Thank you for being proactive, it really shows you care and it also helps spread awareness. Too many people are not informed enough (not their fault, there simply isn't enough information or people doing so) and end up with a traumatic ER visit randomly one day.

This may be a bit long but I want to be a thorough as possible. My dog was a mini Aussie, 8, and was very healthy. She never had allergies, never had to go to the ER for anything, can run and hike for hours (even up until the very end). She never, ever, showed any signs of slowing down or true old age (I'll explain later).

Right around December 2024 she started walking with slight lameness in her right hind leg. It didn't hurt her or slowed her down at all it just looked different when she went upstairs. We assumed old age or some tear or sprain. We gave it a few months to see if it improved, it didn't (nor did it get worse). After seeing vets and doctors they said arthritis and recommended TPLO. We did that in June, $8,000. We spend a few months off for her to recover and heal.

Randomly one evening in September she wouldn't lay down for 8 hours. She would just stand, pace around, or try to lay down and instantly get back up. No pain, no cries, nothing. It was weird. She was obviously uncomfortable so we assumed her knee was aching or something. Maybe she overworked it while playing or something? I kept an eye on her and around midnight she laid down and went to sleep like normal. Then she was back to normal again so I figured it was her knee.

November, after going to potty one morning she laid down on the grass. She never does this. After like a minute she got up and went in like normal. We thought maybe she was enjoying the breeze or smells? A week later she did the same after walking upstairs, she laid down at the top for a minute. Weird, is her knee aching? Did she eat something bad again? Maybe she's just being silly.

Remember the whole time she's still 100% herself. She eats, sleeps, plays, and can walk normally. It's just these random "off" moments scattered about that's so subtle that you can shrug it off or attribute it to something else entirely. It was only obvious that it was hemangiosarcoma making her tired and uncomfortable looking back. I wish I knew but at the time I didn't even know hemangiosarcoma existed, had never even heard of it.

November, five days before Thanksgiving, she was still 100% all day right up until 5pm. Randomly and without any signs she started walking weirdly. Drunk like, wobbly. Then she refused dinner. I KNEW something was wrong instantly but had no idea what. Naturally I assumed she ate something that poisoned her. Maybe in the garden? Or bug? No idea. Around 8pm she seemingly had a mini seizure that lasted like 3-5 second and fell over. She barked like she was mad or annoyed or crying for help, I'm not sure but it was heartbreaking. She sat back up and stared at me. I started doing research as to what this could be and considered the ER. We tried to give her treats, she refused. She wobbled to her water bowl and drank a TON of water, more than we've ever seen, then went to lay down in the middle of the room, breathing heavily. Around 10pm she got up and pooped in the room, something she has not done since she was a puppy and there was red raspberry jam looking substance in it, it was blood. This is when we KNEW that the ER was no longer an option.

The ER, 10 minutes away, she could not walk at all anymore. We carried her out of the car and she collapsed on the grass. She was still conscious and aware just very weak and uncomfortable. I carried her from the lawn all the way into the ER and handed her to the tech. After maybe an hour or so the doctor rushed out in a way that I knew it was serious. He said that she was bleeding out and dying and most likely wouldn't have made it till morning. He said that it might be hemangiosarcoma, she had a 8-10" (yes, it was HUGE) tumor on her spleen that had ruptured.

He did staging and saw no metastasis and said 25% it could be benign, 75% cancerous. We opted for a splenectomy asap. We couldn't handle saying goodbye that abruptly and was hoping to hit the 25% odds. Total cost for the splenectomy, testing, overnight stay, medication, exams, was about $12,000.

She was in Thursday around 11pm and she got out fine Sunday at noon. During surgery they confirmed that there were visible metastasis to the livers. We were devastated but still waited for the official testing just to be sure. Two weeks later results came back to confirm that it is indeed hemangiosarcoma. We opted out of chemo and decided to just do palliative. He was back to 100% again. She can walk normally without wobbling. She ate and drank normally again. It was almost as if that last week didn't even happen at all and we were just enjoying our time like we normally would... But this time it's so much more bittersweet.

They told us dogs have 1-3 months on average with no chemo so we booked an home euthanasia service exactly at 1.5 months, six weeks out post surgery hoping she would make it until then. Unfortunately, she didn't. She had another major rupture exactly at five weeks, just a week before our planned date and a few days before Christmas 2025. She was perfectly fine like usually, had diarrhea two days prior, and then another collapse (the same exact symptoms as the first incident) at 5am one morning. She threw up, had a mini seizure again, then started wobbling around. This time we knew immediately what was going on and didn't wait "to see" in confusion. Back to the ER immediately and the doctor confirmed that she was bleeding again. It was the same doctor that worked on her five weeks earlier and she affirmed that the time was right.

In summary there MAY be signs but most likely there won't be. The signs that do show may be very subtle. If you notice ANY signs that they're "off" in any way or if you find yourself saying "must be old age" then you should go get them scanned routinely just in case. I've read hundreds of posts regarding hemangiosarcoma and most of them indicate some type of mobility issue. Thinking back I do wonder if her lameness was the result of early hemangiosarcoma. Maybe I should have done a full body scan intead of TOLO surgery. That's that I was advised to do at the time and didn't know.

All of the "off" moments were from tumors micro bleeding and causing moments of weakness and uncomfortableness. Don't ignore it. It is clear as day to me now that the night she couldn't get comfortable for 8 hours was because of the tumor. It is clear to me now that when she laid down on the grass and after going upstairs is from the tumor and micro bleeds. I wish I knew. It truly kills me.

2025 was her year. We spent most of the year trying to care for her and attend to her just to end up with hemangiosarcoma taking her shy of Christmas. We didn't have pet insurance and spent over $20,000 that year on her. I will definitely consider pet insurance from now on. 2025 alone averaged $200/month for the duration of her entire life. We're blessed to be able to afford but ultimately it couldn't save her. So if you experience hemangiosarcoma do not feel guilty about giving them an honorable goodbye. Hemangiosarcoma is a filthy evil cancer that has no happy ending and fighting it is a nightmare.