lymphoma killed dog

German Shepherd Lover · 12-21-2006, 09:04 PM

I just lost my 8 year old German Shepherd today and he was completely healthy at his last check up in September but all of the sudden he stopped eating the day before Thanksgiving. After taking him to the vet and having xrays and blood tests we found he had lymphoma. He lost 20 lbs in a matter of 3 weeks and we had to have him put down today. We were treating him with steroids and he was eating 2 to 3 lbs of meat a day but continued to lose weight and energy until he could no longer stand without falling. This is a terrible desease and I wonder if it was possibly triggered when he received his last vacination or if anyone else has had a simular case. I am not trying to place blame but only trying to see if there are any parallels that may help find the cause so maybe another dog might not die i such a terrible way.

Thanks for any input !

Dogged · 12-22-2006, 12:58 AM

Lymphoma is certainly a terrible disease and I am sorry for your loss.

I don't think there has been any evidence that anything in particular causes it. It is cancer, and we don't know why they get it, just like we usually don't know in people.

I personally don't think it is the vaccinations. Everybody likes to point at vaccinations as being a cause, usually because they don't have anything else to point to. It hasn't been proven that they are at fault, and they have certainly saved many lives.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss. Take care.

German Shepherd Lover · 12-22-2006, 06:14 AM

I guess you may be right that I am looking for the source of this terrible disease and it seems very interesting that you say others have blamed vacinations. I have a relative that went to the doctor for a routine check up and was advised that she needed her tetanus booster. She became stricken with Transverse Mylitis two days latter and almost became completely paralyzed. It has been two years and she has recovered nearly 80 % but takes a handful of medicine everyday.

I can only search for clues that may have caused my dogs death. He never had a dog food with any preservatives and was extremely active and well cared for. If anyone else has had a simular case it may lead to a clue what is going on. Since dogs can't tell us that a couple of days after the vacination they started to feel ill , it is my opinion that we need to search for patterns that may be helpful in researching illnesses.

Thanks for your input Moderator.

Dogged · 12-23-2006, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogged

I personally don't think it is the vaccinations. Everybody likes to point at vaccinations as being a cause, usually because they don't have anything else to point to. It hasn't been proven that they are at fault, and they have certainly saved many lives.

Actually, I should have made myself clearer on this point. When I said that everybody likes to point at vaccinations as being a cause, I meant that people seem to blame vaccinations for the cause of many different diseases, not just Lymphoma. It just seems to me that whenever there is an unknown cause for any disease, people seem to think it must have been those darn vaccinations.

And I am not saying that they are not a possible cause to certain things, I just think people lean on that sometimes because they have nothing else to blame and they are grasping at straws.

German Shepherd Lover · 12-23-2006, 09:14 PM

Dear Dogged, I agree with you completely but I also know that when anything occurs in life that is out of the norms the only thing you can first examine is anything out of the ordinary. The only thing that my dog did, had, or happened other than normal was the vacinations in September. I know this is grasping at straws and may be absolutely wrong but maybe we will see other cases that people have the same situation and we can start to draw some scientific evidence to make a solid study.

Are you educated in the field of veterinary medicine?

animalcraker · 12-23-2006, 09:36 PM

I don't know much about lymphoma, could it be possible that your pet had lymphoma before he got vaccinated. Maybe he wasn't having any symptoms of it yet, or maybe it went down hill fast. Did he just get his vaccines and a general exam by the doctor or did they do labs and bloodwork too?

Dogged · 12-24-2006, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by German Shepherd Lover

Are you educated in the field of veterinary medicine?

Over 20 years in the field, but not a veterinarian.

German Shepherd Lover · 12-24-2006, 07:14 AM

Good Morning Animalcraker,

The dog may well have had the lymphoma before his vacination and been and had no obvious symptoms at that time. There were no blood tests at the September visit that but just a normal physical examination along with the needed vacinations.

The vet, whom I completely trust, and have been using for my animals for 35 years, said that the Lymphoma takes six months to killl a dog from start to finish. This itself would eliminate the vacination as the source if that is the way Lymphoma works in every dog.

I am sure that with 20 years experience in the Veterinary field Dogged is also correct in knowing how people will jump to the first cause they can think of to try to relieve their pain and find an answer.

I again am just trying to get as many people to participate in my research of things that may have preceded their cases of Lymphoma.

I know alot of people with dogs and find very few that have ever seen this disease in any of their dogs , thank God.

Dogged, my dog also had a skin infection under his front right paw which he was treated for within the last year but had no other health issues and was one of the youngest 8 year old German Shepherds I have ever seen.

Dogged, is this a disease that you have seen very often in your experience and if so, can you draw any conclusions or theorys of possible causes ? Thanks for your input.

Dogged · 12-24-2006, 01:05 PM

I would guess we see a case of Lymphoma approximately a few times a year. It is different everytime, and sometimes it kills quickly, and I have also seen some live for another year or longer with chemotherapy. Some respond to prednisone, and some don't.

I have never seen anything that I think causes it, and I do try to look for similar signs that could be causes for things.

This is not a scientific or accepted theory, but I have seen that it seems some dogs will have a major health crisis around the age of 8 years old (Not just Lymphoma). I have seen it over and over again that if an animal comes in with a major medical issue like cancer, and they are not really old, when I check to see how old they are, they are right around 8 years old. I myself had a dog with a brain tumor, and another with liver cancer, both were 8 years old. I have always been a little nervous when my dogs were around that age, and kind of happy when they passed it.

This is just one of my little observations, and I will not state it as fact. Most people think I am crazy when I mention it. Especially vets.

German Shepherd Lover · 12-24-2006, 03:02 PM

Dogged, I believe you may be on to something. I know that if a human lives past a certain age their expected lifespan increases with age. You probably see trends that others may not be paying attention to.

I am just realy curious when my dog comes up with a apparently rare disease along with some German Shepherds in the police dept as well as the lady requesting information from my state (Maryland). Very Interesting to say the least. If you are so close to the industry and only see a couple of cases a year I would assume it is very rare. Even the vet I took my dog to hasn't seen many cases in 35 years. Really strange that I would see it in the news and lose my dog at the same time for such a rare event.

Dogged, I hope you have a Merry Christmas or Happy Holiday, whatever may apply and I know others as well as myself appreciate your input and any information you can help us with.

If you can find any other information or direct me to it, in reference to Canine Lymphoma I would greatly appreciate it.