CockersOnline Forum
Cocker Specific Discussion => Oldies (Over 9s) => Topic started by: kazzcarr on February 08, 2017, 01:56:26 AM
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My beautiful girl is 11 years old today. unfortunately when we went to vets regarding an ear infection, we mentioned some wee lumps on her mammary gland. the vet suggests a mammary strip and spaying her. Circumstances stopped her being spayed such as false pregnancies, struvite etc etc until at 3 years old a vet told me there was no benefit to spaying her at that age.
I feel so guilty for just believing him and leaving her open to this risk.
My question is at 11 years old id it fair to put her through a huge surgery or do I let nature take its course and when she shows any signs of discomfort or poor life quality end any suffering.
I also became disabled 2 years ago and due to no income as work ended I cancelled my petplan insurance. I have been quoted 850 for the op but I dont know much about after care costs etc. Has anyone been through this process and could give me any advice reasurance or just an opinion?
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Our old dog Millie had this done at around the age of 10. She made a good recovery and was back to her normal self pretty soon. She did have one blip when she got a lump filled with puss, this seemed to bother her more than the op, but once popped, she was ok. It's a hard decision when they are getting older between what can be done and what if any benifits there are for the dog, as in are they in pain, will it add years to there life span, what ever you decide I'm sure will come from loving and knowing your dog.
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Do not feel guilty! It is true that the reduced risk of mammary tumors is only relevant in early spaying, so there are very few health benefits from spaying after 3 years of age. And if it is any consolation I can inform you that in my country spaying without a medical reason is illegal, because it is in the eyes of the law considered an unnecessary surgery. So most dogs are not spayed or neutered here. Not saying I agree with the law, just wanted to give you some perspective so you know you have nothing to feel guilty about.
I think only you know if the surgery is the right choice for you and your dog. I would take into consideration the dogs health in general. I would ask the vet about expected recovery time, potential complications etc. If the dog is healthy and the recovery is not too heavy then it could absolutely be worth it. Good luck with everything!
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Our Betty had similar problems, maybe worse at the same age as your girl.
We had to choose to have the operation or lose her. So the decision was simple for us.
She was a strong dog and bore the surgery well. We had no complications to deal with. She was sore for three or four days, but even from day one stayed house trained and although in pain, insisted on descending and climbing the stairs back to our first floor apartment.
The only issue the dog faced after surgery was the loss of her previous love of swimming. We think this was either because of cold or possibly a destabilisation of her floatation.
None of us regretted the decision to have the operation carried out, least of all Betty, who lived on to the grand old age of 16 1/2 years old. She was gold coloured, and her final years were truly golden.
Hope this helps you with this difficult decision.
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I've had a dog that's had a mammary strip and was amazed how well she recovered (she was 9 when she had it done) particularly as my vet discovered a hernia and repaired that at the same time.
Yes its not cheap - its the anaesthetic that's the expensive bit
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Just a thought but I think Blue Cross can sometimes help out with vets bills depending on personal circumstances. I have also seen people use CrowdFunding to raise money for operations, as its not cheap.
good luck whatever you decide :luv:
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That sounds drastic unless the vet has done a biopsy to ascertain what they are.
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Some vets will do a payment plan though - I had one for a cat that wasn't insured with the vet school in Bristol (did cost an awful lot though)