Confused over dog euthanasia

[BW2001]

Earlier today we had to have our wonderful 14 year old Labrador ‘put to sleep’. It all happened quickly and I am wishing I’d asked the vet more questions but I could hardly speak because I was so upset. This might be a bit long so sorry in advance…

About a month ago we woke to a house covered in vomit and diarrhoea which lasted until early afternoon. Our dog was obviously quiet for the next 24 hours but seemed to recover well.
In the last month, I’d started to notice him ‘slip’ on the wood floor. That was what it looked like to start with but then I noticed it was more than one hind leg seemed to give out. It only ever really happened when he’d been asleep for a long time so I out it down to age and arthritis. He’s slept a lot more lately and was looking a little thinner but his appetite was fine and I out a lot of it down to him getting old.

He’s been ok all weekend but when I came down this I noticed that both his back legs were wobbly and he couldn’t stand very well on them. He went out & did his business & seemed ok again.
I had to take the kids to school & was out about an hour.
When I returned he was panting and had been sick - twice. I let him out and he was sick again but then he came in and went to bed.
He spent all day wondering in and out of the house to have a drink but wasn’t sick again until mid afternoon. I’d made a vet appointment for 5pm but had to collect my children from school at 3.30. Again I was about an hour but when we got back he tried to stand to say hi and his back legs wouldn’t hold him up.

I knew he wasn’t right so I had to carry him to the car and take him to the vets early. Luckily the vet saw him immediately but he could hardly walk to her room. He got weighed - he weighed 35kg in July & 28kg today!

That last walk seemed to drain him and he lay on her floor and didn’t move - he didn’t even raise his head. His tongue was a bit blue and him gums very pale. She said his heartbeat was very quiet (??). We stood him up together and she did the test where you lift their foot and see if they plant it back down properly - he didn’t, he just stood on the knuckle type part of his paw. She said his legs were very stiff. The vet said she believed his heart was failing and basically there was nothing we could do.

It was heart breaking to have him put to sleep and I would have done anything to bring him home one more time but she said I’d be doing that for me, not for him - I know she’s right but it’s still hard.
She euthanized him which went fine and was over in a minute or two but then blood started coming out of his back end. I do mean blood - not poo mixed with blood - it was just a bloody fluid - there was so much they filled a large bin with all the paper towels it took to clean it up - they were surprised and said it was definitely not normal and that he’d probably got a tumour.

Why would a tumour suddenly bleed after euthanasia?
A tumour wouldn’t have made him vomit though would it?
Or make his legs weak?
or cause heart failure?
If it wasn’t a tumour but was just his heart like the vet originally thought, would that have made him vomit? maybe… but it wouldn’t cause the heavy bleeding after euthanasia would it?

Sorry but I’m so confused so I keep doubting if I did the right thing? Maybe I should have brought him home and saw how he did over night…

Any views welcome

[Simkie]

I am so sorry for your loss

I’d suggest that you take a peek at canine hemangiosarcoma online and see if that matches up with some of your dog’s symptoms. It sounds like you did everything you could, and I wouldn’t second guess yourself…I definitely think you did the right thing. From everything you’ve described, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was bleeding internally prior to the euthanasia, and his death just allowed his body to “let it all go”.

[Kachina]

Very very sorry for your loss. It’s hard not to question yourself under these circumstances. I’m always so upset and I go around and around about it after the fact even though it’s always clear as day that it was the kind thing to do to let them go. We don’t always have all of the answers, but for your dear boy to make it to such an advanced age is a real testament to your love and care for him. 14 is about a hundred in Labbie years. I believe the lovely knowledgeable people here will weigh in with some helpful explanations medically, but all I have to say is sorry-and good job.

[Hollycatt]

So sorry for your loss.

It sounds like you did the right thing for your boy. He may well have had a couple of things wrong with him. Heart problems are common in older labs and the vet will have been able to tell a lot in his examination. In answer to your question, tumors cause biochemical changes in the body and can cause vomitting, particularly pancreatic cancer. It sounds like he had a wonderful life and you put him first at the end, which is all any of us can ask of our loved ones.

