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September 23, 2011

Maybe letting Lilly sleep in “the big bed” with us Tuesday night telegraphed that something was up. Maybe my ability to keep my worries to myself failed … because Lilly shook so hard with fear that the dog scale at the veterinary hospital sounded like an 18-wheeler going over a cattle grate.

It broke my heart, causing big, rolling tears to pour off my face and into Lilly’s fur as I tried to tell her that everything was going to be OK.

Veterinary Exam Last Week

Last Friday, Lilly went in for her first-ever “senior” wellness exam that included:

  • Physical exam from tip to tail, including checking this lump of concern
  • Massive bloodwork, including a complete blood count
  • Urinalysis
  • Fecal float
  • Her leptospirosis vaccine

We have to space out her vaccines because if we give them all at once Lilly gets quite sick. So, I pre-dosed her with Benadryl. And, for extra anxiety control, I gave her a xanax … which we only use now as needed.

So, Lilly was happy, happy, happy to walk right into the veterinary hospital that day with only a few cares in the world.

Once inside the exam room, she tried various protective spots before settling in, but she did not seem anxious or overly concerned:

best dog blog, champion of my hear, border collie at the veterinary hospital
First, she tried making a "crate" for herself, by sitting against the wall, against the bench, with my leg as the third wall.
best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie at veterinary hospital
Then, Lilly joined me on the bench so that she could survey the room better.
best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie at veterinary hospital
Finally, she settled in on the bench next to me ... still using me and the wall for support.

Lilly stayed calm and cooperative during her exam, both with me in the exam room and in the back of the hospital with the staff.

In fact, upon her return from the blood draw … while Lilly jumped into my lap and had a nervous kissing fit, our veterinarian told me that Lilly actively tried to comfort another dog. It, apparently, was having something done to its paw and was none too happy about it. Our vet say that Lilly kind of leaned over and offered some emotional support.

How cute is that?

My girl, who is NO fan of other dogs, showed empathy and concern for another pup.

Veterinary Surgery Check-In … Another Day, A Different Result

I tell you all this about her appointment BEFORE surgery because it went so well that I didn’t expect her surgery-day arrival to be a big deal.

I was wrong.

Granted, Lilly indeed walked across the parking lot and into the veterinary hospital without hesitation. None.

But, as soon as we asked her to hop onto the scale in the lobby, she started to shake … and shake … and shake. Clearly, it’s tough for Lilly to go without a dose of her meds.

She even growled a little at the veterinary technician who approached to lasso Lilly with one of their leashes. I should have controlled that better. I should have blocked for Lilly so that she could have approached the tech on her own terms.

But, once the shaking began, both of us fell apart. She more she shook, the more I cried.

Rattle, rattle, squeak went the scale … as several other dogs arrived for surgery check-in.

I’ve never been through an earthquake, but I imagine that’s what it sounds like … and maybe that’s what it felt like to Lilly. Poor sweetie.

I gave her my final kisses. I told her to “be good.” And, off she went.

Tears continued to roll as I completed all the pre-surgery paperwork. Sign here. Initial there. Yes, contact me if anything goes wrong, but do whatever it takes to save her, even if you cannot reach me. All that stuff.

By the time I’d finished, the technician came back out to report that Lilly had settled into her cage and was showing interest and curiosity about the goings-on in the back. So, that made me feel a bit better.

Rather than drive back up the mountain, I’d arranged to spend the day at a childhood friend’s house (which is just blocks from the hospital). With a friend at the ready, including her two new kitties — Tex and PJ, I tried to work. And, I actually got quite a bit done before our veterinarian called with a post-op report.

“Lilly was a rock star,”  she told me. “We didn’t need to use even IV sedation. She laid there very still, while we worked.”

That means with just local pain killers injected to numb the surgical area and one veterinary technician “lightly” restraining Lilly, our veterinarian got to work … taking out this lump right under Lilly’s skin.

The surgeon did indeed find a “solid mass” that she removed along with “wide margins” with hopes that they are “clean margins” if this turns out to be a mast cell tumor.

