I guess the title says it. I have an 11 year old dog with what appears to be a very large tumour on her lower abdomen. It is restricting her mobility. I was away so I don't know how long its been there, at least 3 months. Until just a day or two ago, she still had her appetite and was managing OK. Now her food consumption is less than half and I thing she might be masking pain. I wouldn't put her through surgery as she is old and it would be too destructive. The most reasonable vet I have come across is a 2 hour drive. Does anyone have any experience of this?

I had a dog put to sleep ( not mine ) so they do do it. In this case it was a street dog that had been hit by a car and badly injured and just left at the side of the road to die a slow death

It seems not typically but I hear of some that might do it.. never met one though... good luck w/your search. 

It’s very difficult it depends if they can get the vaccine to end the animals life I once had to wait several days as the vet had difficulty in getting the vaccine he told me that ending an animals life is frowned upon 

11 yrs is not that old ... if you love her , get her operated by a good vet . She might have another 4 yrs or so . At least have her checked by a vet . Don't let a dog suffer .

Yes certainly. I needed a letter from the animal hospital my dog had been treated at saying it was necessary (you need a sympathetic doctor) and some vets will do it. Ask on a local dog or pet Facebook page. 

 

Sorry, it was a bit traumatic, so I forgot that in the end I didn't even need the letter because I had the full medical report saying chronic kidney failure and I used a lot of gentle persuasion. His quality of life had reduced to near zero, and slowly starving, not the way to die. The vet was very sympathetic (they all seem to be sweet young ladies). 

Edited November 20, 20214 yr by Speedhump
I'm old

46 minutes ago, nobodysfriend said:

11 yrs is not that old ... if you love her , get her operated by a good vet . She might have another 4 yrs or so . At least have her checked by a vet . Don't let a dog suffer .

Forcefeeding a dog that won't eat is OK if it's a temporary thing, and if the dog otherwise has a good quality of life. Also with a large dog it's incredibly difficult to forcefeed the volume required, small dog different. 

A friend of mine has a dog that had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in a similar place to your dog. The dog, ten years old, did have surgery and has recovered well. I have seen the dog as recently as two weeks ago and looks great to me.

 

Your vet should give you an assessment of what surgery will produce that will give a few more years of happy life. if not, there are more vets these days that will euthanize the dog.

 

Ask around, someone will know. In the meantime, good luck!

On 11/12/2021 at 1:18 PM, Bluetongue said:

Does anyone have any experience of this?

Yes. We had an old bitch with the same problem, tumor was about the size of a grapefruit just in front of the rear leg and had obviously become very uncomfortable.

My sister in law took the dog to the vet and asked for the tumor to be removed and the vet said it would be better to be put down, not likely to survive the surgery. My sister in law insisted and the dog survived the surgery, when recovered, like a dog with two tails, to coin a phrase. More surprisingly she came on heat again, first time for years, and appeared to relish the attention.

Not surprisingly the tumor returned after about 6 months, she appeared to accept the inevitable and died naturally quite quickly.

The decision to operate is a difficult one but there shouldn't be any real problem having it put to sleep, although some vets are reluctant for religious reasons. Best to look for a practice with more than one vet. Good luck.

23 minutes ago, ChrisKC said:

A friend of mine has a dog that had a tumor the size of a tennis ball in a similar place to your dog. The dog, ten years old, did have surgery and has recovered well. I have seen the dog as recently as two weeks ago and looks great to me.

 

Your vet should give you an assessment of what surgery will produce that will give a few more years of happy life. if not, there are more vets these days that will euthanize the dog.

 

Ask around, someone will know. In the meantime, good luck!

Just a foot note. What appears to be a tumor (cancerous) may actually be a common and medically harmless lipoma. These are quite common in humans as well.

Generally it will continue to grow and become burdensome fur the animal.

OP : your dog may be a good candidate for surgery now but not later if it grows. You shouldn't assume it's cancerous.

