[L J]

My family lost our treasured friend last week to Hemangiosarcoma cancer. Was only diagnosed a month ago. He told us when to let him cross the Rainbow Bridge and did so peacefully with his dad holding him and his little dog brother kissing his nose. Our Australian Shepherd, Jack, was brilliant – brought us our newspaper every day, always put his toys away, carried in his traveling luggage in and out of the house, and was the consummate “sheriff” in the dog park as he always put himself between the big and little which diffused all arguments. He was always compassionate. When on one of his walks he met a group of special needs children. After all the hugs and pets were over, he saw a boy in a wheelchair at a close distance and pulled the leash to get closer. He sat by his side and instinctively laid his head on his lap. The counselor put this boy’s hand on his nape, and the boy smiled. For the counselor, the boy’s reaction was astounding. How proud we were and will always be. We laid our son to rest today by a witnessed cremation. We wanted him home with us again. Saying goodbye is never easy. We grieve by the hollow he has left in our lives. He was truly some dog.

[anonymous]

Sorry for your loss. Hemangiosarcoma is an ugly disease. It tends to strike between 8 and 10 ears old. I lost a dog to it too. It makes no sense, I believe there is a genetic component. Alert the breeder, if possible.

[L J]

Anon, thank you. We were lucky to have Jack for 11 years. I always kept up with the breeder by sending pics and stories throughout his happy life, so it was natural to tell her the sad and shocking news when we were diagnosed with no hope for survival. I am sorry that you also lost a friend to this terrible disease. Lovely memories carry us. Best wishes, L

[Melanie B]

My dog has hemangiosarcoma. He’s a 10 year old rescued pittie. I recently changed his diet to all human food. Cooked from scratch. It’s becoming very difficult to cook meals for a 64lb dog. I’d like to supplement this by some really good brand dog food. Cost not an issue. Any suggestions?

Melanie

[anonymous]

This is a heartbreaking diagnosis. I would feed the dog whatever he wants. Care and comfort. Consult with your vet regarding medication that might help, for the time he has left. Make sure you know where the nearest emergency place is, you may have to take him in on short notice……

[Bobby dog]

Hi Melanie B:
Sorry for your pup. Not sure what form of dog food you are looking for and if cost is not an issue a few wet foods my dog really enjoys are from Tiki pets “Tiki Dog” and “Gourmet Carnivore” lines and Weruva “Dogs in the Kitchen” and “Human Style” lines. I don’t recommend Weruva’s “Kobe/Kurobuta” line due to it being canned at Evanger’s. You can find pictures of each company’s recipes on their sites. They might appeal to you because they are not the usual canned food consistency.

http://www.tikipets.com/tiki-dog/

http://www.weruva.com/dog-cuisine.php

[Melanie B]

Thank you for your help! 😊

[Bobby dog]

You’re welcome. 😉

I mainly feed budget friendly kibble and canned. Along with those foods I also feed home cooked and commercial raw if you would like some other type of food options.

[Melanie B]

Thank you!

[Susan W]

Hi LJ – I am so sorry for your loss. What a fantastic dog! You were obviously a great doggy parent to have a dog that sensitive.
Melanie, I am sorry for your dog’s diagnosis, as well. To be honest, the only thing I know about Hemangiosarcoma is that it is a cancer. I will look it up here shortly. As for a food to recommend, I suggest you contact the people at VeRUS Pet Foods. I used to make my dogs’ food, too, because I had a problem with a commercial 4-star dog food & felt I couldn’t trust anyone else to make a good food. When feeding 85 lb Golden & 15 lb mutt became too much w/work, I started looking for a commercial food I could trust. VeRUS was on a list from BarkPost of companies who had never had a recall. I contact them – and several companies from that list – and only VeRUS was caring enough to contact me, ask questions, and send free samples. I’ve been feeding VeRUS for over 2 years now & my dogs are doing great. The food – I only feed dry – always smells fresh, even at the bottom of the bag. The cost is reasonable when compared to other holistic dog foods and they have several canned and dry food formulas. They have a contact form so you really don’t do anything but invest a few minutes of time to get to try out a good food.
Good luck with your doggy-baby.

[Susan]

Melaine B,
Try not feed kibble, kibble is higher in carbs, if you want you could feed about 1/4 to 1/2 kibble & other meals food the cooked meal….have a look at Wysong Epigen Wet & Dry, Wysong is Starch free & lower in carbs, the wet tin food has 15%Carbs, it will help with less cooking… I was cooking a big batch enough to last for 8-9days & freezing small meals but it still became a headache… http://www.wysong.net/

[Susan]

LJ
Jack sounds like he was a very smart boy & he left a paw print in this world, he was a beautiful & caring boy, you’ll have stories about Jack to tell for years & years… Jack will be waiting for you & the rest of his family when it’s time to pass.. RIP Jack..

[Melanie B]

Hi Susan
Thank you for the information. I’m going to look into it further. Seems like they have better quality food than anyone else. Of course nothing will compare to home made meals but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make a huge batch of meal for a big dog. I may supplement about 1/4 of his food with this.

Thank you!!

[InkedMarie]

I’m sorry for your loss.

[Melanie B]

Susan,
I was looking into the Wysong dry kibble on amazon. It did not have great reviews due to diarrhea. Did your dog ever get diarrhea? It seems that they have changed their formula or something of that sort. Sigh. It’s so hard to find a good brand of dog food. I spend 3.5 hours in the kitchen cooking for one week’s worth of food yesterday. With my mother’s help!

[Author]

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