Surgery Is Over

I made it through surgery today.  I thought I was only going to have one mast cell tumor removed from my head, but it turned out to be three.  I woke up with three sets of stitches; one from my head, as I said before, then one off my right ear, and one off my left knee.  Still feeling a little funny from the anesthesia.  Just had some dinner and a little pill for pain, so feeling a bit more normal.

All three spots - pre-surgery.

The first spot on the top of my head.

Check out the left knee.

And, my right ear.

How bad is it??

Well, we won't know until the tumors are looked at by a pathologist.  A pathologist can look at the lump and tell what kind it is, how bad it is, and how much it has spread.  That should take a week or so.  I hate waiting.  Mom hates waiting.  It's going to be a long week.

Luckily, mom found the tumors when they were very small - like b-b's.  That helps.

We're still waiting to hear about my friend Shoshone's tumor that was removed last week.  We have our paws crossed for her.  Please, keep your paws crossed for the both of us.

Oops, the camera slipped.  Still a bit sleepy from the anesthesia.

Tumor Removal Tomorrow

Surgery is tomorrow morning.  The lump is on the top of my head right on the edge of my spot.  That sort of darkish area halfway between the bottom of the picture and the base of my ear.

Because it is a mast cell tumor, my vet has to cut about an inch around it.  Specifically a 2-3 cm margin.  That's a lot of skin off my head.  I hope my spot doesn't get all messed up!

I had my last meal before surgery.  Apparently, I can't eat before the anesthesia so I don't vomit and inhale it.  This can cause serious problems.  I'm already hungry thinking about not eating for such a long time.  Then, tonight before we go to bed, I get my last drinks of water.

Mom and I have to go in early so they can do some pre-operative bloodwork, check the other lumps that mom found on me, and give me a sedative so I can relax.  I think mom will need that last one more than me.  I can tell she's a bit (very) nervous.  My vet is going to cut the whole tumor out and get good margins - I think everything is going to go very well.  She's a pessimist though - she's all stressed out.

Mom gave me a bath and cleaned my ears today.  I hate getting all "clean".  It takes me a long time afterwards to get smelling again the way I like to smell.  Obviously, dog shampoo is not what I want to smell like.  My hair's all wild and wavy after a bath.  I have to tame it back into place.

I had some good moments with my big orange bone followed by a massage from mom.  Overall, not a bad way to spend my surgery-eve.  Now, we get to sleep on the couch for a while before we go to bed.  There is nothing like a nap before bedtime.

I'll update you after the surgery - You'll be able to see how much of my spot I had to lose.  Cross your paws!  Love, Heidi

Mom's POV : Mast Cell Tumor

UGH!

How is it that something so little can be bad?
What do you mean it's not a cyst?!?

Mast cell tumors, when caught early and removed with good margins (the whole thing cut out, not just part of it) is no cause for worry.  However, if a mast cell tumor is allowed to grow and metastasize (spread to other parts of the body) it can be bad news.

Check out Wikipedia for a decent explanation of what a mast tumor is.  It might redirect you to "mastocytoma".
FYI - "masto-" means mast, "cyto-" means cell, and "-oma" means tumor.

If you feel a lump on yourself or your pet, PLEASE, have it checked out by a medical doctor.  I thought that the lump on Heidi's head was a simple little cyst.  I thought, "no big deal."

I took her to the veterinarian to have it looked at by a professional.  The vet took a small needle attached to a syringe and poked the lump with it.  This draws cells up into the syringe so that they can then be blown onto a slide.  The slide is then stained so that the cells show up clearly.  The cells are identified by looking at the slide under a microscope.  This process is called a "fine needle aspirate" and should be done on just about any unidentified lump.  The vet was able to see the mast cells under the microscope.  Mast cells have granules (little dots) that appear blue/purple when stained for viewing.

I'm trying not to overreact or blow things out of proportion.  BUT Heidi is the reason I get out of bed every morning.  I'm not religious so I don't pray - I have my fingers crossed for her.  AND it turns out another dog I know just had a mast cell tumor on her head removed.  SO keep Shoshone and Heidi in your thoughts.

I'd appreciate all the goodness that can be sent their way.

Mast Cell Tumor On My Head

Mom made me go to the vet today to have a tiny, little bump checked out.  It's on the top of my forehead right on the border of my big spot.  She noticed the bump a week or two ago and thought it was a scab from a random wound.  After the wound should have been gone, the bump was still there.  Mom kept squeezing it and touching it. She always gets a little too nosy and touchy-feely.

