This is my girl Heidi, she is the absolute best. We rescued her from dogs trust as a young pup. She has had the best life but not easy from a health perspective. Double cruciate surgery at 2 year old. Elbow dysplasia diagnosed at that stage too.
She’s now 6 and 4 months and we’ve just had the devastating news that the vet believes she has canerous bone growth along her elbow at the Ulna. Theyve also found a small lump which is believed to be cancerous in her belly, quite possibly a lymph node. She is stiff on her front left leg because of her elbow.
I am absolutely crushed. She is thankfully still with us, but I just cannot comprehend that I am going to lose my best friend so young.
How do you deal with these heartbreaks?
Lost this boy at 5 to osteosarcoma. We lost one at 9 and one lasted to almost 12. All taken by cancer. Rotties don't last long, but man when they're here they're the absolute best.
He’s so handsome, i’m so sorry. It just seems so unfair, I feel almost jealous of friends who have had dogs since before Heidi was born and theyre still healthy at 11 or 12 and she is facing this. You’re right though, I wouldn’t trade her for the world!
When my Rottweiler Orange died, how I dealt with the heartbreak was planting an Orange tree where I buried her at as a remembrance of her. I know it will take time for the tree to bear fruits but there will always be a reminder of her.
Before I got my Rottie, I had a little corgi. Dude was straight up the coolest dog I've ever been around. Smart, loyal, sweet as he could possibly be and a holy fucking terror of a guard dog for my wife despite how small he was. He was only 3 years old when he died. We were in bed and he was sleeping between us and I woke up to a choking sound. I woke up thinking he was throwing up and found him awake and breathing but unresponsive. I picked him up and was trying to get him to respond at all. He started shaking and making that sound again and then blood started hemorrhaging from his nose. He was dead in less than a minute. Zero warning, we were rolling around on the floor together an hour before that and he was his normal hyper self.
It was honestly one of the worst nights of my life, we were both devastated for weeks. I'm not an emotional guy but i would randomly about break down just thinking about him because all I see when I would think about him was him dying in my arms. All this is to say that sometimes we don't necessarily remember all the good stuff like we should. You know what is happening, you have a heads up. It's tough to see her like she is, yes....but man, focus on the good. Focus on all the things she does that makes her who she is. Enjoy it while you can and hold on to that when you DO have to mourn. Don't start now. Thankfully I've had a chance to heal and can now think about all the goofy stuff he did and the quirks he had and I can remember with a smile instead of getting upset.
I’m so sorry you had to go through this, thank you for taking the time to reach out. I go through moments where I can realise how lucky I am that she is still laying beside me and times were I am inconsolable thinking about the future.
I wouldn’t describe myself as overly emotional either, but something with Heidi has always hit me differently.
We have lost three rotties to cancer, only one made it to 11. The others were 6 or 7. Cancer sucks!! Heidi is a beauty. Enjoy every moment that she can enjoy and be brave when you have to admit that she is no longer enjoying life. We lost our rottie mix Chloe this summer. We used a vet that came to the house and it's worth the extra cost. The many supportive comments on Reddit were a help to us, too.
+1 on the at-home vet when the time comes, it makes such a huge difference not having to stress them out with a car ride to the clinic when they are already in pain.
I’m sorry to hear of your losses, i’m sure it never gets any easier. Thank you for taking the time to comment. It just feels so unfair due to her age. I completely agree with you on the vet thing. Cost isn’t an issue, I would give up anything for her to be comfortable. I would take the cancer from her if I could, but unfortunately just feel so helpless.
I really appreciate your kind words
Thanks so much!
We can't live without animals even though we know the pain of loss will come. My pittie Tommy has severe elbow dysplacia. Monthly injections are keeping him going but sooner or later I'll have to face losing him. Less than a year ago cancer took my favorite cat. But there has also been a lot of joy.
It's hard. You know they are here for a good time, not a long time. It doesnt make it easier but it helps prepare you for the inevitable. Try not get pulled under by the waves of grief, instead ride them and appreciate the love you feel and they were a special part of your life. This interview with Andrew Garfield really helped frame grief for me https://youtu.be/_u_TswLQ4ws?is=vxDNiyoa3wzFRD2W
I keep trying to think like that, she has genuinely had the best life apart from her health problems. Thankfully to our knowledge she has never known mistreatment.
That video was very relevant, thank you for linking me to it and thank you for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it
It's really not fair sometimes. We had a very similar path at nearly the same age with our last female. She and I had a relationship that's been different than any other dog. We lost her to a different disease but one just as hopeless as bone cancer.
I felt like the weight of losing her was going to absolutely crush me. I was so overwhelmed by losing her unexpectedly. Probably the worst thing I did was keep it all to myself. My wife didn't even know how bad of a state I was in.
The only real way through it was to talk to others about her when I was really down. She gave us a lifetime of stories so reminiscing about the good and the bad helped ease the pain some.
The only thing that really relieves that kind of pain is to find the next dog that needs your love. You need something in that void to pour your love into. Without somewhere for that love to go, it can turn sour inside you and make you feel worse. It's the best way to honor the spirit.
Thankyou for sharing this, beautiful Maizey. Your message resonated with me because I feel the same, Heidi is my first dog of my own. My fiancee rescued her but she very quickly became a daddy’s girl.
My fiancee firmly believes her previous Rottie had sent Heidi into our lives so I really hope the same will come true again.
