Miss Gracie May Sue

Last night on my bed. She wanted some loving.

The ear that was operated on

My late husband used to tell me he believed in reincarnation. He had to, because he wanted to come back as one of my dogs.  Whenever he told this story, everyone would laugh. But it is true. I am a very responsible pet owner. If they are sick, we go to the vet. If I find a lump, it gets checked.

About 7 weeks ago I felt a very small, pea sized lump at the base of Gracie's right ear. It didn't feel like a fatty tumor. She has 3 of those, and Jake has about 8 all over his body. So when we went for their annual exam in late August, I asked that vet to aspirate that lump. She came back out and said it could go either way, that the cells she withdrew belonged to the same classification as cancer cells. I made an appointment for surgery.We had to wait 3 weeks to do this, and I have been quite nervous. The vets in this area are very, very busy. That is a good thing. People who think like me are taking care of their animals just as I am.

We won't know if it was malignant until the biopsy is complete, but just in case, our vet made a wide incision to remove a good barrier around the growth. That way, in case it is cancer, they can determine if it has spread out past the margins the vet created.

Last night was not fun. I hate, hate, hate it when one of the dogs is ill or injured. So there was a great deal of hugging, and petting. Gracie, being Gracie, pulled out her IV from her lower leg/paw because she doesn't like anything or anyone touching her paws. Has always been like that. Fortunately, the attendant and vet assistant was right on top of this, and had just walked in to check. Gracie spent a lot of time last night cleaning that area. To ease swelling and pain, I had to apply cold compresses to the wound. She allowed that, which tells me it felt good.

Because she was under anesthesia for this procedure, I also had her teeth cleaned. She lost a tooth, so now is on a soft diet. This morning we started 3 days of Rimadyl, the canine pain medication. By 11am we should be singing, Rocky Mountain High. My girl likes to party when on Rimadyl.

Thanks for stopping by.
Linda