Lost one of my boys on August 28, 2024 to a pheochromocytoma

On December 31, 2011, two puppies from next door snuck into my garage to keep warm. Their mother had 11 puppies in late 2010 and 13 puppies in late 2011. Both times, she (Brownie, a 30ish pound mutt) got pregnant by two different males dogs.

We adopted two brothers from the 2011 litter. I named them Mario and Luigi because I was trying to inspire them to get along. They came to live with us on January 1, 2012. They were both seven weeks old. I had a dog while I was growing up, but Mario and Luigi were the first ones that my husband and I ever owned. It was a wild ride with two puppies. Multiple trips to the emergency vet in the first two years because Luigi liked to eat necklaces and electronics (two cell phones, bluetooth ear buds, etc.). Somehow we made it through the puppy years and had two wonderful boy dogs.

We added a girl dog in November 2014 (fully grown and long story I won't go into now). Somehow in 2020, a cat decided that she was going to adopt us. I am not a cat person, but she (Nellie) wormed her way into our hearts and into our home.

In 2023, Mario started to drink excessive amounts of water and had accidents in the house. He also started losing hair in one spot on his tail. We took him to the vet and Cushing's was suspected.

Our vet started him on eye drops (desompresine) to help with the excessive thirst and diluted urine. He had multiple rounds of bloodwork and urine tests. He eventually has one test in August 2023 that showed elevated cortisol so he was put on vetoryl.

Things were going well and I got the okay from the vet to stop the eye drops because Mario was growling and trying to bite me when I put them in. He was always a little grouchy but he really hated the eye drops.

In early 2024, he lost most of his appetite. I didn't notice at first because we leave food out for all of them all day (please no hate - I feel horrible already). We noticed he wasn't eating and also got his summer haircut around that time. He was so thin (he lost about 7 lbs - 42 to 35 lbs). His rear legs were also losing muscle and trembling We took him back to the vet and they did additional bloodwork. He tested abnormally low for cortisol so we stopped the Vetoryl immediately. It was suspected that the Cushings had been treated a little too well and he had developed Addison's.

Even after taking him off Vetoryl, he was still very picky about eating. We put him on wet food with no success. We made boiled chicken and rice, smushed it together, and microwaved for 30 seconds so he would eat. We added a little dry dog food and cooked ground beef to his diet. I hand feed him multiple times a day for four months.

At the beginning of August, he magically decided that he liked just dry dog food again. We were overjoyed and though he was getting better.

On August 27, 2024 he threw up at 9:45 pm. It was dog food and bile and a one time occurrence. He seemed fine so I didn't think much of it. The next morning, his rear legs wouldn't support him. I called the vet and got an appointment for that afternoon. My husband took him to the vet. He threw up violently while at the vet. He was immediately given and anti-nausea shot. It was so concerning that our vet referred us to the emergency vet about an hour away so he could be monitored overnight and given fluids.

I met my husband at the ER vet. We waited in the waiting room for almost an hour and Mario was letting my husband hold him like a baby. He would never let us hold him like this without growling normally. He was also breathing heavily.

We finally got seen and the ER vet suspected pancreatitis. They also tested his cortisol level and it was off the charts high (not an Addisonian crisis). We were told that his condition was serious, but everyone was hopeful we would have our little boy back by the weekend. We went back to the treatment area, scratched his head, and told him we loved him. The vet tech told us "no news is good news" and we drove home.

Around 11:30, our world stopped. The ER vet called and said that he "coded". They were doing CPR, but we needed to give them permission to stop. He wasn't coming back.

We rushed to the ER vet. They said that they did an ultrasound and saw what looked like a mass on his liver and debris in his gallbladder. We said our goodbyes to him (gut wrenching) and chose to have a private cremation. We did get a paw print, nose print, and lock of fur before we left. We also got a clay paw print from the crematorium. His ashes were returned by Friday and we went to pick them up.

Our vet called the day after it happened to talk to us. He has been practicing for 29 years and we love him. He told us that Mario most likely had a pheochromocytoma. He said that pheos are rare (this is the 2nd one he's seen) but I still feel like I should have known. I didn't even know what it was before last week.

I miss him so much. I really hope he didn't suffer because it kills me to think he did. I hate that I wasn't there to hold him in his last moments. He probably thinks I abandoned him and I hate that feeling.

I don't know if anyone cares but I just wanted to post and memorialize him.

Rest in peace, Mario. I will always love you.

New pet mom here. I lost my little boy Mario on August 28, 2024 to an undiagnosed pheochromocytoma. He was diagnosed with Cushing's in August 2023. This is so painful. I just wanted to create a post in honor of Mario (12.5 year old mix).

