[lulusmom]

Unless your vet has a crystal ball and knows what type of brain tumor your baby may have, I'm not sure why he thinks nothing can be done. I am involved in cushing's groups and there have been four or five dogs with pituitary macroadenomas that received radiation treatment with very good results. Radiation does a pretty good job of shrinking this type of tumor but unlike people, it does not completely destroy it so it will grow again.

There are other types of tumors and I believe the most common, Meningioma, can be surgically removed in some cases. Here is a link to some pretty good info on the various types of tumors and treatments available.

Veterinary Teaching Hospital :: North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine

You and Elle are in my prayers.

my sympathies to your dog, i hope he'll be ok soon

I think the largest obstacle, outside of cost, in treating this dog for a brain tumor is the size of the dog. A Chihuahua is a tiny dog, with a tiny brain. Surgery would be extremely difficult, as well as risky. Chemotherapy and radiation would be equally risky; the dose of drugs or radiation necessary to shrink the tumor might very well kill the dog. Not only would it be very expensive, the side effects of treatment can be horrendous, and best case scenario would be about 16 months.

I'm wondering, though, how the vet determined this is a tumor and not the result of a bleed in the brain or a stroke? Strokes in dogs are rare, but rare doesn't mean it never happens.