Dust DESPERATELY needed, please!!!

[Irishgrrrl]

Feral, Thing, Gummi, Paula, Kat, MZ, Snlee, Stepcutnut & Gwen ~

Thanks, guys. It makes me feel a little better to know that many of your critters have these masses too, and they''re doing just fine! I''m really hoping that this is just a huge fatty tumor, and that surgery won''t be necessary. I''ll definitely let you guys know how the vet appointment goes! Meanwhile, thanks so much for all the prayers and dust! You guys are the best!

 

[Skippy123]

Great news; yay

I am so happy for you; I have had you and your sweet doggie in my thoughts. YAY

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 5/5/2009 9:02:59 PM
Author: Skippy123
Great news; yay

I am so happy for you; I have had you and your sweet doggie in my thoughts. YAY

Hi, Skip!

Actually, we''re not out of the woods yet. His vet appointment is next Wednesday (a week from today). So hopefully the vet will be able to tell us something then. Meanwhile, I''m keeping my fingers crossed! At least the lump doesn''t seem to be getting any bigger, and he''s still acting normal.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Date: 5/6/2009 9:11:30 AM
Author: Irishgrrrl

Date: 5/5/2009 9:02:59 PM

Author: Skippy123

Great news; yay

I am so happy for you; I have had you and your sweet doggie in my thoughts. YAY

Hi, Skip!

Actually, we''re not out of the woods yet. His vet appointment is next Wednesday (a week from today). So hopefully the vet will be able to tell us something then. Meanwhile, I''m keeping my fingers crossed! At least the lump doesn''t seem to be getting any bigger, and he''s still acting normal.

Well, that certainly sounds promising! Fingers still crossed for you and Biko though - I hope that everything turns out to be just fine!

 

[Stone Hunter]

Oh I hope it will be OK!

 

[mrscushion]

I''m so sorry. Lots and lots of dust!

 

[dani13]

Lots of dust for you, Irish. Im so sorry you're going through this....I hope things start to look up *HUGS*

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/6/2009 9:11:30 AM
Author: Irishgrrrl

Date: 5/5/2009 9:02:59 PM
Author: Skippy123
Great news; yay

I am so happy for you; I have had you and your sweet doggie in my thoughts. YAY

Hi, Skip!

Actually, we're not out of the woods yet. His vet appointment is next Wednesday (a week from today). So hopefully the vet will be able to tell us something then. Meanwhile, I'm keeping my fingers crossed! At least the lump doesn't seem to be getting any bigger, and he's still acting normal.

and

"However, I'm worried that the vet will want to surgically remove it even if it's completely benign, just because of the funny location. It's on his left side, just in front of his hind leg, kind of in the hollow of his hip if that makes sense. So, I'm afraid it might be making it uncomfortable for him to walk or, if that's not already the case, that it might start to do so if it gets any bigger. I just worry about putting him through surgery at his age, the poor little old man!"



Irishgrrrl,

If your vet has common sense, s/he won't rush into surgery if the tumor is benign; the dog is in no pain; and the dog is acting normal. I mean, not just because it's in a "weird" place. And if the vet isn't sensible, you must help him or her to be reasonable! The purpose of this visit should be to see whether the tumor is threatening Biko's life or causing him pain. Once you find out the answer to those questions, you can make the decision as to whether he needs surgery. You do not need to let a vet operate on an elderly animal just because the vet doesn't like the location of a tumor...and to do the vet justice, I think it is highly unlikely that s/he would want to do so!!!

Stay strong!

Hugs,
Deb

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Amber, Stone Hunter, Mscushion, Dani & Deb~

Thank you all!

Biko is still doing very well. In fact, he was just running around the living room like a total goofball! LOL! I''m still being optimistic and hoping everything will be OK. But, I will feel MUCH better after our appointment with the vet on Wednesday! Thanks again for all the dust, and I''ll definitely let you guys know what we find out!

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Well, his appointment was last night, and there''s good news and bad news.

The good news is, the thing on his side is just a large fatty tumor, and it''s nothing to worry about. The vet aspirated some fluid from it and put it on a slide. She could tell without even looking at it under the microscope that it was just fat and not something more serious, because it looked just like little drops of cooking oil on the slide. She said the only reason we would need to remove it would be if it gets big enough that it starts to cause problems with his walking, or if it starts growing REALLY fast.

The bad news is, he has an enlarged heart. He has always had a heart murmur, which by itself isn''t that big of a deal. The vet listened to his heart again last night and said that the murmur sounded a little worse than before. She asked if he had been coughing lately, and he has, but not very frequently. He coughs maybe once a week (usually less often than that), and when he does cough it''s usually just a short burst of coughing (like maybe five minutes at most) and then it''s over. However, she wanted to take a chest x-ray just to make sure, and the x-ray showed that his heart is definitely enlarged, and also that there''s a little fluid in his lungs. So, he is now on Lasix to get rid of the fluid in his lungs, and he''s on heart medication which he''ll probably have to take for the rest of his life.

I asked what the prognosis is for doggy heart disease, and she said it''s different for every dog. Some are very well managed with medication, and others just progressively get worse.

 

[tlh]

I''m glad the tumor can be managed, and that is horrible about the enlarged heart! I hope that he is one of the dogs that can recover and I hope that he gets better soon!
HUGS!

 

[sctsbride09]

Hi Irishgrrl, glad to hear the tumor is harmless, yay! That is terrible about the enlarged heart though. BUT, as your vet said they can do just fine on meds. Case in point, my family had a doxie growing up, and he also developed a enlarged heart (i think he was 9 at the time?). We put him on daily medication, and he stayed with us until he was 16!! Yeah he coughed every now and again, but he loved life and went peacefully on his own a year and a half ago. Loved that pooch,tear

. Anyway, what Im getting at is Stay positive and dont give up hope on your pooch! Tons of **dust** and prayers that your dog will be ok. You sound like such a loving pet parent.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

TLH and Sctsbride~

Thank you! Biko has been taking his pills every day like a good boy. We just put them in his food and he snarfs them right up. I don''t think he even realizes he''s eating them because they''re so tiny!

I''ve been trying to keep him from running around too much and getting himself all worked up, since that seems to make him cough. I keep telling him "take it easy old man . . . you have a heart condition, remember?!?!"