I wish I had known this information earlier, because my older dog passed away last month and had all 7 symptoms, but my mother insisted they were common for older dogs and couldn't be cancer. Its nice to know now what my dog had died from and its horrible that she had been living with cancer and we didn't even know it. I will keep this information in mind for my other dogs.

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My case, with my Gordon Setter/German Shepherd mix, Heidi, was very similar to Michelles's with her Daisy. Heidi was always very healthy, but when she was a little over 6 years old, she had many of the same symptoms that Daisy did. She had a wonderful vet who did everything he could, but we finally had to let her go. I kept the letter my vet wrote me a couple of days leter, because it was so helpful to know that he thought Heidi was a very sweet dog who knew we loved her enough to make that very difficult decision
.
Thanks also to Felicia for suggesting an annual ultrasound. I don't know if it would have made any difference in our case, but it's something I will definitely do with my next dog---no matter what size/age/breed.

Thanks to all who have shared their stories!

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I am really sorry everyone who has lost a pet. I worked at a vet and it is always so painful when someone goes through this. I got to know lots of pets over those years that I had to say goodbye to and their families that my heart ached for.

I lost my kitty Elmo to cancer in 2004, he was soon to be 12 and I had him since I was 12. When it was discovered (a lump on his back) we decided not to have it removed because it would be so painful for him and there was such a high chance that it would just come back. He was a big orange tabby and sweet as can be with 2 crooked ears from broken blood vessels he got when he was little. ---- When he crawled under the bed and didn't want to come out I had to make the hardest decision ever. I'm thankful for my friend that drove me to the vet the next day because I couldn't drive myself and i couldn't speak when I got there. And I'm thankful to my other kitty Caspian for being there when I got home - animals are so loving and comforting.

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When I was in my 20's I lost my Taffy to cancer. We had had her since I was about 10. We had gotton her at the pound to replace another dog who had passed away of heartworms. I remember when my parents bought her home, as I was crying over the loss of the other dog, and she licked my tears. I remember when my dad told me, when he went to call her, and she always got up with him in the mornings, she didn't get up that morning, like she usually did. When he reached down to touch her she was cold, as she had passed away in her sleep. When we took her to the vet, the dr said she had all these little cancers inside her, and one just burst. She was great with all my brothers and my sister and me. I remember I cryed for a whole week. Right before she passed away, my mum and dad said she went to each of our bedrooms, and slept for a couple of hours, as if to say good bye. I miss her so much, and am crying as I write this. It is ironic that my other little shi-tzu who was my dog, that I had asked my mum to watch for me , ended up staying with her 10 years. I did not have the heart to take her away from my mum. As she became very attached to her. After my mum passed away of cancer, the shi-tzu would not go into her bedroom. It is like she knew what happened. Dogs and cats bring so much joy and campanship in our lives. I know that all the animals that pass away are in doggie and kitty heaven, waiting for us to get to heaven to reunite with us in the afterlife. Thank you for

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As w/ people, it's the process of elimination & treating the Symptoms, rather than testing for the worst case scenario. Plus most people cut the expensive & sometimes basic tests that would give a proper diagnosis.

As a vet assistant, both in hospitals, mobile ultra-sound vet, & emergency facilities; A bit of advise: Cancer in pets 5 years & younger is very rare, but happens, usually in pure bred & large breed.

If it were me & you can afford it, even if your pet seems healthy, consider saving for an annual ultra-sound exam & blood work after the age of 5 in LARGE breeds, or Pure Breds or with family history of ailments, not necessarily cancer.

7 to 10 years for medium sized dogs (depending on size), 10-13 for small dogs.

With Cats I would start preventative testing around the age of 9, earlier for pure bred, or family history of ailments, not necessarily cancer.

Renal & Kidney failure is the most common health ailment I came across. My boss gave me a last resort to try for for these illness's which I use on both dogs & cats w/ great success. "Mylanta" was the suggestion & it did wonders. Look up "renal failure in cats and antacid" for an explaination of what actually helps. I read up & found many positive comments RE: cats. I also supplement a small daily dose of powdered Colostrum & powder vitamins from Halo Pets (& all senior pets). A year later kidney & renal railure dog & cat are still doing great

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I lost 2 cats to cancer. One in 2005 and the other in 2007. Even
though I found the lumps early and spent thousands of dollars on operations, the cancer came back. I was heartbroken, but when they got really bad I had to have them put to sleep. They were 15 & 16 so they did have pretty long & very happy lives.
I would spend the money again because it gave me an extra 1&1/2 years with each of them. So sometimes even when you find the cancer early it still does'nt help. I have 2 cats now and pray to god that they remain healthy. I would'nt want to see another one of my cats go through that not to mention what I went through.

