Pitbulllday said too. Get her checked by another clinic!

The fact that the "tumor" is in her hip and yet they would want to amputate both back legs makes me question them . Amputating a leg CAN be a way to "cure" bone cancer in a dog, IF the tumor is in a place where is it completely removed. In the hip it would be highly unlikely that they could get it all, and why both back legs? Did they find a tumor in both hips? The reason for amputating a leg with bone cancer, is to stop the cancer from spreading (sometimes this works, sometimes it comes back elsewhere.)

I could ramble on for a while here, so I will stop now and repeat myself again; get another opinion. Ask them for pain meds and bring her home, and go to another vet. Even if it is bone cancer, if you can manage her pain, she could be with you for a bit. A dog that is in an amount of pain where it is suffering, is typically pretty obvious. They will typically cry or yelp, be lethargic and depressed and go off their food. If she is eating, getting around ok and still in good spirits then her pain is not bad enough to be the reason to euthanize at this point. Good luck, keep us posted.

I'm with you, Shell. Bone cancer in such a young dog, unless it's a Boxer, Rottie, Irish Wolfhound or Golden Retriever would be very, very strange indeed, ESPECIALLY if it already involved both rear legs! Even in those breeds, osteosarcoma would be odd to encounter in a dog that is less than one year old. Cancers of that type are very rare in both Catahoulas and APBT's; neither are considered breeds at high risk for cancer until their are in their senior years, and I currently have a Catahoula who just turned 15 last month, so they are normally very long-lived for such a large breed. If she were an old dog, with double-digit age on her, then I would not be too surprised, but at less than one year? Pano can cause noticeable abnormalities on an x-ray, as can strains/tears of soft tissue due to mechanical injury, that might either be intentionally or unintentionally misread as cancerous growths. Like you said, there are some con artists among the medical community, both human and animal doctors, who know a potentially lucrative situation when they see one. They know how people feel about their animals, and know that many people will pay whatever is necessary to "save" an animal's life. In my most honest opinion, based on many, many years of working with animals and vets, I think that Tommy would be making a horrible mistake of putting this dog down without seeking another vet's opinion. Something just doesn't sound right about that whole thing to me.

pitbulllady

 

[Redneck]

Im sorry I didnt reply sooner... I really wish I would have read what yall suggest before I left the house this morning. I honestly feel I let her down making the decision, before reading this... I really dont know what else to say right now.

I now feel like this is something I should have known... The whole second opinion thing never crossed my mind before I... Well, you get the point!

 

[Cuddly Cobalt]

Jesus Christ thats terrible I am so sorry for you. That in all honesty is the cutest animal I have ever seen.

 

[Shell]

Im sorry I didnt reply sooner... I really wish I would have read what yall suggest before I left the house this morning. I honestly feel I let her down making the decision, before reading this... I really dont know what else to say right now.

I now feel like this is something I should have known... The whole second opinion thing never crossed my mind before I... Well, you get the point!

Tommy, I'm so sorry for you and what you're going through.

 

[Terry D]

Tommy, Sorry to hear about your pup. Let's hope, as PBL suggested, that the first diagnosis is possibly wrong. Here's hoping things work out for the better.
Terry

 

[super-pede]

Just thinkin about a puppy like that,not even a year old, in pain brings me to tears.

 

[jt39565]

Second guessing yourself is the worst thing you can do now. You did what needed to be done. It wasn't pleasant nor was it easy. It very well could have saved your pup from a lot of pain, no one knows. You did what needed to be done when it needed to be done, bless you for making the decision.

 

[PrimalTaunt]

Not much I can say but I'm you had to put her down.

 

[moose35]

sorry to hear this.

i know what your feeling and it sucks.
keep your head up.





moose

 

[Redneck]

Just wanted to thank you all for the kind words...