$1500 and A Travel Pillow

Because 2022 and I just need MORE to happen, Lucy is sick. She has a mass on her bum, literally on her bum. It appeared about two months ago, grew quickly, and as you've probably guessed: it's cancerous. It HAS NOT SPREAD and she's perfectly healthy otherwise. The Vet was very encouraging about the whole thing and that she's young enough that it's "worth it", if you get what I'm saying.

When it first appeared and the vet commented on it, we guessed that it would be a thing, more about the location than about the mass. Then it grew so quickly that it was a concern. I took her to the vet on Thursday afternoon and the results wouldn't be ready for three days.

I got a call from the vet on Friday. I knew it was bad news. 1) call from the vet, not the vet tech and 2) probably wouldn't hear until Monday and heard on Friday.

What's funny...ironic funny...is that I was standing in the middle of a nursery at the time. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Seriously. Seriously. So the juxtaposition of bad news while being in a gorgeous setting was not lost on me. Also, Lucy was waiting for me in the truck.

Sidenote: Look at this gorgeous place:

Seriously

Meanwhile, back to the original call from the Vet:

The most imminent task was getting blood work and xrays because if those came back with bad results, it was going to be a Whole Other Conversation. Where the nursery was about forty minutes from where the vet clinic was but luckily, heh: luckily...they are closed from 1:00 - 2:00 every day so that gave me time.


I finished getting what I "needed" and rushed to pick up groceries. I skipped all the other errands and hurried home. Unloaded everything and put Lucy back into the truck to leave.

Oh, this is where I mention that Kevin took an impromptu week of vacation. He was in Seattle, working on some racecars so he was out of town and a little out-of-touch. I decided that this was a Good Thing as the last thing he needed was to hear bad news. It could absolutely wait until the next day. And yes, this meant me shouldering this by myself but Hey, Hi, Hello, this is me. It's what I do.

Xrays and bloodwork was quick and we went back home and took a nap. Because mygawd.

Next Friday, she's having surgery by a specialist (because: why not) and the cost is $1500. So far, it's been $600 in exams, x rays, tests, meds and visits. Plus about $60 in neck pillows and no-lick spray. I mention the cost because this was just a topic of conversation: how much to spend on a sick pet and when to call it.

During the surgery, they'll remove the mass and hopefully it will be just fine. The concern is how close it is to....sorry, sorry, sorry...her anus. It's right on the edge. That's why a specialist instead of "just" a surgeon. The surgeon who splits his time between the midwest and the northwest, doing surgeries on pets; because this isn't complicated enough.

She has to have the neck pillow...or the "Elizabethan Collar" as the vet called it...on 24/7 now because she keeps fussing it. We have one that looks like a travel pillow, and it is cozy but cumbersome. Then we have another one that looks like a pool toy that she can wear outside. It's just a better material for outside:

Fun fact, she is able to reach the Area with both pillows. If not directly, then near.  Doggies lick their wounds because they think that's helping.  In this case, not helping and gross.  And this is where I share that we made Another Trip to the vet yesterday.  She was uncomfortable and licking and *hork* so the vet asked us to bring her in.

The original vet gave us a pain/inflammation reliever but it makes her high.  The other pill was Gabapentin, which is the nerve blocker I was on so no thanks. The vet today was NOT excited about giving meds so that makes me happy.   He did give an ointment (one of the worst words in the English language) that has to be applied twice daily to The Area.  *hork*  It's going to be a two-person job so this will be Super Fun.

And she has to wear the Travel Pillow all the time and not just at night.  I thought she would hate us and pack her bags but she's become accustomed to it now.  Unfortunately, we have to get the legit Cone of Shame for after the surgery but she'll be high and probably won't mind it.

When this is done, we're going to have to have the carpets cleaned because of "leakage" and licking. *hork*   I've washed her blankets and our quilt multiple times too.  Now it's basically not leaving her alone  PLUS the collar so that a further mess isn't caused.   I can't think about this too much or I'm burning the house down.

One of the worse parts of this is telling people.  Everyone loves our doggy and she has a little following on the social media.  I just included one of her photos with the neck pillow in the weekly post and didn't comment.  As expected, someone asked about it and I answered with a low-key answer.  We just don't need this more dramatic than it already feels.  Yet people care and want to know so it's a weird balance to try to keep.

The surgery is at 10 am on Friday and they will have her most of the day.  Then it's bedrest for a few days (that should be easy *sarcasm font*). I think we're going to try to keep her in her crate or on her big pillow in the living room.  Watching her NOW is stressing us out, I can't imagine when she's high and has stitches.  

Then hopefully we can just move on from this adventure.  We are assuming that this is true because anything else is unacceptable.  Again, the vet thought it would be okay but because of the location, it gets tricky.

Funny thing is she's still happy going on walkies. Her bum just bothers her.  She caught A MOUSE at the beach last night so this is not slowing her down at all.

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