We had to send our male boxer to the rainbow bridge yesterday afternoon. He was a little shy of nine and a half years old, and cancer got him.

He hasn’t been feeling too well for a while now, and on his annual checkup at the end of April he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and had a growth on his spleen after having an ultrasound due to being slightly anemic. It was most likely cancer but the only way to find out was to remove his spleen and that would be a very painful recovery. We were afraid that he wouldn’t make it through the surgery...so we opted to not do it. If it wasn’t cancer then he should get better with treating the thyroid but if it was cancer then it’s most likely too late anyway because it was the most aggressive type of cancer and there would be no way to get it all. So on meds he went and we started praying for the best.

He seemed to start making really good progress and even started playing in the backyard for about a week...the week before my birthday on the 21st. Man I was happy to see him enjoying life again, in the big backyard we got when we bought this house a year ago. What a great birthday gift it was to see him play a little.

It didn’t last long though, towards the end of last week he started refusing food. It was all we could do to get him to eat a tiny bit of food. He lost 10 lbs since his last vet appointment...less than a month. This past weekend was fully of worry and dread. So we got him in to see the vet yesterday afternoon.

He made it in the front door of the vets office and couldn’t go any further. The vet came out and did his exam right there at the front door. They had to carry him to the ultrasound table. I lost it right there. To see such a strong dog not be able to help himself is heartbreaking.

The tumor on his spleen quadrupled in size and a new one on his liver was discovered. There was no road to recovery for him, his only option was to take him out of his misery....so we did what every pet owner has to do.

I hope he’s happy now being able to run and play again, and I can’t wait to see him again. His big sister (our female boxer, Gracie) misses him already but hopefully our smaller dogs (Zoey and Dozer) will help her heal. Roscoe and Gracie were inseparable and had a truely special bond from the moment they met.

I love you Roscoe, and I always will. Thank you for showing me what unconditional love is. I’ll always be thankful for you and my time with you.

I am broken.

https://grplace.wordpress.com/page/8/

I'm so sorry for your loss. And thank you for your kind words for Lola. It has to be rough for you to deal with your own loss and then to read my post and to be able to wish my girl well.

Thank you again.

So sorry for your loss. The pain is real and the loss of the loved pet heartbreaking. We lost one of our beloved GSD’s years ago to a tumor on her spleen. Took her in for surgery and vet discovered it had already spread to her liver, and that was half the size of a normal one, and not in good shape. We made the same decision as you, she would not have tecovered from surgery due to the other damage, and she was only 5 ears old.
You did the right thing, Mr Roscoe is now young and pain free , watching over you and your family until all are reunited.

I have made several attempts to post here, wound up deleting each one.

I just can not find the words to tell you properly, how sorry I am for your loss. The love between a good dog and its family is incredible and it hurts so much when God takes his gift back.

Every time I read one of these threads I re-live the day that my sweet Corgi girl had her stroke, I rushed her to the vet and wound up holding her on my lap while they euthanized her.

Sorry for your loss. The pain will gradually subside but the wonderful memories will remain.

I'm sorry for your loss, Roscoe is playing in Valhalla now.

Sorry for your loss.

Boxers are such a great breed - I had a beefy one named Samson - I got him to 11 years luckily but in the end had a similar experience as you.

RIP Roscoe, my big Boxer Sammy will be waiting for you.

Very sorry to hear this. We lost our Australian Shepherd to that about 4 years ago.
I'm guessing it was hemangiosarcoma, a cancer of the spleen. It is generally sudden and not very treatable, no matter when they find it. I've had friends that spend a tremendous amount of money and really put the dog through unnecessary (futile) treatments only to have the same outcome.
Our vet said over 20% of dogs that die of natural causes die from this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemangiosarcoma

So sorry for your loss.
We lost our boxer and my little girl at age 6 1/2 two years ago to liver failure.
It still hurts and just now thinking of getting another one.
Hoping to rescue another one and diminish the grieving.

So sorry to hear. I still miss the pets I've lost in the past. They give so much and ask for so little in return. I hope the pain goes away, but the happy memories remain strong. Prayers for you.

So very sorry. Still missing my buddy Charlie, who's been gone for about 2 months.

very sorry

I'm sorry to hear about Roscoe. In the coming days, your presence will undoubtedly be very helpful in allowing your other dogs to come to grips with the loss of their buddy.

So sorry for your loss of Mr. Roscoe, I know how hard it is to lose your friend.

Drake and Nemo will show him around after he crosses the bridge.

Very sorry for your loss. Do know two of our prior dogs, Bud & Wendy, will be waiting for Mr. Roscoe on the other end of the rainbow bridge.

Bandit and I send our condolences

So sorry, our prayers for y'all.

Condolences and prayers offered.

Very sorry for your loss, you did the right thing, Roscoe knows he was loved and that's what matters.

Very sorry for your loss