This little guy is sick

[MaripositaII]

Our Pomeranian aged 11 years old isn't doing so well. We noticed that he had what looked like a big boil in his mouth on one side of his face was swollen. Mind you, he still goes on his walks and was busy chasing squirrels in the yard, eating as usual so we didn't even realise he had this problem. My daughter was bathing him last weekend and noticed that his breath was smelling awful so she looked in his mouth. We decided to take him to the vet (almost a thousand dollars later), they tell us that he has a heart murmur, and MIGHT have cancer! I was sure that the boil was related to a bad tooth, but the vet said she feels it might be something else....
Any experience with Poms and mouth cancer? They're sending the biopsy to a lab. He had surgery to remove the growth this morning.

[Sol]

No experience with boils. I am so sorry to hear this about your little dog. I hope that everything works out and he gets better soon. Poor things can't tell us when they are hurting or feel sick.

[MaripositaII]

Originally Posted by Sol

No experience with boils. I am so sorry to hear this about your little dog. I hope that everything works out and he gets better soon. Poor things can't tell us when they are hurting or feel sick.

Isn't that awful? I have no idea how long he's had this growth (it looks like a pink boil), has been there. He's been his usual self and eating normally. They've cut the growth out and said there wasn't enough tissue to put stitches so it's an open wound yet they're sending him home tonight! Hubby went to get Max. I feel really badly that I've been so busy with my remodel that I hadn't noticed his swollen face

[Sol]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

Isn't that awful? I have no idea how long he's had this growth (it looks like a pink boil), has been there. He's been his usual self and eating normally. They've cut the growth out and said there wasn't enough tissue to put stitches so it's an open wound yet they're sending him home tonight! Hubby went to get Max. I feel really badly that I've been so busy with my remodel that I hadn't noticed his swollen face

Poor little thing. Hopefully it is just a cyst. My chihuhua has a skin tag on her eyelid. I had not noticed it until the other day. Overlooking stuff like that happens to a lot of us. Don't feel bad. Also, some of that stuff will grow overnight.

[Tommygurl]

Sorry to hear this....My cat had jaw cancer...He was 19 at the time so too old for surgery.

Heres hoping it is not Cancer......

Hugs,

[MaripositaII]

Originally Posted by Tommygurl

Sorry to hear this....My cat had jaw cancer...He was 19 at the time so too old for surgery.

Heres hoping it is not Cancer......

Hugs,

What is usually done if it's cancer? I'd hate to put him through unnecessary surgeries and chemo if that's the case....thanks for the hug.

[MaripositaII]

Originally Posted by Sol

Poor little thing. Hopefully it is just a cyst. My chihuhua has a skin tag on her eyelid. I had not noticed it until the other day. Overlooking stuff like that happens to a lot of us. Don't feel bad. Also, some of that stuff will grow overnight.

Amazingly enough, my sister's mutt was about 19 years when he died. He was never sick, just keeled over one day. I guess these pure breed dogs tend to have more problems?

[Tommygurl]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

What is usually done if it's cancer? I'd hate to put him through unnecessary surgeries and chemo if that's the case....thanks for the hug.

I am not sure....Sammy was too old for surgery so we kept him comfy at home....When it got to the point that we could tell he was in pain & his pills were not helping I took him in & had him put to sleep. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. We had him cremated & spread his ashes along the beach in front of our house..........

[Sol]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

Amazingly enough, my sister's mutt was about 19 years when he died. He was never sick, just keeled over one day. I guess these pure breed dogs tend to have more problems?

Some purebreeds do have health problems. We have had chihuahuas and have been lucky. My dog has a cast iron gut. She ate a mini Snickers bar and it didn't phase her. I thought she was going to die, but a few hours later, she was hauling ass around the yard.

[pamplemoose77]

poor lil guy!!

i hope he heals quickly and that it's not anything serious!!

[TAPPY]

Oh what a cutie...just love those little pom dogs.
Hope everything works out ok, those little fur babys sure take a special place in our heart.

[krazy4playa]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

Isn't that awful? I have no idea how long he's had this growth (it looks like a pink boil), has been there. He's been his usual self and eating normally. They've cut the growth out and said there wasn't enough tissue to put stitches so it's an open wound yet they're sending him home tonight! Hubby went to get Max. I feel really badly that I've been so busy with my remodel that I hadn't noticed his swollen face

As someone who suffers from a heart murmer see if the vet recomends putting your dog on atibiotics while there is an open wound in his mouth. I know when I go to the dentist he require I take antibiotics before and after my appointment. Reason being is that with a murmer one of the heart valves doesn't close all the way and you get a kind of edie effect behind the defective valve (blood kind of pools there). Normally not an issue but your mouth is so full of bacteria that can easily get into the blood stream if there is an opening in the mouth (like when they clean your teeth and scrape your gum line). If bacteria enters the blood stream it can get caught in that edie behind the defective valve and cause serious injury to the heart. Just something to think of.

[Nerak936]

I'm so sorry to hear of your puppy's problems.

Take it one step at a time. Wait til you get the test results and talk to the vet. Listen to the diagnosis/prognosis and take it from there. That's all you really can do. If it is cancer and the option of chemo is available, I think you need to seriously weigh the benefits vs. the side effects and the cost. A good vet won't sway you one way or the other but will be upfront about what you (and your precious one) can expect.

I wish you the best and will say a special puppy prayer for your little fuzzy bundle of love.

[MaripositaII]

Thanks for all the good wishes. I read all of them, and even if I don't mention you by name, they all mean a lot!

Maxxy is home and he looks hungry But they said not to feed him until tomorrow, so he's only getting little bits of water but he looks like he wants to eat. His eyes are glassy looking and his tail is down but otherwise, he's just watching us with big, brown, sad eyes . Why do you think they wouldn't let him eat some soft food? Poor guy.

Nerak, you right, I need to wait on the results before worrying that he'll die. I guess it's normal to be this attached to a pet where you feel like it's a family member that's ill.

[wired529]

Originally Posted by MaripositaII

I guess it's normal to be this attached to a pet where you feel like it's a family member that's ill.

i hear you there. my shit-zu was attacked by a bull mastiff who jumped out of an open truck window while my son was walking him and our chocolate lab. the lab went right after the mastiff but the damaged had already been done. vet didnt think "squiggy" was gonna make it through the night, and i was in tears in the vet's office, but he was a fighter and i'm happy to say he's still with us two years later. incidently, the owner of the mastiff refused to take any responsibility for this. i reported it to the police and the city but backed down when they asked if i wanted to pursue it to the point where the mastiff would be put down. just couldn't do that...there are no bad dogs just bad dog owners.