Dman979

So, some of you might have noticed that my avatar was different for the last month. I feel like I owe you an explanation, to clear up some confusion about what it was.

Since January, my dog had been acting sluggish and lethargic.

On May 11th, we took him for an ultrasound. It turns out that he had a tumor on his spleen. Two hours later, he was in emergency surgery to have it removed.

The vet did a biopsy on it, and it turns out that it was a benign tumor.

Two weeks later, he had recovered a bit, but then didn't get better. The vet ordered another biopsy on a different part of the tumor.

It turns out that my dog had cancer.

His breed (Flat-Coated Retrievers) can get a very aggressive type called a malignant histiocytoma. It's a cancer that can start anywhere on the body, and will spread to the bloodstream. It doesn't respond well to chemo, but therapy can slow it down.

We started him on chemotherapy pills the same day.

By May 29th, he stopped taking his pills. We had to struggle with him for an hour to give him his pills, in peanut butter. By that time, he wasn't eating normally. He loved food, almost more than us. We once timed him finishing his dinner in under a minute. Now, he would leave food in his bowl for an entire day, or more. We had to hand feed him, and bring his water bowl to him.

He was weak, and dehydrated. He was also developing swelling in his abdomen and losing muscle tone. We had to carry him outside on walks, and frequently he couldn't make it out our front gate.

Around June 3rd, he stopped eating entirely. He could only lie in his crate. He barely showed interest in us.

After some heart-rending conversations, we said our goodbyes to him, and took him to the vet on June 8th.

My avatar for the last month was a mourning ribbon, in honor of my dog.