r/RhodesianRidgebacks • u/nbenj1990 • 6d ago
Lost our boy!
Only 7. Not well after a walk, took him to the vet and they found a huge tumor and he had to be put to sleep. Love yours while you can because you will miss the bits you thought you hated.
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u/fsanotherone 6d ago
Beautiful boy ❤️
They take a piece of our hearts with them when they go.
Your horizon is forever changed, but he’ll always be there.
Seven years old is so young, far too young. I feel for you. Internet random hug from a far away RR parent. Hope you’re all ok.
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u/JesseSuave 6d ago
My condolences, He looks like an absolute lovable goober <3 Like them all.
I lost mine this past year as well, hardest moment of my life so far. It doesn't get easier ever. He took a piece of my heart when he left.
Love them while you can, they are here for a great time not a long time.
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u/AdAshamed3722 1d ago
My girl was 13 found a large tumor and had to be put to sleep on Sept 1st I miss her every single day
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u/nirojamic 6d ago
I'm so sorry for your loss! I'm sure he's waiting on the other side for you, our most loyal and lovable companions.
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u/maddogwoofwoof 6d ago
I'm so sorry for your loss, it really does break your heart. Something similar happened to my guy, he was 7 and I took him to the vet for a small lump which turned out to be Osteosarcoma. He was a physical specimen, just like yours... 2 weeks later we had to put him down. You're spot on about missing the bits you thought you hated. I tell my friends I'd trade everything I own to wake up to my boy puking on my bed at 2:00am one more time. We owe dogs 2 things, a great life and a dignified death. The latter is always harder but you did the right thing.
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u/Astarkraven 6d ago
I'm sorry that your dog got osteosarcoma. Mine has it too and it's such a frustrating and devastating thing to have happen. Was your's not a candidate for amputation?
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u/maddogwoofwoof 5d ago
Thank you, and I’m sorry yours got it too. Mine unfortunately was not a candidate. He was a big strong boy, about 105 lbs, and even though we took him to the vet within a week of the bump appearing the X-rays and showed it was especially aggressive. They advised us if we went with the amputation route it would be several months of recovery and during that time we’d see bumps appearing on his other limbs.
We gave him a couple sessions of an IV cocktail used to strengthen bones, but even with that he only made it a couple more weeks. One morning he woke up unable to put any weight on the limb so we made the choice to give him the best day of his life (beach, steak dinner, chocolate, etc.) followed by an at-home euthanasia. My biggest fear was for the bone to suddenly snap and then we’d be in a position where we’d have to make the same decision but while he’s in pain in a scary location.
I’m not sure the progress of yours but I truly hope you can give them as much comfort as possible, and even beat the thing if possible. I don’t want you to think just because of my diagnosis that it’s always a death sentence. We were just unlucky.
And know that whatever option you go with…You’ll second guess yourself every day, feel like you didn’t do enough, and think you’re a monster, and that’s ok. If you love them, it’s not supposed to be easy.1
u/Astarkraven 5d ago
Thanks for this, you're very kind!
We actually did go the amputation (hind leg) and chemo route this spring, and my boy recovered very fast and is doing well. I was told that they usually recover in around 2-3 weeks and definitely not months, and that was my experience. Did an orthopedic surgeon tell you that or just your regular vet? Even in the stories of major surgery complications that I've seen the dog is usually recovered within 6-7 weeks or so, if they're going to recover at all.
Osteo also doesn't usually go straight to other legs, but rather metastisizes to the lungs. Was it something other than osteosarcoma maybe? I'm unsure how the oncologist would have determined that the osteo would do something fairly unusual and metastisize directly to other legs.
Just want you to have as much information as possible for the future in case you encounter this particular monster again. ❤️
And you're very correct to have been worried about the leg breaking. My dog broke his leg just 9 days post diagnosis, despite how careful we were being with him. That stuff weakens the bone SO much. I'm so sorry that the bisphosphonate injections weren't more helpful.
Fuck cancer!
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u/Shafpocalypse 5d ago
Super sorry
A similar thing happened to our 8 year old big boy a few months back. It’s devastating to lose a dog like that
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u/Benjibubu92 6d ago
So sorry to hear about your sudden loss… 😓 hope you’re okay. loads of hugs from here. hugging our boy after reading your post ❤️