It is possible to have a dog put to sleep.  There was an older dog (owners pet) that 'came with' a house that I was renting.  After a couple of years it was obvious to anyone that the dig was very ill and in much pain.  The owner came to visit and agreed it was time.  He contacted a vet that would do the procedure.  There was a Thai ceremony that went along with the process.  Dog was sedated and calm throughout the 2-3 hour process.  At peace now.

1 hour ago, nobodysfriend said:

11 yrs is not that old

It is considered old in the tropics. Especially if it is a large dog. My 11 year old German Shepherd was not well. Vet said that she was as old as she would get here in the tropics.

 

We eventually had her put down at 12 years old. (Hips - could not walk.)

I also had a Golden Retriever put down.

 

The clue is in the fact that both dogs went to the same vet for regular injections and any ailments. The vet could prove a 'history' to the powers that be.

It is when there are no medical records that things become complicated.

 

BTW. We had both dogs cremated at a local temple and still have the ashes in urns. The vet organised it all.

Edited November 20, 20214 yr by Tropicalevo

You can find vets that will do it.  But lots of them don't like to do it.

35 minutes ago, sandyf said:

Some vets are reluctant for religious reasons

My vet told me that the chemicals for the injection are very difficult to obtain legally. Lots of jumping through hoops and documents.

It is not a given that they will receive them.

Animal Army - Dr Kwanchai will do it. 0931361605.

He is out towards the Buddha Mountain area Pattaya/Jomtien.  He is also a very experienced vet committed to helping Soi dogs. He helps with the Government sterilisation program.  He would be able to give you a diagnosis for your dogs growth and what could be done with it.  He did an operation on my Boxer recently at over 10 years old, no problems.

Yes well I did love the dog and I still have the sister. The growth was larger than a grapefruit. If it was on me it would have been the same shape, but larger than a rugby ball. In between the last time I looked at this post when I only had one response and now, she has passed, late on the 16th. Her leg was wasting, she refused all food for a couple of days, after throwing up what she did eat for a couple of days also. She had internal bleeding already and the whole thing was distressing, because she was a very headstrong alpha female, but at the end so weak and helpless. Yes you are probably right about having it operated but the time to do that had passed. Thanks for the replies anyway.

2 hours ago, sandyf said:

Yes. We had an old bitch with the same problem, tumor was about the size of a grapefruit just in front of the rear leg and had obviously become very uncomfortable.

My sister in law took the dog to the vet and asked for the tumor to be removed and the vet said it would be better to be put down, not likely to survive the surgery. My sister in law insisted and the dog survived the surgery, when recovered, like a dog with two tails, to coin a phrase. More surprisingly she came on heat again, first time for years, and appeared to relish the attention.

Not surprisingly the tumor returned after about 6 months, she appeared to accept the inevitable and died naturally quite quickly.

The decision to operate is a difficult one but there shouldn't be any real problem having it put to sleep, although some vets are reluctant for religious reasons. Best to look for a practice with more than one vet. Good luck.

The reluctance to put a dimestic animal to sleep is more about legalities than religion. 

Legislation enacted in 2014 prohibit the killing of an animal with specific exceptions. 

For domestic animals the vet needs to asses that the animal cannot be treated or unlikely to survive any treatment. 

 

See cruelty prevention welfare act. 

Not in my experience, they just keep giving you medicine all the time when they know your pet is going to die.

I think they use Buddhism as an excuse for making more money.

I always thought that Vets loved animals, but in Thailand it seems they love money much more.

4 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

11 yrs is not that old ... if you love her , get her operated by a good vet . She might have another 4 yrs or so . At least have her checked by a vet . Don't let a dog suffer .

Try telling that to the vets themselves.

2 hours ago, rwill said:

You can find vets that will do it.  But lots of them don't like to do it.

Yes, they just want you to keep buying medicine even when it is obvious the dog is going to die.

