W L PETS CORNER
A PERFECT GENTLEMAN
by Dugie Gemmill , Parkside Veterinary Practice
Some dogs are like fine wines or good malt whiskies – they improve with age , making the graceful transition from ballchasing , squirrel-hunting , firecrackers , to pipe-smoking , slipperwearing snoozers .
One such dapper gent is Roscoe , the Staffie . He is a rich brindle colour that suggests that if he were indeed a gentleman , he would be wearing a tweed suit and hat ! Roscoe is an elderly and kind chap who even at thirteen still exudes vitality . He always has a knowing look in his eye – just a way of observing you , that hints , “ I know something you don ’ t .” Roscoe ’ s mum had brought him to us initially because although bright and happy , he had been coughing on and off for a while . We arranged for him to come in the practice for investigations and happily found no issues in his chest . However , his blood tests showed that he was mildly anaemic and unhappily his x-rays showed a significant mass within his abdomen . The most common masses to be found in the abdomen of dogs are within the spleen and the x-ray image was consistent with this possibility .
Masses may be tumours , and tumours can be benign or malignant . Unfortunately , up to two thirds of splenic masses in dogs are a malignant tumour called a haemangiosarcoma . These occur more in larger breed dogs , particularly German Shepherds , but can occur in any breed . We can see these patients because they are becoming lethargic and losing weight over a period of time due to slow bleeding into the abdomen from the tumour , or sometimes as an emergency where the patient has collapsed due to acute and severe blood loss . Unfortunately , even after surgical treatment and chemotherapy , the life expectancy of these patients can be limited to up to only six months .
Discussions with the families of animals can be hard where there is a probability of a serious or life-threatening disease . Some of us will have dealt with the stress and worry of a loved one who is seriously ill , and in many ways the situation is as traumatic for pet owners . It is important to take people through all the possible investigations and outcomes with as much empathy and support as possible . Roscoe ’ s mum has always been a rock for him , having taken him on as a rescue many years ago , and we decided to perform an exploratory laparotomy . We removed his spleen ( a splenectomy ) which did show signs of haemorrhage . It weighed in at 1.2kg ! Roscoe recovered very well from the anaesthetic , and we sent samples of the tumour to our laboratory for analysis .
The wait for test results is a stressful time and I know from my own experiences that one can feel lost in a very dark place . I saw Roscoe for his first post operative check after a few days and he ambled into the consulting room with his usual quiet confidence and his mum reported he had been doing very well at home . I wonder if Roscoe knew what we had only found out that afternoon when the report from the pathologist arrived – happily , the tumour was benign ( a myelolipoma ) and although large , the splenectomy could be expected to be curative !
I am often accused of being a little over fanciful and anthropomorphic in my imaginings of the workings of dogs ’ psyche . I certainly have many different voices to have two-way conversations with my own two ! However , it might be nice to think that Roscoe did know something that we all should know and understand , and certainly his tale can teach us – it is important to look more deeply into every situation and a bit of trust and hope will often get us through .
Dugie is a graduate of Glasgow University and has worked at Parkside Veterinary Practice since 1990 and has been the Clinical Director for the last ten years . He has a keen interest in laparoscopic and orthopaedic surgery .
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