Hi everyone, I wanted to share my story with you all.
My 8-year-old Czechoslovakian Wolfdog, Slevin, started showing symptoms of bloat (GDV) on Wednesday evening before he'd even had his dinner. I rushed him to the emergency vet in Annecy straight away so he could be seen as quickly as possible. The X-rays showed that his stomach was distended but hadn't twisted yet, so the vet gave him an injection to make him sick and empty his stomach. After a few hours of observation and a follow-up X-ray, we were allowed to go home.
The next day, Slev was completely lethargic; he wasn't moving or eating, though he was drinking normally. The vet had warned me this would likely happen and told me not to worry; I just had to keep an eye on him to make sure his tummy didn't swell up any further.
By Friday, he seemed much better and was a lot less tired. He was getting around on his own, was happy to see me, and was even hopping up on the sofa... However, the swelling in his abdomen still hadn't gone down and he was still refusing to eat.
The following morning (Saturday), there was still no change, and he actually seemed worse than the day before, so I took him to our regular vet for a check-up. She was worried by his behaviour and referred me to another clinic for further tests (blood work, ultrasound, etc.) and to have him admitted.
The ultrasound results were worrying; his abdomen was actually distended because it was full of blood. The internal bleeding was caused by a tumour on his spleen which had ruptured.
Slevin had to have an emergency splenectomy (removal of the spleen) last night. The vets drained 3 litres of blood (about 5 and a quarter pints); his haemoglobin levels are down to just 2g/dL, but he survived the surgery and I've just brought him back home.
Right now, he's sleeping next to me, but he's still refusing to eat. I won't have the pathology results for about ten days, but the vet suspects it’s a haemangiosarcoma.
It looks like my poor boy only has a few weeks left to live. There’s still a small chance it could be a benign tumour since they didn't find any metastases in his abdomen or heart during the surgery or on the scan, but apparently, that diagnosis is quite unlikely. I’m trying not to get my hopes up.
I don’t even know how to put my heartbreak into words.
I’m posting my experience so that you can share yours with me too.
Some of you might have advice regarding palliative care or treatments that improved the quality of life for your four-legged friends...
At this stage, I just want to make his end as comfortable as possible; I’d love for him to see the snow and enjoy it one last time.
