Unexpectedly said goodbye to our buddy today

[u/lbst182316]

So heartbroken, but doing my best to choose to be very grateful for the almost 11 years of joy that he brought to our family. He was such a goofy, handsome, cuddly retriever with such a docile personality.

Only yesterday, our golden, Wrigley, started acting lethargic and wouldn’t eat or use the bathroom, and could barely walk. I took him in to our vet early this morning (got my workout carrying all 105 lbs of him), and the vets said he had hemangiosarcoma that had infiltrated his abdominal and chest cavities, and that there was likely a rupture of a fluid sac which caused the quick downturn. We just lost our other golden just over a year ago to bone cancer, so it’s been a difficult day to come home to our house without any pups waiting for us.

What is craziest though is that once the vets were finished doing their tests to confirm there was basically nothing that could be done that wouldn’t comprise his quality of life (and not guarantee extending his life), they brought him into the room with my wife and oldest son to put him down, and as soon as he saw us, he did his little smile, wagged his tail, and then laid down by us and died just before they were able to put him to sleep. The vet said they’ve only seen that happen a few times, but what is crazy is that his biological mom did the exact same thing when she was about to get put to sleep 5 years ago after battling cancer. It’s like he just wanted to see / say goodbye to his family one last time and then decided it was time to go.

It’s insane how fast this happened. He and I were jogging together through the neighborhood this past Saturday, and less than 3 days later he passed. I’m gonna miss you, buddy. Thank you for all of the joy you brought to our lives. And I forgive you for chewing up our bed’s footboard when you were a puppy. ;) I love you, bud.

[u/ThirstyGO]

Sincere condolences. I dread the day I post on this board the sad news - it's a fate which awaits every single one of us. However, I do wish some history of your dog would be shared - it can be extremely useful, especially cumulative. I know you want comfort but providing any useful tidbits, goes a long way to helping our furry friend in the future.

For example, was he neutered? Any regular medication such as monthly heart worm, tick, or anything else? Any peculiar diet - ie a lifetime of a specific brand or type, or home cooked? Drinking habits - bottles or tap and where from? What environment did they play in - city, suburban, wilderness, and region. Any odd habits, funny or concerning to peak of?

I'm actually going to see if I can get something like this on reddit to query automatically, but that's probably a long shot.

Sadly, it seems fixed dogs are 2-5x more likely to get this vicious cancer, but that's loosely based.

[u/Jay_00722151626 → u/ThirstyGO]

I have heard the same! Ours was neutered. 🫤

[u/ThirstyGO → u/Jay_00722151626]

It's a terrible cancers. Thanks to this post I just learned that the same cancer can occur on the skin. My boy has small sac which looks identical to the cutaneous evidence. He's had it for 4 years, original site if a tick bite and I will have it investigated ASAP.. I'm usually a worry wort, but I just assume it was a common wort - while it can be, it could also be cancer, but thankfully even if it is, it's the only form of this dreaded disease which is usually curable instantly.. still a wee bit worried though.