Senior dog lethargic, heavy breathing, spleen tumor? Need second opinion.

Question

My dog (11 year old Golden Retriever) was very lethargic, not eating, breathing heavy, and weak on her legs about a month ago. I took her in to 24 hour vet and they did x-rays and blood work. Her platelets were at 7. Based on x-rays, the vet concluded that she has a spleen tumor and put her on prednisone. The vet gave her 5 to 6 months. I haven't take her in to regular vet because they are always booked week in advance. Just wanted to get second opinion based on photos provided. Thanks. Pet's info: Dog | Golden Retriever | Female | spayed | 55 lbs

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

It can be very difficult to evaluate x-rays without being on the computer that took them - I can't manipulate the lightness and darkness or zoom in all the way. That being said, I am concerned that there is something very serious going on in Jasmine's liver. It is much, much larger than in a normal dog. I can't see the entire spleen, but the parts that I see appear normal. I can also see that there is some free fluid in her chest cavity - this would be fluid between the lungs and chest wall that can cause trouble breathing. I would recommend re-evaluation immediately with an emergency vet. There could be many things going on, but the heavy breathing you described combined with the abnormalities in the chest have me worried that she may be having severe issues with breathing. This can cause severe anxiety and stress in a dog. The vet will probably want to repeat the x-rays and bloodwork, and may be able to draw off fluid if it is still there to ease her breathing.

Senior dog lethargic, heavy breathing, spleen tumor? Need second opinion.

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