Hemangiosarcoma

If you have followed me for any amount of time, I am sure that you have heard me talk about my GSD, SNUFF.  If you haven’t heard about or met her please take a moment to get to know her while there is still a little bit of time.

When you spend as much time with your animals as I do, you quickly notice any different or unusual personality traits.  Last week, Snuff ‘s ears were down, and when I would get up to leave the room she didn’t sprint up in front of me to see where we were going.  She was eating normally and when I felt her belly and limbs she didn’t cry or pull away but she just didn’t appear to be “up to SNUFF”.

I called the vet and said I needed to bring her in to be examined, for the reasons I mentioned above.  They told me to watch her for a couple of days and see if anything changed.  I made an appointment for Friday.

When Dan got home, I asked him to look at Snuff and see if I was overreacting.  When he lifted her chin to look into her eyes, she collapsed on the floor.

We called the vet back and they said to bring her in immediately.

A series of tests and xrays showed that she was bleeding internally and if we had any hope to save her, she would need emergency surgery.

OK SO DO THE GOD DAMNED SURGERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Several hours  later, the doctor’s reported that there had been a tumor on her spleen that had ruptured, so they performed a splenectomy.  They said that her liver and kidneys looked good, but that we should still send the tumor out for a histopathology to see if it was cancerous.

Over the last week Snuff’s personality has returned. I told myself that the tumor had to be benign and that she would only continue to improve.

(She has really been letting me know that she hates wearing the cone to prevent her from licking her staples) 

The vet called with the results Thursday and crushed my hopes.  We were no longer calling the tumor a hemangioma, but now it was called Hemangiosarcoma  ….. CANCER.

They have given her 2- 12 months to live stating that the former is more likely as it is a very aggressive cancer.  I am hoping, wishing, and praying or whatever its called that it’s the later.  I am just not ready.  Although I know I never will be.  Snuff is part of the family!

As I try to wrap my head around this news, I am trying to find comfort in the fact that we do still have some time and we have loads and loads of memories.  I am going to share some now.

<– This picture is of Snuff and D.O.G. a few weeks after she choose us and we brought her home.

The picture of the right demonstrates he obsession with “balls” and playing fetch.

 

I will upload a video to youtube later this week of Snuff and her “pet rock” (apparently I don’t have the right subscription to put it here…..smh and another about her making small talk with me.

We were trying to figure out why snuff “put herself in timeout”

She didn’t.  She was using her body to keep the other animals away from HER BALL…smh

Speaking of other animals…. Yes I have a few.  Thing 2 was giving them treats to try to  get a “family picture.”  From left to right there is Neewollah (black cat), D.O.G (boston bull dog), Beauty (other black cat and neewollah’s sister), Snuff , and finally Foxy (the White sheep?..I mean cat) of the family.

I think the only think Snuff cares about more than her ball is Thing 2.  They are Best friends.

Thank you for letting me introduce you to SNUFF.  I am sure I will be posting more pictures, stories, and videos in the future.

As shitty as this news has been, I do feel blessed to have a “warning” if you will.

For all of you that consider your pets your family too, is there anything you can recommend to ease the pain it causes you?  Is there anything you do or have done to “keep them close”?  For example, I will be getting a tattoo of her pawprint.  I found a “memory box” picture frame with a place for not only her pictures, but her collar as well.