If her heart was failing, that would also explain the fluid in your previous dog’s abdomen.
Good luck to your pup. May it give an answer. 
The vet found a large mass over the kidneys. Based on that and lymph nodes, she now suspects lymphoma. We’re going to have an ultrasound and discuss it with the oncologist. 
If it is lymphoma, we’ll keep him comfortable and not treat. I’ve been down that road. I think it would be very, very hard on an older dog.
The real trick at this point is how to get him in the car. He is quite certain that No Good comes from going on car trips, since the last few have been no fun at all. At 130 lbs, he’s fairly capable of resisting. It took about an hour this morning to get him loaded into the van. I’ll be discussing anti-anxiety meds with his vet for the next trip.
I suppose one thing we learn from our pets is how to be present right now. Right now Pooka is happy to be curled up next to me, and I am happy to have him here. I’ll try to focus on that and ignore my watering eyes.
I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s completely understandable that you don’t want to pursue intensive treatment for your boy. However, there is a saying in vet med … “nothing should die without the benefits of steroids.” Yes, they are hard on the liver and kidneys, but it sometimes comes down to what’s going to give some improvement in quality of life short term as opposed to worrying about long term side effects.
If I recall correctly the first round of treatment for lymphoma is steroids. We may go that far. Certainly quality of life is a major concern.
Lymphoma is often quite treatable in dogs, so don’t just give up without discussing your options and possibilities with the vet first.
Re: the car. Can you take him on some short trips to fun places for a few days?
To add: I intensively treated a dog for a sarcoma once. After surgery, all the treatment entailed was giving her an infusion once a week for six weeks. No side effects at all. She went into a complete remission and enjoyed an additional 2 years of high-quality life, which for an older dog is quite a long time.
So ask about your options.
I am sorry for the diagnosis, I know that was not what you expected.
I do agree, look at your options for lymphoma. Get it staged. Treatment for lymphoma is not too bad, and one of the components is, as you said, something like steroids (which you have to monitor since hey, they raise liver enzymes). But I saw dogs treated for lymphoma handle the treatment well, and like mentioned, a couple of extra years remission free is indeed a long time for an older dog. Chemotherapy in animals is not as harsh as with humans, and lymphoma is indeed one of the easier ones. Please give it a try after consult and confirmation. Contrary to what you think, it won’t be a hard hard road for an older dog, and in fact, he may have a better prognosis than much younger dogs (younger dogs tend to get more fast, invasive, aggressive tumors in general).
If you decide against any “curative” treatment, then at least do the “palliative” option of steroids. It may give you at most months, but I’m sure with either treatment, Pooka will be extra spoiled.
As to the car, yes, try to make some short trips to happy places. I’m sure if you only got in the car to go to the dentist, you would not be too happy for a car ride either.
Nothing to add except Hang In There and We’re Pulling For You.
Good news to report: after Lots o’ Tests [sup]TM[/sup] the result is that nothing was found. No Cushings, no cancer. Pooka is an elderly Newfoundland in good health. We’re giving him Rimadyl for arthritis now, which is how this whole adventure started. He seemed stiff and I wanted to get him appropriate treatment. I may ask about switching him to something else, since there seems to be concern about the damage Rimadyl can cause over time.
Pooka has resumed his normal recline position on the floor by my feet, and we’re happy that he has a clean bill of health. 
Thank you for the well wishes everyone.
Great news!
I’m glad he’s fine.
My eleven year old “German Retriever” had seizures about six weeks ago. After an expensive stay at the emergency vet and a lot of drama (post seizure he got confused, ran away, was found and returned to us (facebook is wonderful for lost pets), took him to the vet where he had a second seizure), the emergency vet said it was most likely a brain tumor - but it would take an MRI to be sure - maybe. The vet said at his age, its really unlikely to be adult onset epilepsy. So we stuck him on keppra - this is a dog that HATES the vet - I can’t imagine how stressful an MRI would be for him. And to get a refill they said “we need to test his liver cause the keppra might cause liver damage” - I said - "um, no…dog is now on hospice care. We avoid stress since they might trigger seizures, and if he dies of liver failure or a brain tumor it doesn’t make that much difference - we just want to keep him as comfy as possible for whatever time we have left. So I have a refillable prescription for keppra for the dog and my own vet agrees - no blood work. If he lasts six months, we might revisit that.
(No seizures since the anti convulsants - and I have a grief puppy now which may have been a little stressful, but now that he’s gotten use to his little brother, its helping him stay interested and active).
Oh no. I am so sorry.
That’s FANTASTIC news, ddsun, good for you and Pooka. Long life, lotsa licks to the beastie.
They have to go sometime 
Right now, he’s really enjoying his Summer. And the lack of drawing blood…
Well, in some perverted corollary to Murphy’s Law, while petting my other big dog last night my daughter found a egg-sized tumor on his side near his front leg. She didn’t scold me for using my adult words. I just have no words, other than the George Carlin ones, right now.
Possibly just fat. Even probable. Don’t panic until its checked.
Get it checked, aspirated, and confirmed as benign, then go back to rest. Based on the area and quick description you gave, it is most likely benign. Whether you ask to remove it or not is up to you and vet.
Dangerosa, I’m sorry for your dog.
meloxicam is safer, cheaper, and seems to be more effective (for most dogs) for arthritis than Rimadyl. Other clinically proven options for arthritis is a high dose (I’d guess 8 to 10 g per day for a newfie) of fish oil, and both green-lipped mussel extract and hyaluronic acid (sold fairly cheaply in horse supply stores) seem to be helpful as well. The best option for arthritis is, however, the injectable agents- pentosan and adequan. They actually reverse the damage done to the joints. You do four to six shots over the course of a month or so and the dog is good to go for at least 6 months.
Thanks - we spent some time today at the off leash park - puppy, old dog, me. Me and old dog were still and sore - but we had a good time.
This just in. Last night I noticed a similar lump on Kona on the other side. He’s got, if he’s standing, large axillary lumps. Not so sure that we are talking about fatty at this point (which was my initial thought, when it was the one side and he was laying down). I am thinking lymph nodes. Back to the vet tomorrow, and I am officially worried. I don’t feel any along his jaw, but I haven’t checked groin, back end yet.