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MY DAUGHTER AND I KNOW YOUR GRIEF. OUR SALLY WAS 3 WHEN SHE BEGAN TO LOSE CONTROL OF HER PEEING, SHE TRIED TO GET TO THE BATHROOM AS SHE HATED TO MAKE MESSES. MY DAUGHTER HAD RAISED FROM A VERY YOUNG PUPPY WITH BOTTLES AND PUPPY FORMULA. SHE CALLED SALLY HER BABY AND SHE FORBID ANYONE TO CALL HER A DOG. THEY WERE VERY CLOSE. SHE SAW VETS LIKE SHE WAS SUPPOSE TO FOR CHECKUPS AND ALL. BUT IT WAS NOT NORMAL FOR HER TO PEE IN THE HOUSE. WE THOUGHT SHE HAD A BLADDER INFECTION. TINA TOOK HER TO BANFIELD, SHE CALLED ME CRYING AS SALLY WAS DIAGNOSISED WITH CANINE LEUKIMIA. I GOT THERE AND SHE WAS REFERRED TO A CANCER VET SPECIALIST. IT WAS EXPENSIVE RXS BUT SHE GOT THE MONEY. SALLY WENT INTO REMISSION FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS WITH CHECK UPS. THEN ONE DAY SHE JUST DIDN'T LOOK GOOD AS HER FACE WAS SWOLLEN, SO OFF TO THE SPECIALIST. CANCER WAS IN HER PANCREOUS. TINA MADE THE HARDEST DECISION OF HER LIFE. SHE ARRANGED A VET TO COME TO THE HOME AND WE WENT OUTSIDE TO SALLY'S FAVORITE SPOT BY THE LAKE. TINA, BRIAN, AND I HELD HER WHILE SHE LEFT US FOR HEAVEN. THE WOMAN FROM PET REST CAME WITH THE LITTER COVERED WITH AN INDIAN BLANKET TO TAKE HER TO BE CREMATED. TINA GOT HER A PRETTY CONTAINER WITH HER FACE ON IT WITH A LOVE MESSAGE FROM HER MOM. THAT WAS OVER FOUR YEARS AGO AND I AM SITTING HERE CRYING OVER HER, I KNOW SHE IS PAIN FREE AND HAPPY WITH GOD. CANCER HITS ALL AGES HUMAN OR ANIMAL. BLESS YOU FOR YOUR STORY. DAISY IS RUNNING AROUND WITH SALLY AND OTHERS SO REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES.

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Thank you for this article, and for all the readers' responses.

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I just lost my 6 year old Saint mix, Daisy, to cancer. The scary thing is she had NO warning signs. Looking back, the only sign was she was slowing down a bit. We still hiked the hills daily. She was a bit overweight and had knee surgery when she was younger, so I thought those were the reasons. We were out on a daily hike and I thought she might have overdone it playing with my 2 other dogs, she had to lay down and take a break. This was my first sign, on Tuesday. So we took it easy for the next 2 days. Then she stopped eating and throwing up. I took her to the vet, on Friday. He said she had a stomach virus, no problem. She stopped eating, had bloody, tarry stool, she was having week wobbly spells where she could not stand and would fall down. She was having trouble breathing, she was snoring, her belly was extended. I took her to the emergency vet on Sunday, and I left without her. She was riddled with cancer. She was dying there in the vets office. She was a different dog that day, just not there anymore. I am still in complete shock. She just had blood workup and had been to the vet twice since then, nothing. I am a pretty anal pet person, I notice everything and can be a pest at the vet, and I missed this. The only time in the whole 6 years with her that I heard her whine is when she spotted a deer. She held in that horrific, body eating disease until it took her away within 6 days.

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Few experiences in life are more heart-rending than seeing an animal you love waste away from illness...this really hits home. Thanks for posting.

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