Our little warrior Sky

This was our beloved little warrior Sky. We just lost her on Monday, July 28, 2025. Sky was 15 1/2 years old. We rescued her at the age of 10 after living most of her life outdoors. Sky was diagnosed with Cutaneous Hemangiosarcoma in April of 2024, after having her first surgery to remove 2 masses from her abdomen. Unfortunately, the first surgeon thought that once the masses are removed, they are gone and chemo isn’t necessary. We now know that we should have followed up with a course of chemo. But we can’t change the past.
By December of 2024, two more masses had appeared on Sky. So, we scheduled her for another surgery to have them removed. But the night before surgery she developed a gastrointestinal issue. She had blood in her stool and a temperature of 105 and ended up in the emergency hospital. Surgery had to be postponed until we worked out the GI issue. The GI issue would clear up temporarily, only to return. The concern became that some of the masses had developed on her spleen or in her abdomen. Eight doctors, multiple xrays, an ultrasound and multiple medications later, it was determined there were no masses in her abdomen or on her spleen and that it was likely a severe protein allergy she had developed.
Finally, we were back on track to have the new masses removed. Only now there were more. One of which literally developed overnight. We had just gotten her back on the calendar to have them removed, when two of them ruptured. One on her front left leg and the other on her left rear leg. It was on a Sunday evening while my husband and I were out to dinner. Two hours of Sky licking her ruptured masses while we were gone. We cleaned and bandaged them, but the damage was done. By the time she got in to see the vet on Monday afternoon, infection had already started. Despite their best efforts to clean and treat it, the infection just got worse.
So, we took Sky to a specialty hospital with a surgical team where they determined that the bacteria was resistant to all but two antibiotics. Both of which were incredibly hard on the liver and kidneys. Given Sky’s age, it was a big concern. But, the infection would kill her if we didn’t do something, so we went with the lesser of the two evils and started her on Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim (TMS) and Clavamox. If we could clear up the infection and Sky’s kidneys and liver could handle it, the surgery could move forward. In the meantime, we took Sky into the vet every two days to have the ruptured masses cleaned and rewrapped. It took two courses of the medications to kill the infection. But it finally did so Sky was scheduled for surgery on March 18, 2025.

Her pre-surgery bloodwork did reveal that her kidneys and liver had taken a big hit from the medications. It pushed her into stage 3 kidney disease. But we, along with her surgeon, decided that her best chance at a better quality of life was to proceed with the surgery. The alternative was Sky being basically wrapped like half a mummy because of where the masses were located. She was now at nine masses. The surgery was successful. All nine masses were removed with the best margins possible. We discussed Chemotherapy with a trusted oncologist who had previously treated one of our other dogs. After looking at all of Sky’s medical records, tests and taking her age into account, she felt follow up chemotherapy was not an option for Sky, which we agreed with.
We were advised by Sky’s surgeon that given the nature of this type of cancer, all the masses could return. Because of how hard Sky’s kidneys were hit with first the TMS, then the anesthesia, she couldn’t endure another surgery. She just wouldn’t survive it.
Sky’s kidneys and liver values eventually improved. Back to what they were pre-TMS. She was eating and drinking regularly. She was back to going on walkies and was even playing ball with me in the backyard. Her favorite things were walkies and ball.
Three of the masses did return. Fortunately, our regular vet was able to remove them using just a local because Sky’s was such an easy-going cooperative dog.
Throughout all of this, Sky remained her happy self, with a great big smile like she is in this photo. My favorite photo of her. I lost count of the number of times we thought we were going to lose her. But her will to live was unmatched. She just kept fighting on. Everyone who met Sky fell in love with her.
Sadly, on Monday, July 28th, 2025, Sky woke up and appeared disoriented. She was unable to stand up on her own. When aided, she would continuously walk in circles. She was also in some kind of pain as she would just continuously cry. We suspect a mass may have formed in her brain. Given her age and kidney function, surgery, radiation or chemo would not have been an option so putting her through a CT scan just to confirm it would have been cruel. So, we along with her surgeon agreed that it was time to let her go to the Rainbow Bridge. She had fought so hard for so long. It was time for her to rest. We have a dear friend who is veterinarian, who came to the house to help Sky cross the bridge. Surrounded by everyone who loved her. We were blessed with her for five years. Five wonderful years.