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Senior dog with leg tumor: Should we do surgery or put her down?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Large (61lb +) | Female | spayed | 10 years and 3 months old | 75 lbs

We Went to a local vet for a dog, and he did some x-rays and he saw what he thinks is a large invasive tumor on her right front leg. She is 10, and I think that is too young for her to be put down but my parents think it would be best for her. The vet said they could remove what they could of it but there's no guarantee they will get it all, so it may spread more. I just hate the fact that they're giving up. Just wondering if you could tell me something that could ease my mind.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Cara, DVM, cVMA

Veterinarian

Published on September 21st, 2017

I'm so sorry about Baby. If the tumor is potentially metastatic, or spreading to other parts of her body, that would worsen her prognosis. Before surgery I would have your vet check x-rays of her chest as that is a common area for tumors to spread. Otherwise, her prognosis would vary depending on the type of the tumor. Good luck!

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    Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    I completely understand...I had to put down my two year old dog who was paralyzed after an accident and it took me many days before I could make this decision. Tumors on the leg range in severity, but considering the grave prognosis given to you, I am suspecting that this is a bone tumor. These types of tumors are very painful and can be very aggressive and spread throughout the body. We often offer surgery to remove the tumor, because it can relieve some discomfort, but it usually does not extend their life that much. With a 10 year old dog, they may not be able to recover well and cope well from this type of surgery, so that's possibly why your parents are considering putting her down instead. They probably don't want to see Baby suffer more than is necessary. I think what you should do is ask the following questions to have a clearer idea of why your parents are making this decision: 1) Does the vet know, or have a strong suspicion of what type of cancer it is? 2) What is the survival rates for that particular cancer after surgery? 3) How likely is Baby to have complications after the surgery? I hope that helps, but I understand that this a very difficult decision with no clear right or wrong answer. At the end of it all, you should be comfortable knowing that you did the right thing for Baby. As painful as it was for me to put my dog down, I still know that it was the best thing for him.

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