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Rottweiler Health Foundation Mission Statementimage: Trotting Rottweiler

To raise money to fund critical research into the genetic, communicable and acquired diseases that plague our beloved breed, the Rottweiler.

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Winter 2008
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SHARED REAL STORIES
Photo: Cody

My Rottweiler 'Cody'
Dealing with Bone Cancer

Submitted by Laurie Newman on 03/07/05

Cody was a wonderful dog and was loved by many.  He started out as my sisters dog, but circumstances occurred where she could not keep him so he ended up at my parents house.  My parents didn't appreciate Cody like my husband did (boyfriend at the time) so as soon as my husband purchased a home, he took Cody to live with him.  He immediately started the good life.  Cody liked to sleep in bed with us, or cuddle up on the couch next to us.  He always thought he was a lap dog and he had us convinced too.  

Cody led a very healthy life up until September 2004 when he was 8 years old.   We noticed he was limping and so I took him to the vet.  It was there that I noticed a ball on his back ankle and saw he had lost 25 lbs.  The vet felt the leg and lump and examined it and told us that it looked like his leg was fractured and healed wrong so he asked us to take Cody to an orthopedic surgeon to see what to do.  

The place was an hour away from us so my husband decided to take him up there alone.  I was thinking that worst case they would have to break his leg and reset it.  Boy was I surprised when my husband called me and told me that with one look the orthopedic surgeon told him he knew it was cancer. Cody stayed for the day for tests to be sure; and it was, in fact bone cancer that had spread through his body already.  

We were given the options that many of the other stories stated too - amputation, meds, or put him down.  This was the hardest decision we have ever had to make.  We decided to not let him go on suffering.  Unfortunately I was not there with him and I never got to say good-bye.  That is my deepest regret and it kills me inside that the day he left here I was expecting him to come back home and he never did.  We do have his ashes and I will always have love for him in my heart.  

His best friend, Flex, is currently sick and we are fearing the worst. Test results come back tomorrow and I don't know what I will do if he has cancer too.  He is 7-1/2 years old.  I never knew that cancer was so common in dogs.  It makes it hard for me to think about getting another pet, it hurts so much to see them go.  :(

Here is a picture of Cody taken just 2 days before he died.

Photo: Cody with my daughter

You can see the large tumor on his back leg in the picture.  He loved my little girls and was so gentle with them.  I miss him so much.  

Thank you for letting me tell my story,
Laurie

See RHF's study on 'Genes Associated With Osteosarcoma'

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