[nickydwuk]

We have 4 dogs - each with their own personality. Our oldest dog (almost 7) recently went to the vets as he was having tgrouble walking and appeared to have lost some weight. After x-rays (and about £120) he was diagnised with arthritis and we were given some anti-inflammatories for him. He went for a check up last week and we were told to continue the tablets (a further £100) and that the wastage we could see was muscle wastage. By this time Apollo was not eating as much as he had been - we had put it down to the pain from his leg. We were advised to feed him puppy food as this is higher in calories. We started him on it and for a couple of days he managed ok then he slowed down and was only just about managing about 1 tin a day (he is a fully grown Rottweiler!!). Over the next few days he became slow and more lethargic and ate less & less. So we took him to the vet again today who gave him a really good check and found a large growth in his abdomen. He couldn't tell us much more without investigating further but he did say it was quite big. It could possibly be attached to his spleen or stomach. They want to operate so that they can see inside and see where it is attached and if it has spread. Chances are if it is attached to more than one organ or has spread they want our permission to increase the anaesthetic and put him to sleep. If not they may be able to remove it. I thought I was a strong person (being a nurse you have to be) but I was crying like a baby even though we were half expecting it. I now have the job of taking him to the vet on Thursday and maybe being the last one to see him alive. Not sure if I can cope afterwards