Bubba has another mast cell tumor. This time, it is on his left rear paw, just proximal to his toes. In other words, a shit-tastic place to have a growing mass. I caught it early, thanks to the fact that his allergies are horrible this year and he has been so itchy all summer long that I've been keeping a close eye on the condition of his skin. We did an impression smear of the mass and tape preps of his reddened, alopecic patches of skin and diagnosed his mass as a mast cell tumor with a concurrent bacterial/yeast skin infection. The real vets verified that we were right and he's going in for surgery on wednesday for a lumpectomy.
The funny thing is, I just upped his dose of Benadryl this week due to his increased itching. His allergies have always been controlled with mere Benadryl (although it may be time to bring out a bigger gun in terms of medications), which was lovely since he has a history of mast cell tumors, and the Benadryl essentially kills two birds with one stone. But maybe I should have increased it earlier?
And since I'm on dentistry, I decided to check out his mouth today and see if he needed a dental as well since he's going to be under anesthesia anyway. Wouldn't you know it, he has a slab fracture on his right upper fourth premolar with chronic pulpal exposure. I feel like a failure as his mom. I should have noticed it much earlier, but he's never stopped eating meals or seemed to have an issue when chewing bones and treats, so I never suspected anything. Thus, he'll be having a tooth extraction on Wednesday as well. They'll also be zapping off some skin tags that he occasionally nibbles at to top it all off.
All in all, I feel like I failed my boy and should have been paying more attention before his skin started to get bad and when he broke his tooth. Damn it. I hate that my dog has cancer. Not that I would wish it on any other animal, God forbid, but he's just the best boy ever. I know everyone says that, but hes MY good boy. He makes me laugh out loud, he comforts me when I'm sad by resting his big head on my lap and letting me cry, he greets me at the door with great big toothy smiles like he couldn't be any happier than at that precise moment when I stepped through the door. He loves us with his whole heart and I know if given the chance, he would lay down his life for us. I know I'm anthropomorphizing him, but he truly is an incredible dog. He is actually sensitive - he blames himself when the other animals act up - when they do something wrong, he is the one that acts guilty, even though he has NEVER done anything wrong when we aren't in the house (You can't blame tiny teeth marks on him!)
This all just makes me realize that life is fleeting - Bubba isn't dying and he will be fine now... but I can't imagine our lives without him. I love you buddy, thanks for making my world that much better because I have you.
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2 months ago
Sometimes it just would be nice if they could talk and tell us what is wrong with them. The guessing game can be challenging sometimes. Heck if you feel like a failure I am a horrible Mom. My basset had some back issues, we finally got her to a Canine Chiropractor. She had a her tailbone tilted up, pelvis twisted, 5 vetebrae out of alignment, shoulder jammed and her head was 1/4 inch off her spine. She got an adjustment and she is a new dog. I felt horrible, but she did nothing to injury herself that we knew of. I cried at the vets when she told me all that was wrong with her. She is doing much better and gets another adjustment next week. So, I don't think you are a bad mom at all. Sniffs, The HoundDogs and Mom
ReplyDeleteWe hope he does get better soon. But I can't imagine him being in better hands then with you.
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