Shelties Playing

I had my phone with me at the right moment today. The Shelties had a little impromptu play session today. They are so much fun! Check out the Shelties Playing video (0:38) -- Shannon is laying down and Sky is standing up:

Sky's Blood Work & Sleeping Arrangements

Sky's blood work came back good today. She can continue to take the chemotherapy Kinavet. She will get another blood draw in two weeks, and if that comes back good, then she will go to once a month.

When Sky first had surgery, I didn't want to put her in a crate. She is usually in a crate overnight and when I'm not home. But I didn't want her to rub the stitches or staples against the sides of a crate. So, I set up a kennel in the bedroom. Shannon wanted to be in there too, which I let her do overnight. It turns out, she really likes to stretch out. That's Sky up against the side of the kennel. She is in a e-collar when I'm not watching her. She still has a tumor in front of her ear. If she scratches it, it will release histamines and make her itch. I don't want her scratching until she bleeds again. They have plenty of room, but this is how they end up every night.

Sky Update: Blood Test Results, Healing Shoulder Wound, Worrisome Limp, and Daisy With A Dog Food Bag

Sky's blood test came back good, nothing to worry about. She can continue on Kinavet. The incision site on her right shoulder where a tumor was removed is looking better each day.

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She has been limping all day. She's favoring her right front leg and was licking that foot this morning. If she's not doing better by tomorrow, it will be another trip to the vet...

Here's a picture of Daisy being a funny girl today. She's my Belgian Malinois mix. I always throw the empty dog food bag on the floor because my other Sheltie Shannon loves to lick the inside of the bag. Well, Daisy finally figured out (after all these years) what Shannon was doing...

Shannon's Lab Results

I forgot to do a post when the lab results came back. They confirmed the Hamartoma diagnosis and found that the entire mass was removed. We have an appointment with my local vet on Tuesday to see if the stitches can be removed.

Shannon's Surgery

Today was surgery day. What a long day. Up at 4:30AM, left here at 5:40AM, arrived there at 7:00AM. Checked in at 8:00AM. Not sure what time her surgery started. She was second in line and they start surgery at 10:00. The surgeon came out to see me around 1:00PM. She said that she thought she had gotten all of it, but that lab analysis would verify. (I'll post again when I get the results.) She said that at the center of the mass was Shannon's microchip. There's no way to tell if that's what caused the growth. But the surgeon suggested I not replace the microchip. Shannon was released at 5:00PM for the return trip home. That was a long day. The bill for today was $2,132.14. She was sent home with the following meds: Cefpodoxime (antibiotic), Carproten (NSAID), Tramadol (pain med). She will get a cold compress at the incision site 3 times a day for 5 days. She is only allowed outside on a leash until the stitches come out, which should be in 2 weeks. I can go to my normal vet for that. I am carrying her up and down the steps... For now... I shouldn't be doing that, due to my own health. But exertion can pull at her stitches, so I'll do what I can for as long as I can... Here's the pictures. Don't scroll down if you are delicate... (I don't know why they shaved so far down her back...)

Shannon's Consultation with the Veterinary Oncologist in Richmond

We saw Dr. Waite, the Oncologist, in Richmond today. This growth is a benign cancer that is acting like a malignant cancer. Shannon is scheduled for surgery Monday to remove the growth. She shouldn't need any radiation or chemotherapy. The surgeon, Dr. Aktay, looked at it today and said that she felt she could remove it and get good, big margins. Dr. Waite also found something in Shannon's armpit and took a sample to see what it is (cytology) and found it is a lump of fat. All of my girls have these lumps... Anyway, we have to be there at 8:00AM Monday for the surgery. Ugh... I'll have to leave here around 5:30AM to be sure we get there on time... The bill today was:
   Consultation                         165.00
   Cytology                                 80.00
   Pre-surgery blood work         122.00
     Total                                   367.00

Shannon's Pending Appointment

My appointment in Richmond with the Veterinary Oncologist is on Wednesday 10/29 at 5:00PM. Google maps says 1 hour and 20 minutes to get there, so I'm going to allow an hour extra since traffic is a crap shoot at that time of day...

Shannon's Benign Growth -- Fibroadnexal Hamartoma

I'm writing this post in the hopes that it helps someone else who has a dog with the same problem. One of my dogs (Shannon) has had a spot on her shoulder where the skin is thickened. The spot has been getting bigger and bigger. I have pointed it out to my vet every year at her annual exam. At first, the vet said that it felt like scar tissue, which is true. However, I told her that Shannon hasn't had any trauma in that area that would give her scars like that. In subsequent annual visits, the vet still didn't think anything of it. But this year I made a bigger deal out of it and reminded my vet that it is getting bigger every year. My vet agreed that it is worrisome and we arranged for a biopsy. Here's a picture of the shaved area. You can see the green stitches where the three biopsies were taken. This was my first good look at it without the fur in the way. It was quite a surprise to see how big it is. I think my vet and I both missed the boat on this one. Note to self: be more firm when advocating for my dogs...

I got the biopsy results back and it is fibroadnexal hamartoma (fibro adnexal hamartoma). My vet explained that it's a benign tumor involving hair follicles and gland structures. I Googled it and didn't come up with any images that look like that. So, I'm going to chronicle her treatment in this new blog to add to the little bit of information that's available on this -- to maybe help somebody else. I'm going to contact my vet to get a referral to the Oncologist in Richmond, Va. From what I could find, it will have to be surgically removed. I hope there's enough skin to cover the wound that is left. They always cut out extra in order to get "good margins" so I'm sure that a pretty good chunk is going to be removed.

Here's a couple of pictures of my girls (l-r Sky, Shannon, Daisy). Sky and Shannon are Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs) and Daisy is a Belgian Malinois mix: