For Benny

Thank you so much for your kind thoughts, support and encouragement. Late on Tuesday the new meds kicked in for Benny. Phew. It has made such a difference for him. Since then he has been almost his old self. He has wanted to go for walks, mind you at a slower place than his normal rocket pace. He has been out for car rides to visit my 95 year old parents, whom adore him. If I knew he was so amazing and gentle with the elderly and frail I would of done more in that area with him. But living interstate for so many years he has not the had the exposure to the elderly. Yesterday he had a bath & blow dry and he took off in the backyard running and rolling about like his old self. He smells so much better, mind you his foul fish breath I cant do anything about. One thing that I have noticed is that his fur is falling out in quite large quantities. This is most usual for him. Benny has not lost his huge appetite, but he still will not touch water. Wish I knew why. He has also developed a lump just below his shoulder tip, so I think that it has spread rapidly throughout his body. Today my eldest son arrives back in Aus so we are having a family dinner, with Benny as guest of honor. He has watched them grow from teenagers to adults and they dearly love him. They have each been asked to bring him a special treat to eat. Come Saturday it will be 12 days after I first noticed his fish breath and 10 days since being diagnosed with an oral tumor. Tomorrow Benny will be put at peace surrounded by his family.

My beautiful 13 year old Lab/Rottie/Ridgeback cross called Benny, Benson or Ben depending on his behavior, was diagnosed last week with aggressive oral Osetosarcoma. They have given him two weeks, tomorrow will be week one. I have never done palliative care for a dog before and at the moment I am somewhat flying blind whilst my heart is shattering. I spent last night reading through Sophie's and Emma's stories, bless all the dogs furry souls, to try to understand what to expect, what to do, and what has worked for other people. I also want to thank you all for sharing your wonderful tails, devastating heartbreak, joy and despair. It is of great value to all of us that are facing the loss of their noble heart friend in such cruel circumstances. So far I have changed his diet to raw food (chicken, liver & kidneys, beef, vegies), supplemented with Fish Oil, Vit C, loads of garlic and ginger and Zinc. Benny has a Lab stomach, a garbage guts who will eat anything at any time.. Thinking that Slippery Elm will be good for his tummy with all the meds - it worked wonders with the horses and my kids when they were younger. I have also been making him chicken and beef broth, that's where the loads of ginger and garlic come in, which I mix with his food and also freeze for those days that I don't have time. The reason that I am doing this is because it seems to be hurting him to drink water, thus he is not drinking enough, I think. Does anyone know why this is happening? What is about water? I have even served it warm and in different types of containers. Maybe he is just turning up his nose at Sydney water. As for meds he started on Carprieve 100mg x 2 daily. After speaking to the vet, yesterday I picked up new meds. So he also has Gabapentian 100mg x 1 daily and Tramadol 50mg 3 x 6-8 hours. Yesterday I thought it was overkill, he will be in la-la land, but after last night, he was in so much pain he was growling at me. He is now on the full course. He never was any good when he was in pain. This morning he was not much better, still growling, slept most of the morning and then went out to lie on his bed in the sun. He has just had his lunchtime meds and he has zonked out again. Don't know if that is a normal reaction to the meds? Or is just the disease? Or both? Seriously thinking that Benny will be in real trouble by the weekend. My eldest son returns to Aus on Friday, hoping that Benny will be OK till then. This is somewhat sooner than I thought At least all my children will be with me and Benny. I am looking possibly having the vet come to home and then cremating Ben. There seem to be quite a few business that do this. Can anyone recommend a fair and gentle cremation service in Sydney (Northside) that they have had experience with. I called one of them and I must of interrupted lunch or such - gave me the prices and said to look on the website. They were recommended by my vet as that is who they use. They are a well known service, a tad appalled I must say. As for Benny he was a rescue pup, he and his litter were tortured by a family. As a result he has a strong dislike of young children, some men (I have always agreed with his evaluation by the way) and the vacuum cleaner. I got him at 12 weeks, he failed puppy school ....twice. Seriously. :laugh: He also does not play well with others, totally socially inept. :) Though he has had two furry friends that he has adored in his life. Robust and strong, he only went to vets for vaccinations till very recently. My delinquent Benny boy has grown to be my heart dog. A finer more loyal dog I could not wish for by my side. So sorry for the really long .....post.

Thank you so much for kindness Tassie. I am beyond devastated, and I have not been great to be around, as my focus is on Benny. He apart from his abscessed teeth, has just relocated from interstate back to Sydney with me. He left a dear furry friend behind, and has been with me at my elderly family's until I settled into a new home. Thought he was a bit depressed due to all the changes and his teeth flaring up. The subtle signs were there, looking back, ah we all love hindsight. Only dog I have ever had that I know would of laid down his life for me. Benny was a rescue pup, and he has lived a very good life since, as my best mate.

My beautiful Benny has recently been diagnosed with Oral Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer) I would like to warn others that the first sign that something was wrong with Benny was bad fish breath. After using Google vet, many threads mentioned something stuck in their mouth or a digestive problem. I can't remember it being mentioned that the cause may be an Oral tumor. Benny had surgery 6 weeks ago to remove 2 teeth, the vet has told me that she did not see anything unusual at that time. Last week he went back to the vet, to possibly remove a bone fragment, instead they found an tumor approx 10cm x 7cm. It has been very aggressive to develop in that time. Please do not take bad fish breath lightly, PLEASE SEE YOUR VET. Benson has been given a couple of weeks, and I have decided palliative care as the best option for Benson. He has been such a fabulous friend to me for 13 years, he deserves to go with grace and dignity. I do not wish to diminish the quality of his remaining time. The best that I can do is to not cause Benny pain, enjoy spoiling him every day he has left, his own personal chef (me) lots of cuddles with family and friends, and, when Benny tells me he can’t do it anymore, or the pain is no longer manageable, we will then put him to sleep. I can only pray that the heavens bless him with a quick and gentle passing.