Well, yesterday I didn't stay afloat on all that girl-love for long. I went to work and got the results of my dog Samantha's senior wellness exam. Not good.
She is a 13-year old lab mix, and she has had two previous operations to remove benign and malignant masses. The malignant masses were all in her mammary glands, so she's had a few of those removed. Now she's got a few more mammary masses. The doctor recommended taking chest x-rays, to make sure that the masses are not more involved or haven't spread. The x-rays showed a spot on her lungs that could be explained several ways: there are so many blood vessels in that area that they could be what's showing up, she's an older dog and her lungs may have undergone normal changes from aging, or she has a mass on her lungs.
Either way, she is having surgery on Monday to have two of her little mammary glands removed, and the masses will be biopsied to see if they are malignant or not.
The reason that she has had these problems is simple: she wasn't spayed early. I've had Samantha since I was 11 years old, and I'm about to turn 24. My mom was single with three kids during the years in between, so Samantha wasn't spayed until I started working at the clinic a few years ago and got a discount. We never knew how serious the consequences would be.
Working at the animal clinic, I see people all the time that hesitate to spay or neuter their pets, thinking that it's not necessary or it's too expensive. Samantha saw a vet every year we had her, for vaccines, etc. and somehow the importance of altering her was never impressed on us. If we had spayed Samantha early, she would not have had to go through all of these surgeries in her old age. She is a sweet, loving dog, and I know she hates being at the hospital away from her bed and her family.
I am not feeling sorry for myself; I've been lucky enough to have the best dog ever for the past twelve years. Many people lose their pets early, or suddenly. At least I know what we're dealing with in this situation.
I just want for people to understand the importance of spaying and neutering. You may think it's not a big deal, but there are always older dogs suffering from mammary, uterine, prostate, and testicular cancer because their owners didn't have them altered early enough.
So, that's my rant for today. I'm probably going to spend another week in Atlanta so I can be with Sam for her surgery; she's going to need a lot of intensive care for the days after. I am just glad we caught the masses early enough to remove them. She's very healthy and strong otherwise, so I'm hopeful that she'll be a happy girl for a long time.
She is a 13-year old lab mix, and she has had two previous operations to remove benign and malignant masses. The malignant masses were all in her mammary glands, so she's had a few of those removed. Now she's got a few more mammary masses. The doctor recommended taking chest x-rays, to make sure that the masses are not more involved or haven't spread. The x-rays showed a spot on her lungs that could be explained several ways: there are so many blood vessels in that area that they could be what's showing up, she's an older dog and her lungs may have undergone normal changes from aging, or she has a mass on her lungs.
Either way, she is having surgery on Monday to have two of her little mammary glands removed, and the masses will be biopsied to see if they are malignant or not.
The reason that she has had these problems is simple: she wasn't spayed early. I've had Samantha since I was 11 years old, and I'm about to turn 24. My mom was single with three kids during the years in between, so Samantha wasn't spayed until I started working at the clinic a few years ago and got a discount. We never knew how serious the consequences would be.
Working at the animal clinic, I see people all the time that hesitate to spay or neuter their pets, thinking that it's not necessary or it's too expensive. Samantha saw a vet every year we had her, for vaccines, etc. and somehow the importance of altering her was never impressed on us. If we had spayed Samantha early, she would not have had to go through all of these surgeries in her old age. She is a sweet, loving dog, and I know she hates being at the hospital away from her bed and her family.
I am not feeling sorry for myself; I've been lucky enough to have the best dog ever for the past twelve years. Many people lose their pets early, or suddenly. At least I know what we're dealing with in this situation.
I just want for people to understand the importance of spaying and neutering. You may think it's not a big deal, but there are always older dogs suffering from mammary, uterine, prostate, and testicular cancer because their owners didn't have them altered early enough.
So, that's my rant for today. I'm probably going to spend another week in Atlanta so I can be with Sam for her surgery; she's going to need a lot of intensive care for the days after. I am just glad we caught the masses early enough to remove them. She's very healthy and strong otherwise, so I'm hopeful that she'll be a happy girl for a long time.
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Happy 2004 for you.