This sucks. We took my dog to the vet last week, who confirmed our suspicions, that the large tumor on her chest is cancerous. Since it is also infected, she put Haley on Antibiotics to take indefinitely, and told me to put swat on it every day. SO far Haley looks OK, but every day my 9 year old asks me “Is today the day?” 
Right now she is trotting around, happily eating, and wagging her tail, but the tumors are getting bigger and bigger. I told the vet I would call her when she stopped eating, or the infection got really bad, but I hate not knowing when the perfect time to put her down is. Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. :(:(
Many hugs to you! :no:
You will know when the day comes.
i’m so sorry.
(((hugs)))
i’m sure you’ll know when it’s time. hopefully before she experiences any pain.
my gf has a red bone coonhound. he’s beautiful. what kind is Haley?
I’m sorry. 
The same thing happened to my big kitty late last year. He had developed a bump on his chest, down by his arm pit, but he was 16 and the vet didn’t recommend being too agressive with it just because of his age. He had it for well over a year before all of a sudden, as in over night, it just split open and became this giant disgusting ulcer-type thing.
He, too, was still eating and happy (and he was 18lbs, a big boy, so he loved his food!) and we were reluctant to put him down despite the gross exposed tumor. So we kept him on some heavy antibiotics, both pill type and salve type, and kept him dressed in toddler t-shirts so that he didn’t have to wear a cone but couldn’t irritate the tumor any more. We treated him even more like a prince than we usually did…multiple feedings of wet food, brushings, etc.
We even got a price quote to remove just the exposed part of the tumor. (It reached way too deep into the muscle for even the specialty cancer vet to feel comfortable removing it, although he said he’d try for $4k.) For $900, two different vets felt sure that it would be back to the current size within a month or two.
We knew when it was time to bring him in. Despite all the antibiotics in the world, the tumor site kept up a low-grade infection, and it finally started to smell bad one morning. That morning was the morning he refused to eat, and we brought him in that afternoon. I still cry about him when I tell people about him…my poor boy, he passed so peacefully just purring and being a big ball of love like his usual self. He’s buried right outside the front door. He was a big baby and a house cat his entire life, with no desire to EVER step foot in the great outdoors. So we wanted to keep him as close to inside as possible, without being crazy cat people and burying him in the old dirt basement. :lol:
So, that was an unnecessarily long post to essentially say this: I’m sorry. I know what you’re going through. It really, really sucks.
Oh no - not your coonhound.
I’m so sorry.
Oh, damn, I’m sorry.
I just lost my bestest Ridgeback to lymphoma in May. It went incredibly fast and it was such a shock.
When I think back now, I am comforted that we were able to put her down at home, surrounded by people who loved her, while she still felt pretty good. She was really ill at the time and not going to get better, but I’m glad I did not wait until I was ready (which, frankly, was never going to happen.) I remember how excited she was to see the vet when he came over and how vibrant she seemed when the doorbell rang. It was better to let her go then, instead of waiting until she had given up on life. :sadsmile:
So sorry to hear about your coonhound. HUGS to you and your child…
She is an 11 year old Treeing Walker Coonhound Here is a link to a picture of her back in 2001, at a Bench Show: http://www.oocities.org/sumnercoonhunter/sale/Haley.jpg
I’m so sorry! I just lost my 12.5yo kitty a few months ago. Stomach cancer. Personality-wise she was still my silly little Mattie kitty but she stopped eating and even steroids started losing effect. At her heaviest, she was nearly 13 pounds and the day I had her put down, she was barely 8.
I miss that little face…
Whew. Yup, know your heartbreak and mine aches for you…
So sorry for your pain. This stuff never gets easier. Enjoy her good days.
Yup - thankfully my (dog) vet lives just across the street and agreed to come put Haley down at our house, where she can go peacefully. So, that part does make me feel better. :sadsmile: I know I’ll never be ready either, but I think when it is time, I will just know in my gut…well, heart, really.
((((((((HUGS)))))) to you and your family.
you will know when the day comes…
You WILL know when. So sorry - I know how you feel, unfortunately.
I said to my vet, “How come so many dogs die of cancer, etc. Used to be they just died of old age.” She said that diabetes was becoming the most common - from obesity.
Sorry to hear!! Did they do cytology to find out which type of cancer it is? A lot are quite responsive to surgery and chemo, especially mast cell tumors, lymphoma and some sarcomas! 11 is certainly not too old to handle that! Especially coonhounds - theyare tough cookies!
I’m so sorry about your dog. Cancer sucks!
I lost my 7 year old Ridgeback to Lymphoma last year. It was only about six weeks from diagnosis until we had him pts. I took him everywhere with me, let him eat all the crap he never got to eat, he always slept on my side of the bed anyway…but he got extra cuddles, basically just lavished attention on him. When it was obvious that he was feeling bad most of the time, I had him put him down at home. I miss him every day, but I treasure those last weeks. You’ll know when it’s time. ((hugs))
Hugs to you. I lost my 14 yo jack and my 11 yo jack just two weeks apart. In both cases I knew when it was time. The first girl told me; the 2d wasn’t ready to go but her liver ruptured would’ve become excruciating so we took her down to the vet before the pain hit.
11 was too soon to lose my beautiful girl. I hope you have better luck with your gorgeous boy.
So sorry to hear that. She is beautiful. I show treeing walkers on the bench too. Our 13 year old male has had cancer for 2 years and is still doing ok, but he is one tough old walker
So sorry to hear about your beloved dog. You will know when it is time. So nice that your vet is right across the street. Hugs!
I’m so sorry.
I had a blue-tick coonhound for 10 too short years…she was the love of my life and true soulmate. It’s been 2 years now since she passed so suddenly and I’m still unable to really talk or think about her without tears. I never thought in a million years that at the end she would be by herself.
She will most likely tell you when it’s time, or possibly she will spare you and pass on her own. There’s sure something about coonhounds, they leave huge wakes in our hearts.
What a gorgeous hound! I hope things go well for you both & you have her a good long time yet. My 7 yo bloodhound sends “bah-roos” for her to feel better!
