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Flounder had a vet appointment today and I had been dreading it. Both of his doggy parents had died of cancer, as had one sibling. A few months ago, I noticed a lump high on his side. It was the size of a big grape and moved freely beneath the skin. Uh oh...
I told the queen I did not want anyone to go with me to the vet, just in case it was bad news. If there were no witnesses, I could postpone bad news until some time in the future when it could not be avoided any longer.
This morning, Flounder got a bath, some treats, and then he and I piled into our recycled truck and drove the 15 miles into town. I rubbed his head a lot and he pressed up against me as we drove.
The vet office was quiet with the only other animals being the office cats, a pair of 3-legged felines that hangout on the counter. I have never seen them awake. Flounder was fascinated by these fearless cats and strained at his leash so he could reach his nose up to cat level and process the scent.
He turned, shivered, and looked at me as if to say, "Can't you see these cats? Shouldn't we be chasing them?"
A tug on the leash told him these cats were off limits. He sighed and lay at my feet, watching the twitching cat tail draped over the counter. I rubbed his big head. We waited.
Soon enough, they called us back. He hopped up on the scale, 74 lbs, same as last year. We could feed him ice cream and cake every day and he would not gain a pound. Into the exam room for a short wait.
In a while, Doc came in and as he examined, I mentioned the lump and Flounder's family history. He ran his hand over it.
"Feels more like a sebaceous cyst, I'll take a sample with a syringe and check it out"
So another short, worried wait...then the results.
" It's a cyst, should not be a problem, but monitor it for any size changes."
Whew!
On the way home I took him through the Burger King drive thru for a Whopper of his own. I'm not sure he tasted it, but he sure seemed to enjoy it.
21 comments:
Wow! That vet is one scarry looking dude!
Easy Pablo, Flounder reads this blog and is very sensitive.
Glad it was good news, good dogs don't grow on trees.
Went through that with my coonhound Rosie, not a good feeling, almost wish it was you instead of them.
He's a good looking dog, but I got to agree that vet is scary looking amigo ;-)
Fatman,
You are right it's not a good feeling, but this one turned out okay.
Whew indeed. Glad things turned out ok for Flounder, and y'all. We're going through that right now with liver cancer and it's a fresh sadness every time.
Funny about the whopper! Munch likes McDonald's french fries, which we hardly ever get but under the circumstances he's getting them whenever he wants.
Good Booy Flounder, Good Booy! It's not easy to type doggie talk.
Is that a recent photo? Do I see a few grey hairs on Flounder's friend?
Oops, I forgot to add this: Clear sky and 8F this morning, and to think that tomorrow is the winter solstice!
Wayne,
Sorry to hear about Munch. I agree there's no reason to hold back on McD's fries if time is short. Maybe even a fish sandwich now and then...
ThunderD,
Clearer sky and 38 degrees here!
Yes, that photo was taken yesterday before the vet trip and my first haircut since July. (You remember hair)
There were even more greys hiding beneath...
What a relief; I know what you mean about wanting to put off being the bearer of bad news. Glad you didn't have to.
I'd add a clever comment about the photo, but as usual Pablo beat me to it. It's nice to see the face behind all these good stories. :)
Thanks Deb. I thought I'd come out of my shell a little. Scary as Pablo pointed out.
DPR,
Thanks on Flounder's behalf.
I get the extra long word verifications when I screw up the first one.
By the way, your site was trying to sell me cars from a North Florida dealer in Jacksonville today.
Phew! That's a relief!
Glad Flounder got such good news and topped it off with his own whopper. That is quite a reward, FC. I bet he loved if, even if he didn't taste it a bit.
Very happy to hear that Flounder's lump was a cyst and not that other "c" word.
Hannah has fatty tumors that we have to monitor, but so far so good.
(I know you aren't a cat person, neither is Treebeard, but we lost our nearly 18 year-old cat last Monday. Even Treebeard had a tear in his eye. We still look for her every time we enter the house. You understand, of course, it was her house and she was kind enough to let us live here. Damn cat.)
Walter,
Thanks for the support. He's a good dog.
RD,
You have to wonder why dogs even have taste buds. Everything is inhaled in a couple of gulps!
Swampy,
Thanks, Flounder and Hannah probably are sporting similar lumps.
You are correct, I'm not a cat person, but I am a pet person and I know the kind of hole the death of a long time pet leaves. So sorry for your loss.
Glad Flounder is fine. It's the pits when you're worrying about one of your animals.
Vicki,
Thanks. We are all kind of attached to him.
Glad to hear it. What's a sebaceous cyst? Does it go away or is it something the dog has to live with?
Hick,
I was gonna say what Thingfish said.
Thing,
Thanks for covering for me while I was out Christmas shopping :)
Thing is always there when you need him.
Thanks for the info...I think Jazz has one of those thingamabobbers. I should take her in.
Hick,
I don't know Jazz The Wonder Dog's age, but I think these are pretty common on older dogs. Flounder will be 10 in January.
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