Hi )

My 7 year old rescue Boxer has a myriad of problems. She was rescued from a backyard breeding situation where she had most likely been bred at every season. She is not a good example of her breed and is in poor health because of her life. She came to us last October in a poor state.

Soon after we rescued her, we found out she has terminal mammary cancer (spread to lungs). Because she can't be sedated/anaesthetised she can't be treated for this. She also came to us with a very depressed immune response. Her spay wound wouldn't heal and became infected, and she had severe skin infections on her feet (took months of antibiotics to clear up and will probably never fully go away). She has mildly "malted" (we call her "malted dog"!) smelling skin - not itchy at the moment, but her feet are often pink. Vet explained that this is likely to be down to suppressed immune system due to her cancer.

Anyway, she has always been a bit "wonky" on her back legs. If you look at her from behind, she tilts to one side. She has seen the vet about stiffness in her back end after exercise. He said it wasn't arthritis because the effects are after exercise, not before or on getting up. She had a short course of Rimadyl but can't go on it for long periods because of her illness. The vet's thoughts were that she had probably been involved in an RTA at some point (she has a large straight scar on her right hip), or that she had a congenital hip problem. She can't have X-rays to confirm as she is high risk for sedation/anaesthetic.

Over the last week or so she has started to show signs of this weakness in her back legs spreading to the front. Last night she went over in the garden tripping over her own back feet (her back legs tend to cross over when she walks, and she "bunny hops" too). When we got her in, she raised her hackles when we touched her back, and seemed reluctant to put any of her feet down, instead leaning on my partner and raising one foot at a time. She has also started with mild urinary incontinence - very infrequently and usually through the night (in one very large quantity), but sometimes she goes out for a wee and comes in still trickling.

Having read into things online so I can go back to the vets armed with info, I'm wondering if any of these scenarios are likely:

*CDRM.
*Cushings Disease
*Some sort of spread of her cancer

I was wondering what your thoughts would be. I am worried that we will go to the vets and they will suggest PTS, as she has been up against the odds for some time now. The vet said she probably had 4-6 months maximum at diagnosis last November (making her a bit of a miracle nearly ten months on).

Thanks

Kathy

Hi,Kathy,
If the diagnosis of a primary mammary tumour with metastasis to the lung was correct, almost certainly her symptoms are due to further spread of the malignancy.
If she has survived 10 months after your vet gave a guarded prognosis of 4 to six months, you have done very well.
I do not think that any vet acting responsibly and in the best interests of your dog's welfare would either suggest or agree to anaesthetic.
It sounds to me that her qualiity of life is now at zero. If you love your dog, and wish to do the best for her, have her put to sleep and relieve her of her misery.
Sorry if this is not what you want to hear, but we do have a responsibilty towards our animals, and taking that sort of decision is part of that responsibility.
Walter