1021. The Beagle with bladder cancer passed away on Jul 31, 2012

"My Beagle is in great pain. The pain is in the back disc," the wife phoned for a house-call at 9am. I asked Dr Daniel to do the house-call with the intern who was studying in England and wanted to be a vet.

"How about passing blood clots again as you had told Dr Daniel 2 weeks ago?" I had operated on this dog for bladder cancer and had removed a portion of the tumour.

"It lasted a week and no more blood," the wife said. "The usual incontinence when sleeping but he was able to control his bladder when awake."

Later, the working couple came to pay the bill and went home. The wife phoned and said that the Beagle had passed away. This was surprising and I asked Dr Daniel what happened. "His rectal temperature was 35 deg C," he said. "I had told the owner of the poor prognosis." The normal temp is 38.5-39.5C.

The wife would never euthanase her beloved Beagle of 13 years and this natural passing away was expected. The dog had fits and needed medication daily for the past few years.  So, was it the fits that caused his death?  I was surprised that he could survive the bladder cancer surgery which took more than one year.