2 dogs with oral melanoma in 6 months!

mkatz

In August, we lost our 13.5 yr old mixed breed (shepard/husky) to an oral melanoma. Last week, our almost 13 year old miniature poodle was diagnosed with the same exact oral melanoma. It is a amelanotic menaloma in the gums. The vets we have spoken to assure us it is just a coincidence, but I find it hard to believe. It's not just that both dogs got cancer at the same age, but both got cancer in the mouth, and that it was the same exact variety of melanoma. At this point we are searching for answers. The dogs have little in common, except that they always ate the same dry dog food from costco and safeway (house brands). I also wonder if the condition could have somehow been transmitted from one dog to the other through the sharing of food when our first dog was sick. Any ideas? Has anyone else out there had a pet with this condition?

KumoES

Coincidences like that seem to happen a lot. Where I work, we'll get unusual cases in sets of 3s. Like... We had 3 old, gray, male cats who all had oral cancers in at the same time. All belonged to entirely different households.

mkatz

Wouldn't two in the same household seem like a much more unlikely coincidence, unless something specific was causing the condition?

Lorina

It wouldn't be something one "caught" from the other, but perhaps exposed to the same things, they may have more of a chance. Perhaps the food had something to do with it, or maybe they lived in a smoking household, or something in the water or environment, etc.

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