Chills1994 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Hi again, Yes, I received some very sad news yesterday. Rusty is an 11 year old purebred Vizsla. I adopted him in the spring of '95 from a no-kill animal shelter. He was about 4 months old then. That was when I was living in Fayettville, NC. I've been back here in Illinois for a few years now. The vet says he has cancer of the lymph nodes. The most obvious sysmptom is this mass around his throat, which popped up while I was away at work for 2 months straight. The vet also felt his lymph nodes in his "hamstrings". They were swollen too so that means the cancer has spread all over. Last night, I did a search on some gun dog forums. I was kinda hoping that someone might have had the same health issues with their dog, but nothing. A google search revealed some snake oil miracle cures, which irked me. But anyway....I'm rambling here...sorry. I am not really into hunting, but I always wanted to train Rusty, especially the few times I had seen his birdey instincts kick in. All the more happy memories I could have of him. Maybe on the next one... I'm feeling anxiety over when I'll have to finally put him down. I'll post a pic or 2 of him so you all can see how striking the Vizsla breed can be. Thanks for letting me ramble on here. Chills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Chills Thats a damn shame. A pet can be so much more than just an animal...I am sure you know what I am trying to say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tightloop Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Sorry about your pet...they are like part of the family after you have them a while... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted December 14, 2005 Author Share Posted December 14, 2005 Yep! Thanks Merlin and Tightloop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 So sorry to hear about your loved one pet. They really can be such dears over their lifetimes, can't they. Seriously, though, if you like the breed and have found it to be something you'd like to live with and train, now is a good time to research puppies of the same breed. In that way you can have an unbroken chain of valuable canine friendship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clay1 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 That's very tough business Chills. I run a German Shorthaired Pointer. He has been a great field dog, but these days at 12 he is a great 70 pound lap dog. My dog, Fritz, has a couple of soft fatty tissue deposits. They concerned me until the vet told me that as long as they are soft and moveable they they shouldn't cause him too many problems. I grew up with animals, (No, not the brothers - the pets) and they have always been a big part of my life. I know that the day is coming and I dread it. Take lots of pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtr Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 I'm sorry to hear about your dog Chills, spend all the time you can with him, and know that you gave him the best life he could have, he thanks you more than you can know for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRe Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Man, I am so sorry to hear this I have a friend who just had to put his 14 year old Golden down (yes, really, 14 years!)... complications resulting from testicular cancer, apparently I have three dachshunds - 2 are 9, and 1 is 5. It breaks my heart thinking about the eventual... At least your guy has had a great life with you - I'm sure both of your lives were enriched. Enjoy the time you still have. I hope that things go as smoothly and peacefully as possible for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinMike Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Sorry to hear this. I can understand the pain you must feel. We used to have a 120 pound Bull Mastiff at work here that belonged to one of the guys. She was family to us and we all cried when she passed away due to a liver problem. We have a couple of toy poodles at home (yeah, poodles) and they are like children to my wife and I. We love those little critters. I know dogs are with us but a short time, so I make the most of each day. No matter how busy I get, there's always time for a game of fetch. I can't bear to think of losing them, but the day will come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Sorry to hear it. Few things in life are like the dogs in our family. Talk about giving everything and asking for nothing. My advice is take a day off work and take him to do whatever he enjoys doing. Maybe share a few nice extra-rare steaks with him. Talk about old times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ima45dv8 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Chills, I forget who said it, but he was obviously one of us: "To love a dog is to know that one day you'll cry." My deepest sympathies, ...Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipscron2000 Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Chills I'm sorry to hear about your dog. I too lost a dog a year ago. I never cried so hard in my life. He honestly was my best friend. Only a dog would understand that. I'm sure you can. Anyway, our dogs can play together in Puppy Heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistolPete Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 I'm so sorry to hear about your poor dog. I've been there before with other dogs I've owned. Not cancer but other problems. Just give him all the love you possibly can while he is still around and spoil him as much as possible (which I'm sure you already do) My new pup is a year and a half old and we found out this year he has epilepsy. Poor guy now has to be on meds for the rest of his life. