My old dog is very sick with bloody stool and raspy breathing. What to do?

I'm so sorry to hear that you and Sammi are struggling with end of life decisions. This is one of the most difficult and agonizing decisions that we make as pet owners. Anytime difficulty breathing is involved, suffering is occurring. Given her heart disease, it seems most likely that the breathing difficulty and coughing are a result of heart disease or congestive heart failure. Without examining her and seeing her chest x-rays, I can't accurately speak as to her current situation and if a change in medication may be beneficial to improve her quality of life and breathing issues for the time being. Finding blood around her stool is another concerning sign, and could be related to issues with her colon or anal glands. Given Sammi's difficulty breathing at this point, it sounds as though your best two options are either a) further evaluation by her vet urgently to determine if medications can be adjusted to improve her quality of life, or b) euthanasia to ease her pain and suffering. O

OH my. I can understand your despair, especially after having already taken her to your vet. It sounds like she needs to have some testing done to determine what the underlying problem is so that she gets the proper treatment. A pet that is having difficulty breathing, not eating and blood in the stool (could be due to stress), sounds like a possible lower airway infection or even pneumonia. She needs to go to another vet for a second opinion, bloodwork and chest radiographs to evaluate her lungs. If she does have pneumonia, then she will likely need to be hospitalized and treated symptomatically for a few days until she is hopefully well enough to go home. Here is a finanical assistance website in case you need help affording her veterinary care. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html I hope that Bea is able to make a full and speedy recovery from her illness. Best of luck to you. Take care.

Poor Xica! I'm so sorry that she's sick, and that you're in the position of having to consider what is best for her right now. This is always a difficult situation. Her x-rays do appear to show very severe pleural effusion. As I'm sure your veterinarian has probably discussed with you, pleural effusion of the type that you have described (bloody fluid) is almost always caused by one of two things: congestive heart failure, or cancer. The amount of fluid in her chest makes it hard to get a good look at the size and shape of her heart, or to determine if there are any obvious tumors in her chest, so it's hard to say which of these possibilities is more likely without additional testing. But unfortunately, even with aggressive treatment, neither of them have a good long-term prognosis. Knowing this, if I were in your position, I believe I would probably decide to let her go rather than pursuing hospitalization, chest tube placement, etc. - these are invasive, uncomfortable procedur

Poor Mylo! I would look at his quality of life. There could be something more serious causing the vomiting and bloody feces than just worms. It could be due to cancer, which is unfortunately common in senior dogs. It would also cause him to lose weight. If you have a dog who is blind, deaf, is passing blood in his feces, and is vomiting, my opinion is that he doesn't have a very good quality of life. I would have Mylo seen by a vet tomorrow. Together you can discuss his symptoms and quality of life, and the vet can give you an in-person assessment of how they feel his quality of life is and if it's time to let him go peacefully.

First off, I'm so sorry Jack has cancer! I work for a home euthanasia service, so I face these questions with my clients all the time. I tell them to make a list of five things their dog loves to do. If he isn't doing at least two of them, then their quality of life has declined to a point where euthanasia should be considered. Another factor to consider with Jack is his appetite. If he stops eating all together, he will slowly be starving, and that will be quite painful for him. I wouldn't let him get to that point. Oftentimes, our dogs are ready to go before we are ready to let them go, and they hang on longer for us. Dogs are quite good at hiding their pain, especially if they see their owner is distressed. I would make that list I suggested, keep trying to get him to eat, and have blood tests done to see if he is getting anemic. This may help you decide when it's time to let him go peacefully. I understand it's hard to say goodbye when he's still running and playing, but

If Charlie has blood in his stool I highly recommend a veterinarian. Here they will look to see if he has hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. This can be caused by ingesting something that upset his gastrointestinal tract. At the veterinarian they can hydrate Charlie and give medications to help this resolve. I hope Charlie feels better soon and thank you for using Boop by Petco!

This depends very much on her current quality of life. If the symptoms from the mass are causing her pain and discomfort then yes, euthanasia is a very valid and compassionate option. If she is coping with it and otherwise well, I would wait for the blood results as there may be a treatable or manageable medical condition which could improve her quality of life. Her comfort should be the primary deciding factor, if you feel she is no longer enjoying life or able to join in with her usual routine and resolution of the cause is not achievable (for any reason) then allowing her to go peacefully is never a wrong option.

Poor Charlie! You did the right thing by taking him into the vet. It is likely that he had a cut from hitting himself, and that would cause the bright red blood in the vomit. The black color of his feces indicates digested blood, so if he had blood in his stomach from the injury, it passed through his GI tract leading to the black color of his feces. He may be painful as well from hitting his mouth, causing him to be more lethargic than usual. Now it is concerning he is breathing funny, but that can also be pain related. Keep an eye on him tonight, and if he's still showing these same symptoms in the morning, take him back into the vet. Do not give him any human pain medications, as many are toxic to dogs and can be fatal if given. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using Boop by Petco to address your concern. Based on the symptoms you are describing, it sounds as if Charlie is dealing with a severe respiratory disease / infection. I would strongly recommend getting Charlie in to the emergency veterinarian as soon as possible as this could potentially become fatal if not appropriately treated. The sooner he is seen the better. You can try and place him in the bathroom with the hot shower running so that he is breathing in steam and using a humidifier in the meantime while you are waiting to get to an emergency vet. I hope Charlie feels better soon! Please let me know if you have any further questions / concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I am so sorry to hear this. Based on her age and breed and what you describe I am worried that she may be bleeding into her abdomen from a tumor on her liver or spleen. If your parents won’t take her to the veterinarian there isn’t much you can do but be with her and pet her gently. You can remind them that neglecting an animal who is suffering is animal cruelty which is illegal. It may remind them that her care is their responsibility. I am glad she has you. You are in my thoughts. I hope that if she passes it is peaceful. Take care.