Suspected brain tumor, looking for input.

[msnitsirk]

I know how extremely difficult this can be, we lost our Mick so young and suddenly. We didn't have another dog and were miserable with the silence and hole of inactivity left by losing Mick. Enter Cooper......our current rescue and goofy clown. He has been an absolute joy to have in our family and his fun loving personality arrived at the perfect time for us. I thought Roxy was my lifetime connection dog, then Mick arrived - so different (he was our protector) but just as exceptional. I wondered how we could be blessed with that special relationship twice. Now with Cooper - I can't even imagine not starting the morning with his silly antics, a big slobbery kiss and a game of "tug" or "steal the sock". I guess what I'm trying to say is I think I have come to the realization that there doesn't have to be a once in a lifetime relationship- they each are unique and special, but likely will never be a repeat of the previous one. When you are ready - I hope you have the same experience and find your next lifetime connection. Sending healing hugs and wiggles.

Thank you for this post.

 

[xJazerx]

Love the pics! So precious, thanks for sharing! Not that it matters, but Sammie was not purebred nor a rescue, she was a boxer pitty mutt mix that turned out mostly boxer. She came to us from an old landlord at a house we rented a few years back. Sammie used to belong to her adult son that didn't have time for her. When our landlord tried to adopt a different dog to another renter friend of ours, said renter told her, "Chris and Kristin would probably love that Boxer." and so the tale begins.....

I had hoped the pitty mix might extend her life expectancy as a boxer, but not in this case. Sammie had a close call with death at 5 with botched knee surgery that almost killed her. Every day since then has been borrowed time. I'm just so happy she got to move here with us and have 3+ acres to run on and do boxer burns. Each time she did it, I cringed worrying about the knee but I also smiled because she had sooooo much fun. I have pics of her running and rolling in the grass, those are my favorite memories. She got 5 years after that surgery so I'm glad we did it.

Nothing wrong with a mix. My friend has a Boxer/Pit mix and he is just the sweetest baby. Some times you get the best of both breeds in one package. Dante was purebred with a pedigree many many generations back. All German and Italian Boxers. I'm in touch with his breeder, she is one of the good ones. She breeds healthy beautiful examples of the breed. I thought with a Boxer I'd be better off getting a health tested line, etc. He was the first to pass from his litter.. and aunts/uncles from previous litters, including his moms, are mostly still alive as well. He just drew the short stick, but the 6 years he gave us he was an amazing dog, and we gave him an amazing life. Id like to think so, he got to travel the world, I work from home so he always got to hang out with me during the day, etc. He never ever once in his life experieced hardship. (Thats why I adopted my Rat Terrier, he had. He had a scratched cornea and mange (demodectic) when I adopted him. He has experienced being starving, among who knows what else. I wanted to give a suffering life a show of what the good life was).

Wow, that's too bad about the surgery, but Im glad that she was okay, and that you got those 5 more years. What a blessing <3 My Rat Terrier has grade 3/4 luxating patellas but at this point they only bother him occasionally. He is not lame from it, and they do not affect his ability to walk/run/play.. so with the risk of increased arthritic pain due to surgery that I've read about, unless he becomes lame or in continuous pain, we are taking a passive route in treatment (Keep him at/under weight, extra supplements, etc). I too cringe when my Rat gets the crazy runs, afraid of when that patella is going to slide off to the side, but usually that is not when he ends up having a luxation.

 

[xJazerx]

Please disregard

 

[xJazerx]

Please disregard

 

[xJazerx]

Oops I hit reply instead of edit on accident, please disregard my last two posts.

 

[msnitsirk]

Nothing wrong with a mix. My friend has a Boxer/Pit mix and he is just the sweetest baby. Some times you get the best of both breeds in one package. Dante was purebred with a pedigree many many generations back. All German and Italian Boxers. I'm in touch with his breeder, she is one of the good ones. She breeds healthy beautiful examples of the breed. I thought with a Boxer I'd be better off getting a health tested line, etc. He was the first to pass from his litter.. and aunts/uncles from previous litters, including his moms, are mostly still alive as well. He just drew the short stick, but the 6 years he gave us he was an amazing dog, and we gave him an amazing life. Id like to think so, he got to travel the world, I work from home so he always got to hang out with me during the day, etc. He never ever once in his life experieced hardship. (Thats why I adopted my Rat Terrier, he had. He had a scratched cornea and mange (demodectic) when I adopted him. He has experienced being starving, among who knows what else. I wanted to give a suffering life a show of what the good life was).

Wow, that's too bad about the surgery, but Im glad that she was okay, and that you got those 5 more years. What a blessing <3 My Rat Terrier has grade 3/4 luxating patellas but at this point they only bother him occasionally. He is not lame from it, and they do not affect his ability to walk/run/play.. so with the risk of increased arthritic pain due to surgery that I've read about, unless he becomes lame or in continuous pain, we are taking a passive route in treatment (Keep him at/under weight, extra supplements, etc). I too cringe when my Rat gets the crazy runs, afraid of when that patella is going to slide off to the side, but usually that is not when he ends up having a luxation.

Sammie's knee issues started with grade 2 (I think is what they told me) luxating patella that we needed to keep an eye on but it then became a torn CCL with luxating patella surgery. I am certain boxer burns are the culprit there. Either way, I am happy she got so many years out of the repaired knee and got to live leash free at our new home. She loved it.

 

[xJazerx]

Sammie's knee issues started with grade 2 (I think is what they told me) luxating patella that we needed to keep an eye on but it then became a torn CCL with luxating patella surgery. I am certain boxer burns are the culprit there. Either way, I am happy she got so many years out of the repaired knee and got to live leash free at our new home. She loved it.

Oh wow. My dad's dog had torn ACLs? In both rear legs. My Rat Terrier gets those "boxer burns" himself, and I cringe every time.. but he never ends up hurting himself in those moments. I believe the vet had told me grade 3 or 4, they were basically really bad... but without him being lame from it, that surgery really wouldnt do a whole lot right now. With little dogs the patella groove shallows out again eventually and it will luxate again. Not to mention surgery = scar tissue/more arthritis, so she said until he is actually lame from it and it constant pain to leave it be, just to keep weight down, and unnecessary strain on the rear legs. I give him supplements now including golden paste (turmeric) which is awesome for joint health too. Im glad to hear that the surgery was succesful for Sammie and gave her some more active years!