I kept trying to tell her it was just a bump.  She kept trying to tell herself it was just a cyst.  It turns out mom and I should always follow her gut.  The vet said it is a mast cell tumor.

UGH.

I have to get it cut out of my head.  We're going in Monday to have it done.  I've already told mom what I want to do this weekend in case the anesthesia doesn't go well.  We're very similar in that respect - we both overreact to anesthesia and surgery.  It is very safe.  Really.

But, there is that extremely rare chance that something could go wrong.  So, I want to play lots of frisbee and eat a really good meal on Sunday night.  I would love to go to the dog bakery but we don't have one where we live.

Here's the really crazy thing - mom used to work at the vet's office.  One of the women whom she used to work with has a dog named after a Native American tribe called Shoshone.  She has a mast cell tumor on her head too!  She had hers removed today and is doing well.

SO, keep your paws crossed for the two of us.
-Heidi

Tongues. I love them.

Heidi's mom here.

I love dog tongues.  And other animal tongues.  Have you ever seen a little fat tongue of a rat or rabbit?  Or a hamster tongue?  SO CUTE.  Pictures of animal tongues make me happy.  I got this one of Heidi's tongue the other day and love it.

She was trying to get a piece of grass off of her tongue from when she missed catching the frisbee and had to pick it up from the ground.

I also like when you can see the saliva bubbles on the tongue.  And little bits of grass.

bubbles

grass

bubbles

grass

And then, when I can get a shot straight into her mouth.  You can see everything.  Do you see the little troll that lives in the back of her mouth?  Say "hello".

Totally adorable.  I hope you think so too.

Can't Get Enough

Fall is upon us.  The warm, long days are ending.

Why do I look so funny when I'm catching it?

Can you say "Land shark"?

And, liftoff.

I look so athletic.

Ahh, the best frisbee days are behind for a while...

FRISBEE!!

Frisbee action with mom after her trip to Kalamazoo, MI.  

Mom always likes to tease me with flailing my frisbee in front of my face.  I try to ignore her but it's hard.

                                                                                OOPS.  I missed.

                                                                             YAY!  I didn't miss.




You know, my success at catching really depends on the person throwing it.
(mom)

UGH!!!

I just wanted to let all of you know that I am still here!
Mom has been really slack lately about helping me type up my blog posts.  She's been busy and lazy and the combination doesn't leave much time for the "extras" like my blog.

Sigh.

So, for all of you that care, I'm here and stocking up on stories to tell you.
Take care peeps, Heidi

Fall Is Here

We had one of the last good, warm weekends before the cold settles in for a while.  Saturday, one of mom's friends and her daughter came over to go to some arts and crafts festival.  I don't really know what that is, but it seems like they had fun.  At least, they drank enough wine that it should have been fun.

I have been able to train the little girl to throw the frisbee for me.  It's a pretty good deal: I play frisbee with the kid and mom gets to play with her friend.

When the friend and her daughter were leaving, Bentley ran out the front door.  So did I.  No one saw me though.  I had heard about a surprise party next door at the neighbor's house.  The neighbor had invited us to come over for some food, so, I went over to check it out.  As soon as I ran in, everybody yelled "Surprise!" except the neighbor who said "Whose dog is that?"  After a minute she realized it was just me.  Sadly, she swooped me up and carried me home.  Apparently, the invitation was not extended to me or the dogs.
What snotty neighbors.

Mom's...Home

Our beloved dogsitter has left.  Mom is home.  We miss the dogsitter.

No, really, sometimes I think Mom gets a little lazy with us.  Maybe it's just that the dogsitter is "newer" than mom.  I don't know, but I do know that when she is here, it's a party every night.
Sorry mom...Love ya!

The dogsitter sent mom a message yesterday asking if we missed her yet.  I had to laugh at that.  I like the "yet". We miss her as soon as she closes the front door behind her.  But, mom, nothing to worry about - we do love you, I promise.  Anyway, mom relayed the message to the dogsitter that Bentley was beside himself that she had left.  It was a bit of a fib.  He's upset, but he's not that upset.  Mom just likes to make the dogsitter feel good.  Although, it's true that Bentley did cry himself to sleep Sunday night.  And it's true that Mojo tried to console him.    Ok.  So, I guess it's true that Bentley was a bit beside himself when the dogsitter left.  They do have a very close relationship.

Well, so, Mom's home from her horse massage therapy class.  I offered to pretend to be a horse for her to practice.  Ha!  She actually said no.  The things I try to do for her are so overlooked.