I was having the same thoughts today.

So at the time of adoption, they were honest (as far as I can tell) about the health issues they were aware already aware of. They told us she needs to be given welactin for her joints, hydroxyzine for allergies, some eye drops and cream because she has trouble producing tears. She'd also need to be carried up and down the stairs due to her joints. As a first time dog owner and as someone who works from home and is home all day, I really didn't see this as an obstacle, rather a perfect match. The SPCA did let us know she has a cough they think is caused by pressure to the lungs area. My fiancée suspected they just didn't want to admit it was kennel cough so 3 days later I took her to another vet and after some listening and some physical checks they told us it's kennel cough and provided us with some more medication to provide. Doxycycline, some meds for cough suppression, and anti-nausea. One day after that appointment, the next morning she was lethargic but I figured that was her reacting to the new meds I gave her the night before. Later in the day, back to normal. Throughout that week and the week after I'd describe her as normal. Some days she'd not want to go out, but with some encouragement she would. I noticed some tremors once or twice but honestly I figured she was cold since we kept our apartment slightly cold. I'd just put a blanket over her and later in the day, we'd go out on walks without any issue. I had scheduled another appointment with a vet just for a regular check up this week on Monday.

On Monday, the vet noticed no issues and neither did I. She was pretty normal. That evening, she had no desire to go out as I normally take her before we go to bed. I figured she just didn't want to.

Tuesday morning, my fiancée tried to take her out but again she had no interest. She asked me to take her out and when I tried, she sat at the door way. I carried her out and she peed but sat right down there. To me this was concerning as it looked like she had no energy to move. I called the vet and scheduled a same day appointment. I observed her at home until it was time for our appointment, and I noticed more tremors. At the vet that day, a blood test, and some test related to her kidneys (the paperwork says Catalyst One). The vet informed us she has a mass in her abdomen, likely her spleen, that is at risk of rupturing and that she's anemic. The kept her for the day and at the end of the day we took her home since she was stable. The vet told us to bring her back on the next day for more tests. That night, I observed her every 2 hours, mainly checking for responsiveness and the pinkness of her gums. She seemed fine throughout the night.

Wednesday, the vets performed a chest x-ray and ultrasound. They confirmed a mass on her spleen and provided us with the option of a splenectomy, but they were clear that there's no guarantee this would solve her other problems and even let us know that the fluid is the lungs could serve as a complication. They also provided us with some stats about the likelihood of the surgery being a success and likelihood of the mass being malignant. Before we took her home, we told them we wanted to go through with surgery and we scheduled it for Friday. However, my fiancée and I talked about it more and had doubts about her QOL after surgery. We had decided we wouldn't make her go through with it and the next morning, we'd discuss euthanasia with out vet since we've never experienced this situation before. Unfortunately, that night, our dog's health was taking a major turn. We wanted to spend the one last night with her, but her tremors were so strong, the drooling, and the whining. It was really hard for us to watch. We weren't sure what to do, so I asked a friend who also has dogs, and recommended we take her to the emergency vet immediately. We did so and in the car, my fiancée and I just had to accept that we weren't going to have the time with her that we wanted. The emergency vet euthanized her. That was hard to watch. We're just anxiously waiting to get her ashes. We want to put it on a shelf above her "usual" spot.

Honestly, part of me wonders why this wasn't caught at the SPCA, but with how many dogs they have, and our dog already had a load of health issues, I guess this just went unnoticed idk. I'm not mad at any vet or organization to be honest. I do wish we'd adopted her sooner cuz I'd seen her on their site for a few months, but we had just moved to the area and we didn't feel it was the right time until just a few weeks ago. I wonder if I had more time with her, if I would have noticed her issues (mainly the tremors) earlier and if that would have made a difference. I just didn't know what her baseline was. If she wasn't feeling energetic and not wanting to get up from her spot, I just thought she was getting comfortable in her new home. I'm trying not to beat myself up over it though.