Hello to you, and absolutely we’re grateful that you’ve found us and are giving us the chance to join you in honoring your sweet Marlo. After I finish this post, I’ll add Marlo to our special memorial thread where he’ll join all our other angels. If it would please you to have us add a photo to his memorial line, it’ll be our privilege to do so. But we can talk more about that later.

Most importantly right now, I just want to tell you how sorry I am about your loss. Many people in the world don’t understand how much our furbabies mean to us, and the depth of our sorrow when they leave us. But here, we surely do understand and we will always welcome you back at any time that you may wish to write more about your boy and your lives together.

Cushing’s is such an especially hard disease to deal with, and sadly it so often leaves us with so many questions and regret. All of which can make the loss even that much more painful. I won’t dwell on my own sorrow here, but I know I made mistakes with my own Cushpup. If I could have a do-over with the knowledge I have now, some of my decisions would definitely have been different. All my friends and family always tell me, Marianne you didn’t do anything wrong. But *I* know that I did make mistakes that I’ll always regret. But I also know that there was not one minute of any day that I didn’t love him with all my heart. And that I did the best I could at the time, based on what I knew then and while struggling with hard choices and a lot of uncertainties.

Your own love for Mario shines through in every word that you’ve shared with us. Please know that we’ll never judge you here for anything you did or did not do. This is a place of safety and refuge. A place where we forever honor our dear brave companions and all that they have meant to us. So as I say, Mario will now join our other Rainbowbridge babies on our memorial thread. And we will always welcome you back here, at any time, should you wish to write more.

Sending you many hugs from across the miles. Always in loving memory of your baby, Mario.
Marianne

I'm so sorry for your loss. My Gable died 11/2/21 almost exactly the same way. I rushed him to the ER the night he started vomiting and to this day wonder if I should have just waited it out. We went home in the early hours and even though he wasn't throwing up anymore, he just got worse throughout the day. Back to the ER we went and they assured me he would not die, but got the call at 5:35am that he had taken a turn for the worse and they would work on him until I got there to say goodbye to my big, beautiful boy.

I have wondered for these almost three years now if we should've just stayed home that first night and maybe he would've gotten over whatever it was... probably not, but I still feel guilty. When it comes to our beloved pets, it's always hard to not feel guilty because they can't tell us what's wrong and how they feel. We can only do what we can and know that we loved them with all our hearts.

Love,
Joan

Thank you to you both. My husband and I are still reeling because of how unexpected it was. He will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Is there a genetic component to Cushing's? I am constantly monitoring his brother, Luigi, to see if he's drinking too much or not enough. I have fed them the same dog food (Purina One Lamb and Rice) for their entire lives. Could I have given Mario Cushing's from something I fed him or some toy that he played with? If I did, is Luigi going to get Cushing's?

Thanks,
Beth (Angel Mario, Luigi, Joanna, and Nellie, the cat)

Welcome back, Beth! I sure do understand how hard it is to wrap your heads around everything that’s happened, especially while you continue to grieve the loss of your dear boy.

I need you to know that I am not a vet, so my thoughts are just based on my own reading and experiences here on the forum. But in answer to your questions, I do think there’s been some thought that there may be a genetic component to Cushing’s. But an actual mechanism has never actually been identified, and I think the notion mainly derives from the observation that certain breeds may have a higher incidence than others. But as far as your situation, I don’t know that there’s any reason to fear that Luigi actually has any significantly higher risk, just because he is Mario’s brother. My guess is that any genetic component is a lot more complicated than that.

Also, to my knowledge, there’s no known link to any particular diet or toy. So I don’t believe there’s anything that you personally did — or didn’t do — to cause Mario’s disease. Nor will you be putting Luigi at risk. We have had a few members who have had more than one dog who was diagnosed with Cushing’s, even though the dogs were not related. But I don’t believe this is because of anything the dogs were eating or doing. But rather, once an owner has had one dog with Cushing’s, they are much more observant of any symptoms that might develop in another dog. Just as is the case with you and Luigi, they’re much more tuned into monitoring appearance and behavior. Therefore, they may be more likely than other owners to notice that something’s even amiss.

So in summary, I highly doubt that Luigi is at any significantly greater risk. But in the event that he does develop any suspicious symptoms, the one plus is that now you’re ever so much more highly informed as to how to treat the disease. And you’d always have all of us to support you in any way that you might need us.

Marianne

Oh Beth, I am so incredibly sorry for your loss of Mario!!!! I know what it is like to loose a dear pup so unexpectedly!!! Our hearts are with you and your husband!! I agree with Marianne regarding Luigi. I wanted to add that Luigi may experience some of the grieving symptoms such as wandering, not eating on a regular schedule and may appear just sad and not wanting to play at times. Yes surviving pets do grieve the loss of their companion too. You can talk to your vet about this.
You two be kind to yourself!!!!
Terry