[BW2001]

Thank you all, the house just feels so empty and quiet and he’s not laying squashing my feet as he usually does.
I’m sure you right about the bleeding Simkie - I just never seen it before after euthanasia - then again I’ve never seen so much blood anyway so I guess it was shocking. I know deep down it was the right thing to do, it’s just all those stupid ‘what if’s’ that get into your head.
Just wishing they could just die peacefully in their sleep
x

[Calamber]

My Abby had a mass on her spleen which ruptured and her stomach was filling with blood. It also causes neurological symptoms like those as well. Hers were very slight but she did lose her balance on the stairs a couple of times and I could see her back end would lose balance very slightly. She had a mild seizure they day we put her down, which was sudden like yours and she was panting and drank a good deal more than usual in the last week. We just lost her 2 weeks ago this past Sunday. I am so sorry for you, I know exactly the shock you are feeling.

[Blume_Farm]

[QUOTE=Calamber;7862871]
My Abby had a mass on her spleen which ruptured and her stomach was filling with blood. It also causes neurological symptoms like those as well. Hers were very slight but she did lose her balance on the stairs a couple of times and I could see her back end would lose balance very slightly. She had a mild seizure they day we put her down, which was sudden like yours and she was panting and drank a good deal more than usual in the last week. We just lost her 2 weeks ago this past Sunday. I am so sorry for you, I know exactly the shock you are feeling.[/QUOTE]

I am sorry for your loss. I just want to clarify for folks that may have to deal with a similar situation…if a splenic tumor ruptures they bleed into their abdominal space, not the stomach or GI tract. Hence they will not vomit blood or have bloody diarrhea. If they are vomiting blood or passing large amounts of blood they are bleeding in their GI track. Could still be due to cancer (or many other things), just not a ruptured splenic tumor. If one is concerned about a ruptured abdominal mass (spleen, liver) that is bleeding one would do an abdominocentesis (essentially put a needle into the abdomen and see if they get blood).

[Trrr-ot]

[QUOTE=Simkie;7862818]
I am so sorry for your loss

I’d suggest that you take a peek at canine hemangiosarcoma online and see if that matches up with some of your dog’s symptoms. It sounds like you did everything you could, and I wouldn’t second guess yourself…I definitely think you did the right thing. From everything you’ve described, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was bleeding internally prior to the euthanasia, and his death just allowed his body to “let it all go”.[/QUOTE]

Dear OP, I am so sorry for your loss. Losing a beloved pet is soul wrenching.
I work at an Animal Emergency Clinic and I second what Simkie says. Hemangiosarcoma often grows silently and peaks abruptly and with killing force.
I think you were very brave to accompany your precious dog on that last visit and do what was right.
Many people say that they wished their pet had just “passed in the night”, but the truth is, the body does not let go easily. A terminally ill patient will eventually die (human, canine, feline, equine you name it) but the battle is usually a rough one. You just might not see it.
It is so, so hard to say goodbye and brutal to be the one that okays’ that last shot, but believe me it is a far kinder thing we are able to do for our pets.
You did the right thing by your sweet dog. Hugs to you, sincerely.

[Beethoven]

You could always get a necropsy done and get some answers that way. It may be too late for a necropsy depending on how the body has been stored, but it’s worth asking the vet. From the sounds of it you made the right decision. Its better a day to early than a day to late.

Sorry for your loss.

[cloudy18]

I’m sorry. I don’t have any answers or ideas, but I think you did the right thing.

[stolen_virtue]

OP, I am so sorry. I am watching my sweet girl in the last days of her life. I wish I could make her young again.

You did what was right without a doubt.

[vacation1]

I’m so sorry, both for losing your dog and for the trauma of that bleeding, which must have been so upsetting. I agree with Hollycatt that there may have been multiple ailments affecting your dog at the end. A 14yo Lab obviously has had pretty good resistance to disease and good inherited longevity, so a sudden crash like this seems like it could be a combination of problems causing a catastrophe rather than one catastrophic illness like a tumor. My sympathy to your family.

[CrowneDragon]

Oh goodness, I’m so sorry. With the symptoms you describe and especially with all of that bleeding after the euthanasia it sounds like something was going seriously wrong. You definitely made the right choice and saved your friend unnecessary suffering.

(((HUGS)))

[spotteddrafter]

I have no input, and have never had and of my animals bleed out after euthanasia like you described…I just wanted to say that I’m so sorry for your loss. Your’s too, Calamber. It’s just never long enough, is it? Hugs to both of you!

[Pancakes]

What Blume Farm said.

