My baby Jackson died yesterday. It is still very new to me. He hadn't been acting like himself for the last several weeks. Just a bit depressed. He was still eating and drinking, and wagging and smiling. But, a mom knows, and I knew he was off a bit. Yesterday at about 3:00 a.m., he started to cry. My husband and I got on the floor with him and tried to calm him. He was panting and anxious. We got him outside where he stayed for a few minutes. Then He came in to go to sleep. At about 7:30 he woke up, refused to eat and started to dry heave. Eventually, he threw up this white foam. I knew that this would be one of his last days. He had always had a lot of health issues - allergies, orthopedic issues... I just had a feeling. I took my daughter to school, went home to pick him up and took him to the vet. I had a huge meeting at 10:00 a.m. where I had to make a presentation. I knew that I couldn't speak to the vet until it was over, so I gave my husband permission to make all decisions. (Jack was mine before I was married). When I came out of my meeting, I learned that the vet opened Jack up to repair what he thought was a bleeding ulcer. What he found was a ruptured tumor which had basically eaten Jack's spleen, liver and heart. My baby never had a chance. I am beyond heart broken. Our daughter, my husband and I will manage. Our other dog and our cats are having a very hard time. I have never written on a site like this before, but I need to have an outlet with those who understand.

First, I must say that I have the utmost trust and faith in my Vet. He is wonderful, and I am certain he has taken this one very hard. I don't fault him one bit for not figuring this out. He believes that it was hemangiosarcoma. It was so fast that I am grateful. This was not Jack's first bout with cancer. He had a skin cancer removed in the summer. I worried so much about that cancer coming back that I checked the spot every day. In a way, I am grateful that I didn't know about this Cancer. There was no worry time. It was so fast and so shocking. But he didn't suffer. I have so much comfort in that.