Bladder Tumors in Canines:(

[STILLSMOK9]

Hi all, I regret to tell you that my oldest dog Nash(10 yr old Border Collie/ACD mix) has recently been diagnosed with a tumor in his bladder. My vet had to do surgery to diagnose that it was indeed a tumor at the neck of his lower bladder leading into his uretrhra. Since it was blocking his urethra hence ability to urinate, the vet had to surgically implant a catheter for his remaining days.

I am hoping that I can get some feedback from some dog lovers here on the ECF that may have experienced this procedure with one of their beloved dogs?

Any feedback would be gereatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

[shivadance]

I don't have any experience with that procedure myself, but I'm so sorry to hear about Nash.

Has the vet determined if it's benign or malignant? If it's benign is it possible to remove it?

Poor Nash, hope he's not in much pain. I assume they gave you some painkillers and antibiotics?

 

[STILLSMOK9]

I don't have any experience with that procedure myself, but I'm so sorry to hear about Nash.

Has the vet determined if it's benign or malignant? If it's benign is it possible to remove it?

Poor Nash, hope he's not in much pain. I assume they gave you some painkillers and antibiotics?

Thanks for your concern with Nash!

My vet is waiting on the results still, but unfortunately, he is very certain that it is malignant due to the location of the tumor. He says due to the location he is unable to remove the tumor and even if he did that it would return He has him on antibiotics and I hope some sort of pain med. Nash still has not been released from the vet.

 

[LisaLisa]

I am so sorry to hear about your friend's problem. I found this article online, I hope it gives you some info. Dog Bladder Tumor - Canine Health

Deciding what to do is a very personal decision between you and Nash. But, I can tell you that I have a dear best friend of my own, Teddy who has hip dysplasia and when the time comes that he can't walk anymore, or is in constant severe pain, I will do the right thing for him and send him home in a peaceful and comfortable way here at home while I'm with him. Our vet will come to the house and do this.

As pet owners, this day always comes at some point and it's never easy for us to deal with. I hope things work out well or you and Nash and hopefully he will make a full recovery. But if not, please know that he will be waiting for you at the rainbow bridge so hopefully you can take some comfort in that.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

Thanks Lisa for the empathy!

Unfortunately, I left out the part that the tumor was in an area where it could not be removed, hence Nash has no chance of full recovery. The catheter was surgically implanted so that he will be able to urinate easier in his remaining days.

 

[catwoman19]

My heart goes out to you both. Losing a family member is never easy and yes I do consider my pets family members. Always remember the good times.

 

[wanderlust]

Also, so sorry about Nash and so grateful that he has an owner that loves him.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

The hard thing is that I already am mourning him and he is still alive. How do I handle it once he is really gone ?

 

[beckah54]

I have nothing to add except to tell you how very sorry I am.

God Bless.

 

[LisaLisa]

"The hard thing is that I already am mourning him and he is still alive. How do I handle it once he is really gone?"

I recently went through a very similar situation with one of my dogs last year. I knew that he was going to cross over soon, and while he was still with me it was the most painful thing in the world.

It was actually easier after he crossed over because then I had closure and peace. I hope that makes sense.

 

[JustMeAgain]

I'm so sorry to hear that....

I was once one of those people who always thought, 'it's a dog get over it' - until we had a our first little house dog that I totally fell in love with.

Lucy became paralyzed overnight for no apparent reason. Turns out it was due to a genetic disc disorder. We drove her to a vet hospital 4 hours away and we would have paid anything to have save her. Since it was genetic they only gave her a 50% chance of recovery and said that it could happen again at any time. We decided not to put her through it.

I don't mean to hijack your thread and make it a sad dog story thing, but it's really something how important a dog can become, and it's so sad when these things happen to them.

I'm hoping that maybe there's a way to shrink the tumor and keep him happy and pain free enough so you can enjoy Nash as long as you can.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

Thanks for all the deeply needed support everyone!

My new avatar is Nash, we call him Flyin' Nash, since he was an amazingly talented frisbee dog that amazed crowds all of the United States.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

I'm so sorry to hear that....

I was once one of those people who always thought, 'it's a dog get over it' - until we had a our first little house dog that I totally fell in love with.

Lucy became paralyzed overnight for no apparent reason. Turns out it was due to a genetic disc disorder. We drove her to a vet hospital 4 hours away and we would have paid anything to have save her. Since it was genetic they only gave her a 50% chance of recovery and said that it could happen again at any time. We decided not to put her through it.

I don't mean to hijack your thread and make it a sad dog story thing, but it's really something how important a dog can become, and it's so sad when these things happen to them.

I'm hoping that maybe there's a way to shrink the tumor and keep him happy and pain free enough so you can enjoy Nash as long as you can.

Thanks for you your hope!!

My heart goes out to you and Lucy

 

[JustMeAgain]

My new avatar is Nash, we call him Flyin' Nash, since he was an amazingly talented frisbee dog that amazed crowds all of the United States.

Wow, that picture is something...he does look like he's flying. How high was he off the ground?

I love border collies - so incredibly intelligent - and if they get bored, they can be naughty. Just like kids...

I'd love to see a video of him in action, if you've got one, you should upload it sometime.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

Wow, that picture is something...he does look like he's flying. How high was he off the ground?

I love border collies - so incredibly intelligent - and if they get bored, they can be naughty. Just like kids...

I'd love to see a video of him in action, if you've got one, you should upload it sometime.

He was only 5-6 feet off the ground because we were doing the show on a gymnasium floor which is a lot harder surface than his natural grass surface where he gets up over 7feet in the air. He was quite a specimen in his day, he has brought me so much joy and he is the most loyal dog I have ever had. One night I accidentle left the back gate open to my backyard. I have three other dogs and when I discovered I screwed up I yelled for all the dogs to come home and guess who popped his cute little face out of the corner in the back yard? It was Nash, while all the others broke what I trained them to do if the gate were ever left open. He got such abig hug.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

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[STILLSMOK9]

I will try to upload video if possible

 

[jj2]

Sorry to hear about Nash. My baby is ten know and I hate to think of losing her.
You and Nash are in my prayers.

 

[Jasmine]

I have had 2 dogs with bladder cancer, both females. One was a dog I took in as a foster because she got dumped at the vets office for "leaking" and had been relegated to the outdoors because her owner couldn't deal with her ...... in the house. The vet wanted to try her on PPA/DEG to see if it helped the leaking. Well, it ended up being a bladder tumor. We opted not to have the surgery done due to her age, but she responded well to piroxicam for the next 6 weeks which were probably the best 6 weeks of her life.

The other one was a rescue Collie that we adopted when she was 8. She did not have any leaking at all but was having some backend problems with walking. Once diagnosed, again, opted for not operating mainly because of the tumor location, but put her on piroxicam. It caused her stomach lining to rupure and she filled up with blood so we had to euthanize her. If I had it to do over again, I would still have given the piroxicam because of it working so well on the previous dog and it was really the only chance we had of shrinking the tumor to prolong her life.

 

[STILLSMOK9]

Sorry to hear about Nash. My baby is ten know and I hate to think of losing her.
You and Nash are in my prayers.

Thanks jj2