“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye”: she paid $8,000 to slightly extend the life of her 8-year-old dog

An owner regrets extending the life of her four-legged companion for a few more weeks after spending thousands of dollars on her cancer-stricken dog.

“I was told she only had 24 hours to live, but if they operated on her, she could have another month to six months. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him, so I said yes,” recalls Julie Marie Asselin.

In 2018, this 37-year-old woman urgently took her dog Corsa, an eight-year-old cane corso, to the veterinarian when she was exhibiting unusual behavior.

“On the x-ray, the vet saw a huge mass on his spleen. It was a vascularized mass and the vessels explode so the dog can bleed out,” explains the young woman.

The diagnosis is made: Corsa suffers from hemangiosarcoma cancer which affects his spleen and liver, a very aggressive form of cancer most common in dogs.

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$8000 to save her

Impossible to say goodbye to the one with whom she shared eight years of her life. Julie Marie Asselin therefore accepts that Corsa undergo an operation the same day at a cost of a little more than $8,000.

“Finally, three weeks later, his heart gave out. I really regret having put him through that, it was still a big operation,” confides M^me Asselin.

“I should have taken it upon myself and made her suffering stop, but to gain six months with her, I was ready to do anything,” she continues.

Several large bills

Julie Marie Asselin never hesitated to pay large sums for her dog Corsa with whom she had a close relationship.

“I experienced everything with her: my first apartment, my first house. “It was my baby,” she says.

At just two years old, her Cane Corso had cruciate ligament problems in her left hind leg. An operation is then recommended to improve his quality of life. Julie Marie Asselin accepted immediately, despite the bill of more than $5,000.

“Unlucky, as she was not supposed to put any weight on her operated leg for at least a month, she tired the other and we had to operate too,” explains M.^me Asselin.

The veterinary clinic foundation even lends a financial helping hand by reducing the total bill by $1,000, which amounts to more than $10,000.

“If I had to do it again, I would do it, that’s for sure. She was only two years old and her whole life ahead of her,” continues M^me Asselin.

Today, with her new dog, Vinny, Julie Marie Asselin knows that she will not make the same choices again.

“If he needs any care that can improve his quality of life, I would give it to him without hesitation. But if it’s to gain a few months with him, I wouldn’t make a selfish choice,” she says.