A heartbroken woman captured the moment she collected her dog from the groomers, but little did she know it would be the final time because tragedy struck just hours later.
Dog owner Christy Orth, 52, took her 12-year-old goldendoodle, named Milo, to the groomers on December 5 as normal. He seemed fine in the morning, telling Newsweek that he was “happy, healthy and acted like a 2-year-old puppy” that day.
Unfortunately, when she returned to the groomers to collect Milo about three hours later, everything changed. Orth, of Ohio, noticed that Milo wasn’t jumping up at the fence and didn’t seem eager to hop into the car either. During the ride home, he still didn’t seem himself and she thought he was just pouting (as he often did so well).
Getting him out of the car was equally difficult, taking around 10 minutes before Milo finally moved.
“He seemed tired and not himself, kind of pouty,” Orth said. “After about an hour, I started to worry something was seriously wrong.”
Orth took Milo to the vet where he was given an ultrasound scan. It was clearly something bad, but Orth hoped it may be a stomach flip (known as gastric dilation-volvulus), especially as he’d had two stomach surgeries in the past.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the news that came from the scan. Vets broke the devastating news to Orth that Milo had a ruptured tumor in his stomach and it was bleeding out. It’s believed to have been hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive form of cancer that develops from blood vessels.
Orth felt utterly awful when she learned just how drastic the situation was. She just thought Milo was being pouty, she had no idea how much he was actually struggling.
“I was not in a good headspace and felt instantly sick. I felt like I was in a bad dream and this wasn’t real,” Orth said.
“We were given a private room to spend as much time with Milo as we wanted to say our goodbyes. Then they came in and put him to sleep while he was laying on my lap.”
The website PetMD explains that hemangiosarcoma tumors are fragile, invasive and easily ruptured. As such a highly aggressive cancer, most hemangiosarcoma tumors spread to other organs and rupture as it progresses into end stage.
Orth got to spend 12 wonderful years with Milo, and he was by her side through so many highs and lows. He was her support during a divorce and through the loss of her father, and she says that Milo taught her what a true soul dog is.
By way of coping with the grief, Orth has documented her pet loss on TikTok (@curlygirldreams). A video showing the moment she collected him from the groomers, just hours before his passing, has gone viral with over 2.9 million views and 187,300 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.
Not only does she hope to spread Milo’s unwavering joy with the world, but Orth also wants to raise awareness and educate other pet owners about the dangers of hemangiosarcoma.
Orth told Newsweek: “This cancer is referred to as the silent killer by veterinarians and please don’t blame yourself if it happens to your pet. The guilt I have felt, like I could have done something, has been awful.
“For anyone who still has their pet, don’t take them for granted. Take them for walks and car rides, love them and treat them like there is no tomorrow—because there may not be, Milo was happy and acted like a puppy until three hours before his death.”
Since Milo’s story went viral, thousands of TikTok users took to the comments to offer their condolences. This has ed to more than 13,500 comments on the post so far.
One comment reads: “My dog had a hemangioma sarcoma that ruptured suddenly—bled internally—happened so fast. I’m sorry for your loss, especially when it feels so sudden.”
Another TikTok user wrote: “My heart goes out to you. So very sorry for your loss of your precious fur baby.”
While another person replied: “Life is so cruel. Lost mine recently. Thoughts to you all.”
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