My dog with a spleen tumor died at the vet. What happened?

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.

I'm sorry you are going through this with Snowflake now. This is possible if the mass on his spleen ruptured and caused severe internal bleeding. Without more information, it is difficult to say exactly what is happening, but splenic tumors can go very wrong very fast. Hopefully, Snowflake is getting the care he needs to bring him through this situation.

Hello, I am incredibly sorry to hear about your loss of Daisy. Based on the information you provided it sounds like the veterinarian's primary concern was a cancer called hemangiosarcoma. This is a very aggressive form of cancer that causes bleeding tumors in the spleen and liver. Surgery and follow-up chemotherapy is the recommended treatment. You are correct in that the tumor is submitted for biopsy after removal to reach a definitive diagnosis. Prior to moving forward with surgery, your veterinarian performed chest x-rays to look for evidence of metastasis, or travel of the cancer to the lungs. Hemangiosarcoma almost always leads to metastasis. Based on what you say, I suspect that your veterinarian saw evidence of cancer within Daisy's lungs. This essentially proves (without biopsy of the tumor) that Daisy has cancer. Even if you moved forward with surgery,, she would likely only live a few weeks before the cancer in her lungs/body would cause her to become ill again. These situations are incredibly challenging and unexpected. I hope that my explanation can provide some clarity and help you to realize that you did the right thing for Daisy. Again, I am incredibly sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry to hear about Luigi's passing! How awful. Hemangiosarcoma is unfortunately a common type of cancer in older, large-breed dogs, and the scenario you described with Luigi is also common - many dogs with this problem show no signs at all of illness until their abdominal tumor suddenly begins to bleed, at which point they become very weak and collapse, and may die within hours. Even with regular veterinary visits, there is often no way that the tumor could have been detected - most of the time, abdominal x-rays and ultrasound are required to diagnose this problem in its early stages, and unfortunately many dogs are not showing any symptoms at all to indicate a need for these tests. If the cancer was in his liver, then it's likely that this would not have been a treatable problem no matter how early it was found - surgery on the liver is extremely difficult and high-risk, even when performed by a specialist at a referral center. So try not to feel guilty - this is a terrible disease, but there's no way you could have known that Luigi had it, and very likely there is nothing that anyone could have done differently even if you had known. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am so sorry to hear about your pup. These are very general signs that could have happened due to many different conditions such as ones affecting the heart or it could have possibly been due to internal bleeding. It is hard to know with just a brief description provided but those are some things that can affect a dog suddenly. So sorry to hear this again.

Hello. I am so sorry for Jeter's difficulties. Unfortunately, draining the blood will only relieve the pressure for a very short period of time. The spleen is an organ that can accumulate & hold massive amounts of blood but can also bleed very easily because of disease ( infectious or inflammatory ) or because of cancer. This amount of blood is probably leaving Jeter quite anemic & this degree of blood loss into the abdomen can result in lower oxygen levels to the tissues, also leading to shallow breathing often at an increased rate. An older pitbull with these symptoms probably has a hemangiosarcoma on the spleen. Possible surgery to remove the spleen & tumor may be feasible if there has been no metastasis, but just draining the abdomen is just futile. I am so sorry for your poor Jeter. It is so difficult to see a pet having difficulty. I wish you & Jeter all the best. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry your dog passed away, it is always hard to go through that. From your description, it sounds as though your dog had a gastric dilitation volvulus (GDV) or 'bloat.' This is where the stomach flips upon itself. it is a life threatening condition that requires surgery in attempt to fix. Sometimes, the signs that occur when this first happens can be subtle and it goes unnoticed for some time before being treated. When the 'flip' happens, it causes a large amount of inflammation that the body must contend with and unfortunately, a good outcome doesn't always happen. It sounds like you did everything you could for your pet. Of course, it is hard to know tell what happened for sure based on your description. Since you are asking this question a year later, you may still be grieving. It may be of benefit to speak to the veterinarian who took care of Patch to discuss what happened. There are also counselors who work with grief over pet loss in your area that also may be of benefit to you.