Why did my dog have dark blood in her abdomen from liver failure?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If Blu is anemic and liver values are poor then I think you need to think about whether or not Blu's quality of life is good or not. An x-ray will show if there is free fluid in the abdomen (a bleeding tumor for example) or a mass effect (signs of a tumor or other changes). It is used to determine what the cause of the anemia and the liver values being poor are, and whether or not it is likely due to cancer. X-rays are also recommended of the chest to look for spread of cancer to the lungs. This is recommended whether you wish to pursue surgery or not so that you know if Blu has compromise to the lungs. These x-rays give you information that will help you determine if signs that you are seeing with Blu are relavent or not. For example, if Blu has x-rays that show spread of cancer to the lungs, when she starts breathing up then you know this is severe and euthanasia should be pursued and you shouldn't 'wait' on it. This is the same if we know if she has a mass in the abdomen, this will tell you that if she has a collapse or weakness episode, you will know whether or not it is a bleeding tumor, and know not to wait- as waiting will prolong suffering. If she is clinically unwell at this point and you don't wish to pursue surgery or other interventions, then euthanasia should be discussed. I'm sorry Blu is having these issues, I hope she feels better!

I am very sorry to hear about your labrador. It sounds like he needs to have diagnostic imaging (x-rays or preferably ultrasound) performed to examine the abdominal cavity, or if that is not an option, an exploratory surgery may be needed. I would be concerned about a large abscess or a tumor that had a cystic or abscessed area, but truly to determine the cause and whether or not treatment will be helpful further investigation is needed.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Abdominal x-rays are sometimes helpful in determining if there is a mass in the cranial (front part) of the abdomen, near the spleen or liver. Sometimes this is obvious, but masses can be more subtle on x-rays, and it can be difficult to determine from what organ a mass is originating. If there is concern for an abdominal mass on x-rays, an abdominal ultrasound may be recommended to better determine what organ the mass is associated with. I hope this is helpful - best of luck with Teddy!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved Jimmy! Losing a pet is one of life's hardest moments. We see a lot of older dogs on Emergency for collapsing. A common cause is bleeding around the heart (pericardium) due to a mass on the right atrium of the heart or from a ruptured tumor on the spleen or liver in the belly. If Jimmy's belly was big and the Vet said it was from blood then I would assume that there was a tumor that burst in his belly from the spleen or liver. I am so sorry for your loss, please let me know if I can help in any other way.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! As a veterinarian who specializes in cancer and sees a lot of splenic tumors on a regular basis, I can tell you that this could have happened as a result of an arrhythmia as some of these tumors that affect the spleen such as hemangiosarcoma can result in arrhythmias or a result of a splenic mass rupture causing significant internal bleeding. So sorry for your loss.

If the masses on the liver / spleen ruptured, I would expect her abdomen to be getting larger and her gums to be getting pale due to the hemorrhage. If she has black tarry stool, my concern is that the cancer is also somewhere in the GI tract. If clinically she is unchanged and doing ok, I would speak with the oncologist and see what the recommendations are in regards to this. The fact that there are cancerous changes evident on the liver and spleen, tells me that this is spreading, which is not good. However, that being said, these could be benign. I just worked on my friends dog who had a liver mass and splenic tumor in his dog. I surgically removed a liver lobe and the spleen and the dog is doing better than ever still and this was done about 6 months ago. There is no way to tell for sure whether or not these are cancerous masses until a biopsy is done or the masses are removed and sent out to the laboratory for testing. As long as Chewy is stable and doing the same, I would recommend speaking with the oncologist and see what their opinion is considering all of these changes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Absolutely, you are correct in thinking that there could be an internal bleed causing these episodes of pale discoloration to the gums. An abdominal ultrasound and chest x-rays would be helpful right now to see what is going on internally. There could be a catastrophic event at home if a major blood vessel bursts or a large vessel bursts / ruptures on a tumor in the abdomen causing severe hemorrhage in the abdomen. If you notice the belly getting larger, there may be a slow bleed inside the abdomen. I would have Kayah rechecked as soon as possible so that you can get more information. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.