My in-laws have just been told that their 11.5yr old Springer X Border Collie has got Leukeamia. She went to the vets on Thursday as she had a temperature and was having 'vacant' moments. A blood test was taken and when the results came back it showed her red cell count was just about acceptable (very low) and her white cell count was through the roof.

The vet has arranged for an xray to be taken today to see if her lymph nodes are affected and so they can then plan what treatment if any she should have.

Does anyone have any idea what treatment would be given to such an old dog, and also how long she's likely to have left?

Thanks,

Fiona
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I had same type of blood results last July with my then 9 year old, after I was worried about her loosing muscle. The xray showed no obvious mass, just some fuzzy maybe areas!

I put her on a higher protein diet (as her Kidney results were excellent), allowed her to get a bit fatter than I would normally like, and she has been as bright as a button since! She is now 10 1/2.

A friend had a bitch diagnosed with cancer as an older dog, and decided to do nothing other than ensure her comfort, and she lived another 2 years, to about 11 or 12! I decided against any aggressive therapy, and will jsut watch that she enjoys her life and is pain free!

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I've just had a call to say that Meg died this morning. She had another funny turn last night and was rushed to the vets. She had massive internal bleeding and didn't respond to the drip or the transfusion.

The only good thing is that she wasn't really ill. She'd had a bladder infection about 3mths ago and then this funny turn/infection over this BH weekend but she never really suffered - or at least she didn't show any signs of it.

My in-laws have already decided they'll get another puppy and will be making enquiries tomorrow. My MIL is hoping to have another pup by the end of next week at the latest.

Fiona
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