I forgot to ask her how big the lump really was, once she got inside. So, I don’t have that info to share, but the incision is a couple of inches and required 10+ staples to close. Lilly will get those staples out in 2 weeks.

(Those who are NOT squeamish can click through above to see the scar.)

We might have pathology news TODAY, so we’ll see. A friend who has been through this for the last 3 years with one of her dogs, tells me that there are 3 grades of mast cell tumors. The lower the number, the better.

The pathology news we’ll get, then, will tell us:

  • Cancer … yes or no? If yes, what kind?
  • Tumor grade

The good news about them NOT needing to use sedatives is that Lilly could come HOME much sooner. My friend and I went out to lunch as we’d planned, then I picked Lilly up and brought her home (by about 1:30 pm).

No Cone of Shame!

The typical cone of shame would not work for this incision that’s right on Lilly’s neck. So …

Check out this creative post-op pashmina I made from spare swaths of fleece to protect Lilly’s surgical site … so that she cannot scratch it open.

I doubled-up and tied the dark blue one around her neck. Then, I swung the lavender one over and under one of her arms. This lets me set the blue fabric’s knot over the incision and use the lavender one to hold it in place.

So far, Lilly is tolerating the scarves well, so the incision looks good and seems to be healing well.

best dog blog, champion of my heart, border collie post-op
Lilly resting at home the day of surgery (Weds)

 

 

 

About the Author Roxanne Hawn

Trained as a traditional journalist and based in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA, I'm a full-time freelance writer for magazines, websites, and private clients. My areas of specialty include everything in the lifestyles arena, including health and home, personal finance and other consumer interests, relationships and trends, people and business profiles ... and, of course, all things pet related.

I don't just love dogs. I need them in my life. Seriously.

  1. Poor baby. It’s so sad when our doggies are sick or in pain, especially since they can’t tell us.

  2. I am crying with you reading the pre-op part. We’ve been through enough with Jasmine so I can truly empathise. And it includes a cancer scare and waiting for pathology results also.

    To top it off it was when Jasmine’s was bound to restricted leash walks because of her bad knee. The knee was what we were trying to get fixed when the mass in her abdomen was discovered.

    We took her out for a walk the day before knowing she might not have a whole lot of time left, and yet we couldn’t let her run and have fun. There was so much life in her eyes though, we couldn’t really believe that she would have such a large cancerous tumor inside her. We took some pictures, some of the best pictures of her we have.

    That was almost three years ago. Fortunately her mass was not cancer at all. She just recently turned eight and she is full of life still.

    Here is to the pathology coming back negative (((hugs)))

  3. How sweet of Lilly to lend emotional support to another dog in need. Paws crossed for very good news today from pathology! Thinking of you and sending hugs from me and woofs from my Sanchez and Gina.

  4. Thanks for your honesty! I’ve had vet visits like this with Maizey and the more afraid she is the harder it is on both of us. Of course I always want to be calm for her. Sometimes people don’t speak with such frankness about how emotional it is to have a fearful dog and I appreciate your openness.

    We went through the whole cancer thing with Meeka. Her melanoma was on her front leg so it was extremely hard to get very good margins. They did end up with clean margins, although they were just 2mm. The whole thing was extremely scary and I’m hoping Lilly comes through as well as Meeka did. We’re sending good thoughts your way!

  5. Sounds like the two of you have been through a lot – I think you’re both troopers! They might be the ones going through the actual surgery, but watching your baby go through that is just as hard. I’ll keep my fingers cross that the pathology report comes back clean!

  6. I love the post-surgery pashmina. I wish I had come up with this for Maddie’s surgery in a similar spot. I’ll keep checking for news …

  7. Thanks for the detailed visit rundown! What a good girl, comforting that other dog! Lilly is also gracefully rocking that scarf 😉 I hope all is well.

  8. Glad that it went well after the rocky check-in. Fingers crossed on the pathology!

    Can you believe that K is turning 8 today? How time flies…

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