cancer death of basset hound

Question
I am heartbroken.  My sweet basset hound of ten years died suddenly of hemangiosarcoma. I took care of him and he had regular vet visits. I had seen that he had trouble getting around but the vet said it was arthritis and so we started treating him for this.  This did not help and a couple of days later I returned him to the vet and he said he was fine and was basically"playing " me and was doing well in the clinic and having no problems, I even left him there several days for observation. I then brought him back home and he was stil eating but not very active and having trouble walking. I returned him to the vet and he called later and said he had felt a growth in max's belly near his kidney and that it was hard and large. I gave permission for him to open him up and I told him to get as much of the tumor out as possible.  He said the tumor was huge and that there were other organs involved and said if he started suffering too much I should put him down. I hoped that if he got all he could of the large tumor that I could bring him home and treat him holistically and I even ordered some medicine for him which was 400 dollars a bottle and really seemed legitimate. I told the vet about it and he said he could keep Max there on fluids and his staff would administer the medicine and I could visit a couple or more times a day.After his surgery they said Max was up looking around and walked outside and urinated and took a little food.  The next day the vet took him out morning and evening and he drank and urinated but did not eat.  On the third day my husband and I visited him twice and he could stand but his back legs had given out on him and he could not walk.  We kissed and hugged him and the medicine was to arrive the next day but about fifteen minutes after we left the office the vet called and said max had died. Max had always gotten good checkups and I had him neutered when he was around five years of age.  About three months before his death I saw a small lesion on his stomach which I assumed was just a scrape or bug bite and the vet never mentioned.  Now when I see pictures on the computer it resembled the dermal form of hemangiosarcoma.  There was no more than one or two and they resolved on their on.  I feel guilt on two fronts.  I did not think the lesions were serious and could they have metastized in such a short time to kill my dog and infiltrate my dog with cancer or could the cancer have already been internal and then the dermal lesions showed up. Also because I told the vet to get all of the large tumor out of my dog's stomach as he could did I put my dog in more pain? He was on pain meds during all this I loved him so and I hate to think that I added to his pain. Please tell me what you think.  Thank you for your time.

Answer
Sandra,

I am so sorry about Max.We put our 15 year old rhodesian ridgeback down 5 years ago and i still miss him

I read your letter 3 times and i can say that you did nothing to cause max's death. the tumor probably was there for awhile,when they are small even the vet won't know they are there. If he did not remove the tumor he might of lived longer (not much) but it would of been very painful for him. You did the right things for him. It's not easy when we have to make difficult decisions about our furry family members but you did the right thing for Max.

There is a poem that you should look up. it's called the "Rainbow Bridge" I live in a 2nd floor condo and when my dog could not walk up the steps i knew it was time for him.He was having a lot of trouble with his hips. I was not sure if i did the right thing or if it was the right time but then i read the poem and it gave me great comfort.

there is a website called "critters.com" You can make a memorial for Max with pictures and music and people can leave you messages. Check it out and look for Skipper...there are 3 My skipper is 1 of 2 with pics. It's been 4-5 years and i still miss him. We have a new dog,got him about a year ago he is a 8 year old golden. It's so nice to have a dog back in the house.

You did everything right.

Gary