Bleeding from the “back end” or rectum means that there was bloody coming from the GI tract. In my experience this most often is a result of “shock gut” or when the intestines don’t get enough blood flow. This happens when there is a severe compromise to the cardiovascular system and the body picks the “vital” organs only to receive blood flow - heart, lungs, brain. The circulation is poor, so you often see pale mucous membranes or blue mucous membranes. The rest of the organs don’t get enough and they suffer.

You can also get bleeding disorders from liver failure or immune-mediated destruction of platelets (ITP). These also can cause vague symptoms in their initial stages.

I’ve euthanized hundreds of animals and many times we will see fluids leak afterwards from the sicker ones. Heart failure patients will leak frothy blood-tinged fluid from the lungs through the nose/mouth, urine is released, and the colonic contents leak. Blood is not typical unless it was in the colon, ready to come out as diarrhea in the near future.

It could have been a tumor in the abdomen, it could have been heart failure, but whatever it was, it sounds like it was his time and ultimately you absolutely made the right call. 14 years is a long, good life, but it never is long enough… So sorry for your loss

[Laurierace]

My Pom was euthanized this summer. She had CHF and mitral valve disease along with a collapsing trachea. She had sudden onset of respiratory distress that did not resolve with an extra dose of lasix so we put her down assuming the CHF had gotten worse. Instead of watery fluid coming out her nose as expected, blood came out which lead them to believe that her heart valve had ruptured. I took it as a sign that we made the right decision, hope you do as well.

[Marshfield]

I am sorry for your loss. When I euthanized my husband’s GSP last year for a presumed hemangiosarcoma, the fluid her body released was foul. The heart is another common site for hemangiosarcoma, so it is possible that the muffled heart sounds were related to this. Please know that you did the right thing for your friend.

[Calamber]

[QUOTE=Blume Farm;7862896]
I am sorry for your loss. I just want to clarify for folks that may have to deal with a similar situation…if a splenic tumor ruptures they bleed into their abdominal space, not the stomach or GI tract. Hence they will not vomit blood or have bloody diarrhea. If they are vomiting blood or passing large amounts of blood they are bleeding in their GI track. Could still be due to cancer (or many other things), just not a ruptured splenic tumor. If one is concerned about a ruptured abdominal mass (spleen, liver) that is bleeding one would do an abdominocentesis (essentially put a needle into the abdomen and see if they get blood).[/QUOTE]

Yes, that is true. I have never had this happen before and did not know if the bleed would ever occur outside of the stomach. He did do an abdominocentesis and said the blood was non-clotting, this after a ultrasound showed the mass.

[BW2001]

Thank you all for your replies - it helps to read other people’s views.

Calamber - I’m so sorry for your recent loss - they shock of it happening quickly is horrible isn’t it but, better I think now, than a long drawn out death. If I’d known on Sunday that 24 hours later he’d have been gone, I’d have spent every second with him - that’s my only regret, that I didn’t know & didn’t spend that time with him.

Yesterday as I posted, I didn’t know what to think. Today I feel a bit better knowing it was so quick and knowing that there was not really a decision to make - he couldn’t have come home because it would have been cruel and I think he would have died anyway. At least he enjoyed his days right up until the end.

Blume & Pancakes thank you for the information - like you say, it could have been a tumour or his heart - either way, the time had come to say goodbye and although it’s awful to loose him, I think we were lucky to have such a beautiful loving dog for such a long time.

stolen virtue - I’m so sorry, I truly hope these last days are peaceful ones for you and your sweet girl. xxx

[Blume_Farm]

[QUOTE=Calamber;7864175]
Yes, that is true. I have never had this happen before and did not know if the bleed would ever occur outside of the stomach. He did do an abdominocentesis and said the blood was non-clotting, this after a ultrasound showed the mass.[/QUOTE]

Non-clotting blood via abdominocentesis with a visible abdominal mass is a terminal illness and IMHO a clear sign that euthanasia is the right choice. Those are the “easy” euthanasias. When I say that I do not mean easy emotionally as death and loss is always hard, but easy in the sense that the animal has a terminal, imminently dying disease so the decision is clear. Versus a big old dog with bad hips, muscle atrophy, difficulty getting around but is otherwise “healthy”.

When an old animal decompensates rapidly prognosis is always more guarded as it is much harder to stabilize a condition that is deteriorating so fast. Again, IMHO that is the way to go though. We all will die. The goal is fast and with as little pain as possible. One of the great aspects of veterinary medicine is we can hasten natures often not as kind process of dying.