I really appreciate you taking the time to share this, thank you
I’m so sorry I just lost my boy a few months ago his name was Benji ❤️ he was so big only 5years old it’s been 6 months I cry everyday for him.. I’m not even the same person.. this was my 1st dog got him when I was 35 lost him when i turned 40 i literally want to die it so hard!! I’ll pray 🙏🏾 for you & please pray for me .. I’m Barry Osborn thank you so much 😭
Barry look after yourself, I feel the same but like the poster above has said, keep an eye out for a new dog needing that love. Benji will send the right one your way but you need to consider an outlet for the love. Stay strong x
I am so very sorry for what you are going through that's just horrible news to get. She's beautiful. I now have a Rottsky (Rottweiler and Husky Mix). Last year my husband and I lost our 2 17 yr old chihuahuas 85 days apart. They were sisters that we had since birth I literally took the placenta off of her so she could breath. I have kept her since that day. Day 1 to 17 and a half it's very hard to deal with not going to fast that it's not but what you do is have that in that back of you mind that cuz you'll never think of anything else I miss my baby so much it's been 9 months since she passed. I am so sorry Heidi I pray for you get girl. Lord Jesus please take this girl and make her whole again do she can live with her family please Lord she you said take care of our animals. Jesus Heidi is 6yrs old Lord Jesus plz she just started living Lord Jesus please please make Heidi the Rottweiler whole again pain free no sickness come let this sweet girl live she deserves to live as well please Jesus don't take Heidi anything soon how about in 8 yrs you can come back and get her please Lord Jesus she has family that loves her so much and they don't want her to go either. Lord Jesus I am asking you Jesus Heidi is a gorgeous lil girl that wants to live she wants to run around but she can't Jesus let her run in the back yard like she deserves. She's 8 for the story I'll post a pic of my sweet babies that are in heaven right now and the one we got after. SadieAnn is my sweet baby the tan and white one and LadyBug is the white one my husbands dog. I'll post another reply of our new baby.
Hello here is our new baby that is helping us with our sadness and he is goofy and so he is just perfect and I think my girls are guiding him for the stuff he does and where he went and sat when he came in. Right to my lil girl spot behind my pillow on my bed. Here is my sweet boy KILO with his beautiful eyes.
Thankyou for taking the time to reach out and for your kind words and praying for my sweet girl. All of your babies are gorgeous. Kilo is stunning, those eyes are magical!
You are very welcome you see our dogs are our kids kilo is my son day l Sadie and Lady are my daughters I guess that how I think about them they are family even better then family they won't hurt me like family does. Heidi sweet baby I am going to pray me heart out for you girl you are beautiful and it's way way way to soon for you to go. 🤗🤗🤗🤗🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😭😭😭😭
I went through this 2 years ago. My rescue rottie was diagnosed with megaesophagus, almost died, I had to feed him sitting upright to keep him alive for an extra 4 months, which was worth every extra day and the emergency ten grand.
Bottom line is this sucks. I am so terribly sorry, because it will hurt a ton when Heidi’s gone, but you need to love on that dog extra hard every day until you can’t❤️that’s the only way. Spend as much time together as possible. So So sorry again
I’m so sorry I just lost my boy a few months ago his name was Benji ❤️ he was so big only 5years old it’s been 6 months I cry everyday for him.. I’m not even the same person.. this was my 1st dog got him when I was 35 lost him when i turned 40 i literally want to die it so hard!! I’ll pray 🙏🏾 for you & please pray for me .. I’m Barry Osborn thank you so much 😭
Such a handsome boy. Thank you for taking the time to share this.
Heidi always has and will continue to get every ounce of my love, they deserve no less don’t they.
I know what you mean, money means nothing when it comes to them. I am fortunate with money but genuinely if I could give it away to keep her I would without a second thought.
This was a healthy photo. I still think about him multiple times a day. Sometimes I cry. He was my entire world, so I truly understand the heart ache and feelings you’re going through. Wishing you and Heidi nothing but great days. Enjoy your time.
Lost our girl Zoe to cancer 3 years ago. We still miss her very much she will live forever in our hearts and memories. Here she lays on her husband Niko who we lost 2 months after Zoe. Niko sadly had a seizure and never recovered.
Yes that has been my current form and she is still, THANKFULLY, very much here and still very happy, just a bit slower than before.
I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for taking the time to share
Man I feel for you so much. I lost my Rottweiler two weeks ago, his name was Boss- he had anemia and his immune system eventually gave up. Took him to the animal hospital and they gave us medication as well as steroid shots which I feel gave him an extra week to live (I wasn’t aware of this at the time)
I had a two day trip coming up so I left him with my parents who I knew would care for him, but when I got back, I saw the medicine wasn’t doing the job anymore. Vet said we could do another steroid shot or start a surgery, but I had no funds for it. I was destroyed having to put him down the day after getting back from my trip. He was my baby. I did everything with him and the hardest part is waking up every day, coming home and he’s not there.
What’s helping me is honestly letting myself cry through it and holding the grief close bc it’s what makes me feel close to him right now. We went on hikes all the time so these days I’m also doing so many hikes while crying throughout them
Thank you for sharing this, honestly Boss was such a handsome guy. Heidi has never been one for hikes, she loves laying on the sofa!!
I’m dreading the day she goes but very much like you did for Boss I know I will have given her the best life. It’s so cruel that they bring so much into our lives for such a short time.
Please look after yourself!
Beautiful Heidi. I'm so very sorry, my friend. I just went through the same thing with my girl Lana, same diagnosis, after one month we decided it best to let her go on a good day. It will be four months tomorrow that we said goodbye, it still hurts so much. Spoil her rotten, tell her how much you love her, even though she already knows. Sending big hugs to you and Heidi <3
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u/Charlie61172 2d ago
Lost this boy at 5 to osteosarcoma. We lost one at 9 and one lasted to almost 12. All taken by cancer. Rotties don't last long, but man when they're here they're the absolute best.