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hey QuicksDraw! Posted December 14, 2005 Share Posted December 14, 2005 Sorry to hear about your four legged family member. Remember all the good times and unconditional love that only a dog can give. The hardest part of having a dog is having to let them go. Enjoy the time you have... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket4 Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Chills sorry to hear about your dog. I just recently bought a Boston Terrier puppy. I had only had him about a week and he had a seizeur. He was also throwing up too. I took him to the vet and they took some blood. They called me the next day and told me that he has a kidney birth decfect and if we didn't do some thing in the next week he would probably die. I cried my eyes out. We don't have to money to take care of something like that. Any way it has almost been 2 weeks after talking to the vet and he is still here and very active. I just wanted to let you know that I know how you feel about loosing such a good friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penny Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 (edited) Chills, Sorry to hear the bad news. I can tell you that Purdue's Vet School has a very active pet oncology program over in West Lafayette, if you want to followup with second opinions, etc. That's the closest location I can think of for you. Also, here is a link to a web site that has tips for pet owners. It's run by a good friend of mine (Dr. Kevin Hahn) who specialized in dog and cat cancer at Purdue and is now in Houston. You might be able to get some good suggestions or a referral to another vet in your area. Good luck, Penny Edited December 15, 2005 by Penny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 Very sorry to hear this Dogs are the best. Give him all the love you can give him... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackdragon Posted December 15, 2005 Share Posted December 15, 2005 I lost 3 Rotts to cancer! 1 at 2yrs, 1 at 8yrs and 1 at 9yrs. It killed me! I lost my male and my buddy the day before my birthday in 1997. My friend a vet came and out him down in my front yard. I took my 2 year old female to CSU in colorado, they tried an experimental delivery system for the chemo drugs on her, It was to help small children. Worked for a while. All my Rotts had ostiosarcoma. I have lost Family and to me it was no different, Them being" dogs"!....... Sucks!!! Ivan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeeper Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I am really sorry. My oldest is 11 also and has a heart murmur. I hate the thought of ever putting her down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Thanks everyone for all of the supportive responses. As promised, I'm posting some pics. The first is my Rusty. The second one is an image from Yahoo of a Vizsla hard at work. Here is a link to a breed description: http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/vizsla.htm Chills Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bierman Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Beautiful animal. My deepest sympathies to you. My childhood dog was a Weimar that we had for about 12-13yrs. We had to put him down for the same condition. Very hard day for my whole family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDave Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 Best of luck to you and Rusty. I've never met a dog I didn't like. I can't say the same thing, by a long shot, about humans. My wife had a Boxer who was also diagnosed with cancer and was given only few months also. He hung on for almost two years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spook Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 I've never met a dog I didn't like. I can't say the same thing, by a long shot, about humans. Ain't that the truth...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4444 Posted December 17, 2005 Share Posted December 17, 2005 I'm so sorry to hear that, we lost my wife's lab last week. I know it is hard, we all get so attached. Her dog was a survivor,,,,,she survived parvo as a pup,,,,,heart worms later and all along the way, the happiest/sweetest dog I've ever known. Not sure what happened though, there are 3 possibilities,,,,1....coyotes,,,,we have lots of them around us, the other was one of the neighbors dogs has shown some agression toward her, the other is we know on the last day we saw her there were some tresspassing hunters in the area,,,,actually, I won't honor them with the name of hunter if they did what I think they did. We had been talking about another dog for a long time anyway, so this very morning I surprised my wife with having "Barnaby" from the url below delivered to our home while she was out to the store this morning. My wife was floored. We keep hoping our other dog will turn back up, but hope is fading. We're likely to rename him,,,,,he'll be an indoor dog. After only a few hours being here,,,,,we've found he's a snorer and makes everyone feel good. http://www.starlineranch.com/pupsgabby.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted December 26, 2005 Author Share Posted December 26, 2005 Rusty was euthanized today. What more can I say...... Thanks for all of your sympathies. Chills P.S. A blood sample was drawn from him beforehand. Hopefully, his sample will be used in research to fight lymphosarcoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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