You should surely try an operation first. The animal surgeons here are skilled and worth a try. 

Ask your VET which other place he can recommend that will help putting your dog to sleep when needed.

We did the same, were referred to another place that refused because the dog was not old yet (barely 1yr old), but they referred us again to another VET. Once there he put the dog down immediately without further questions. 

 

That guy is now our regular VET for all our dogs: I prefer a VET that prioritizes the well-being of the dog over his own superstition/religion. Never had a second of doubt about how well qualified he is (unlike the previous place we went to where we paid much more and they never were sure what the problem was).

Due to not being able to transport my dog at the time, i got a local animal rescue place to take my dog to the vet, my dog would not eat then could not walk, they came back with my dog and told me she had a tumour, I asked if the vet would put her down, i was having to hold water to her mouth to drink, "No she will not- buddha" I watched her die for 3 weeks sitting with her as much as possible. Weeks after she died i took our cat to the vet, when i confronted her about it the vet then said ''Oh I would have put her down"

 So I had been lied to by either the vet or the dog foundation. I will never know.

3 minutes ago, Thingamabob said:

You should surely try an operation first. The animal surgeons here are skilled and worth a try. 

We don't all live near an animal surgeon, and  not very easy to transport a very sick in pain dog for 3 hr drive. just saying.

Yes,  they will but are reluctant to do so without good reason.   I had to have my 11 1/2 year old boy put to sleep last year and it was hard.   11 years old is old for a dog,   some smaller breeds can live 12 to 15 years,  but in general bigger breeds are getting old at 11 years.   Good plan would be to get a good vet to check her out in the first place,  maybe a simple Op to give her a few more years,  but the loss of appetite is not a good sign,   good luck,

Most will not, some will.

 

Those that will euthanize are mainly found in urban areas and have some training or experience abroad.

 

Even those who will, would want to first rule out possibility of treatment. 11 is NOT too old to undergo surgery if it is a surgically correctable problem. Your dog needs at minimum an ultrasound. You can't assume that it is something incurable, nor that surgery would be too destructive, without a diagnosis. You might be right in your assumptions but you might also be wrong.

 

It is not like n the West, no Vet here will euthanize on demand, they will need to see clear evidence of an incurable state.

 

Please indicate where you are located in Thailand for more specific advice.

As indicated above the dog has passed three days ago.

3 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

The reluctance to put a dimestic animal to sleep is more about legalities than religion. 

Legislation enacted in 2014 prohibit the killing of an animal with specific exceptions. 

For domestic animals the vet needs to asses that the animal cannot be treated or unlikely to survive any treatment. 

 

See cruelty prevention welfare act. 

You are perfectly free to believe what you want, religious beliefs were around long before welfare acts or any other legalities.

My wife's family will not kill anything unless there is a threat. They regularly buy crabs from the market and put them back in the sea as atonement.

As I said earlier they insisted on surgery rather than have the dog put down, religious views meant that wasn't an option.

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

You are perfectly free to believe what you want, religious beliefs were around long before welfare acts or any other legalities.

My wife's family will not kill anything unless there is a threat. They regularly buy crabs from the market and put them back in the sea as atonement.

As I said earlier they insisted on surgery rather than have the dog put down, religious views meant that wasn't an option.

The issue about religion is moot. 

Since 2014 it is prohibited by law for a vet or anybody else to kill a healthy or treatable domestic animal. 

I almost wish I hadn't started the topic. What was a very upsetting time has actually been made worse by the fact that no-one responded for a week and then you all came in 3 days after the dog died. Everything that happened is on my conscience but to be honest I knew the answer to mu own question anyway. The vet I go to saved a number of my dogs from Parvo, and I have a reasonable opinion of him, but since then he often palms me off on to the young female vet. She butchered my male dog's ear and I guess I was dubious that the good vet would do the operation as he obviously makes more money off his Thai clients with their poodles and toy dogs.