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Buzz died of HSA (Hemangiosarcoma) a cancer that invades the blood cells, then attacks various organs. We had never heard of it before Buzz was diagnosed, but when we became aware of it, we found that it's surprisingly commom. Buzz's symptom was that he would suddenly have periods of extreme lethargy, then recover completely overnight. He finally had a spell that lasted longer, so we took him to our vet.

It's a long story, but we ended up getting him surgery and getting him chemo therapy. It gave us about another year with him, and he acted about 5 years old up until his last week. After looking at these photos, you'll see pictures on other pages in which his hair cut is still showing and he's really doing aerobatic manuevers!

The first photo above is of Dr. Metalman, who did the surgery on Buzz. She said that she'd "done exploratory surgery before, but nothing like this!" She was able to remove a 5 pound mass from his abdomen, but she cautioned us that the cancer had almost certainly spread. The second photo is Buzz leaving the surgery center two days after the operation. The third photo are his stitches.
The first photo above is of Buzz leaving the vet's after getting his stitches removed, the next is an elevated view of his scar, and the last shows you his hair cut, which took forever to grow in.
These photos are of Buzz getting chemotherapy. The drug is selected not only for its strength, but for its requirements for the dog - as in, if the dog has to be stationary for 3 hours to get it, it's probably not going to work out for some dogs. The idea is to strike a balance between the efficacy of the drug and the emotional comfort of the dog. I found all the vets and techs involved in Buzz's treatment totally admirable and empathetic.