Our nine year old Golden Retriever mix developed a lump on her hind quarter next to her tail. A vet told us that it was just a cyst and not to worry about it. Another vet tested it and wanted to do more testing. We hesitated to spend the money because of her advanced age--and wanted to see what else developed. (Eleven or twelve years is a good lifespan) Still another vet (yes, we keep changing vets) looked at it and told us it would be $600-700 to remove it. We hesitated still. The lump has grown larger and larger--a little bigger than a racketball now.

Well, our suspicions that "having the lump removed would not be the end of it" have now come true. She now has another lump on her leg. We have decided that removing either of them would probably be just the beginning of the removals. She is not bothered by them--so, we have made the difficult decision to not have them removed and just let her live her comfortable, happy life here until either the lumps do become a problem for her or she just gets too old. (Hopefully, the latter.)

She's had a great life and was a skinny little dog that someone had dumped when we first found her. I know that her demise is probably not THAT near, but we will miss her when she is gone. She's been a great companion to me, my wife, and the kids. AND she makes me feel like my family is safe when I leave for the day or on business trips because when someone comes to the door, she barks like she ready to tear their head off (my wife hates it because it startles her every time--I love it because that IS part of her job).

No question here; I guess I just feel guilty for not spending the $1,000 to have the tumor or cysts (or whatever they are) removed. We know it is the right decision, but it is still difficult

Buddy Love, I know how you feel. We have decided not to spend any more money for the Dr to confirm that our 8 year old dog has cancer "somewhere" in the bladder, liver etc. Part of me feels guilty not doing more tests and part of me knows that our decision to just keep him comfortable until it's time is the right decision.

Your dog sounds like a wonderful family member and I'm sure you are giving her lots of love and care. Enjoy her and know you are doing what is best - in the long run.

We are going through this very scenario with our large husky mix who will be 11 in December. He had a "growth" on his tail. It had a bad odor. Of course I rush him to the vet, thinking the worse and they say it's just an infected hair folicle. (makes sense to me afterall he is HAIRY) A round of antibiotics and it's gone. Two months go by, and it's back but bigger. Take him to the vet and they say it needs to be removed but we were getting ready to move so they suggested we wait until we are settled. New vet says it's not cancerous and with stronger antibotics it would go away. No need for surgery. Mind you, it's really gross and smells aweful. So we go through another round of medicine and it seems to heal. Well it's back again. He wouldn't eat food, just laying around and was in a lot of pain. Back to the vet we go. They end up shaving him from his tail up half of his back. Again the vet said we should have it removed but I am concerned that he won't make it or it will have 'spread' somewhere else. We will see. I wonder if I could include this as a 'medical' expense on my tax returns. just kidding.

Loving our animals is the benefit - paying for their care as they get older is the drawback. We have 3 dogs - a 14 year old Collie; a 10 year old Sheltie; and a 7 year old Basenji. The Collie almost died last year from pneumonia nad pancriatitus (spelling?) and was on IVs in the vet's office for about 5 days. Total vet bills were about $1,000. These were my husband's dogs when we married, but I can't imagine not having Jessie (the Collie) around. She looks in the window at me while I'm cooking and is still very sweet. We also have two on daily medication - the Collie and the Basenji since they both have thyroid conditions which requires they have blood work twice a year.

I wouldn't trade them or our 3 cats for anything.

In July my 12 year old chihuahua had an open sore that we discovered on her stomach when we came back from our week long vacation. After a few days of the sore getting bigger, we took to her to the vet. It turns out that the sore and some other things on her stomach were cancer, we she went into surgery that night to have them removed. Luckily it wasn't an agressive form of cancer and she is as happy and sassy as ever. It's a tough decision to put an older dog through surgery and deal with the expense involved. Since my vet works at a clinic, we were able to do everything for less than $400.

I know exactly what you are going through. Our 14 year old beagle has a lump on his rear, they could take it off but it may cause more problems than it fixes. It does not bother him at all.

Today I am going to the store to get little doggie stairs so mine can jump up on the bed without me waking up to this..

running running running THUNK as he hits the side of the bed.

Boy is he getting old....scares me to think about the loss our baby.....

We are going to get the doggie stairs for our Daschund. He is almost 13 and can't jump like he used to. (and I undertand they are prone to back injuries anyways) My husband has had both of these dogs since they were puppies (before we married) so I try to be supportive but at the same time it hits us deep in the pocketbook. Thankfully he has a big enough heart that he won't let them suffer and won't do anything heroic just to keep the dogs in the family. I am praying everything turns out ok.

I've nursed many foster dogs of all ages through different types of surgery (including removal of cysts), and the older ones are often the easiest to care for. They are more patient with my clumsiness and almost seem to understand that things like bandage changes and pill taking are easier if they cooperate.

Two of my own dogs have lumps and bumps of various types - a 6 year old golden and 9 1/2 year old medium sized mutt. I've had many of them tested and all have been benign. The golden had a cyst removed after she had chewed on it to the point of being a sore that wouldn't heal. The other day the mutt had his teeth cleaned and the vet found a growth under his tongue that she removed. We're still waiting for the lab results.

I've also known goldens to live as long as 16 years, so don't write your girl off just yet.

My Springer Spaniel had a few lumps on her chest that she developed when she was about 6 years old. I had them tested and they were fine. These tests were not too expensive. They took fluid out of the lumps by syringe and it came out clear, which was normal for growths that were not cancerous. Anyway, my point is that the growth on her stomach was very big. As long as it did not bother her, I saw no reason to have them removed. I did however, have a tooth removed and a growth removed from her ear at age 11. I was scared that because she was so old, that it would be difficult for her, but she pulled through just fine. I had to put her down last month and if I had known that she would live to be 16 years old, I wouldn't have thought 11 was "old".

I have 2 shih-tzu's that are 10 and 9 (will be 11 and 10 in December)...the oldest and largest of the 2 has little cysts all over her...the vet told me that I shouldn't worry as long as they don't grow and so far they haven't...When it comes to thinking of their age and how much time I have left with them it makes me so sad. I honestly will go nuts when either one of them dies. Bring the straight jacket...

The time goes so quickly - these little four footed people age so much faster than us... My "girls" are 5 and 3 but a few years ago our pups and kitty hit that age... For years we were at the vet's with lumps and problems. - And then there is that last trip to the vet. I think you have to really be strong and think about what is best for your baby, you know him better than anybody.

If I make it to heaven the first thing I am going to look for is my dogs and cats. Maybe they will be able to talk!