tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post6719548639076054204..comments2023-09-02T03:03:26.994-07:00Comments on Vet On The Edge: The Perils Of PepperAKDDhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10533003137934379516noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-10679785280755721062009-03-20T19:56:00.000-07:002009-03-20T19:56:00.000-07:00Colleen - I'm with ya. Wyatt was a stone sweethear...Colleen - I'm with ya. Wyatt was a stone sweetheart. And what a grin that dog had!<BR/><BR/>Barb - thank God it WASN'T an osteosarcoma. Buddy, the BC I got from D (and originally Pepper's "brother") also got cancer, but he had an incurable kind that (no matter how big your margins) can't be excised. I am very grateful to Pepper, A) for choosing one of the most curable chronic diseases out there (cancer, as opposed to, say, heart disease); and B) for choosing a kind that is potentially curable; and C) for picking a spot to grow it where it could be excised. Good dog! Two biscuits!<BR/><BR/>MM - well, I didn't see it *consciously*. It was my subconscious, saying "Look! No, I mean <I>LOOK.</I> You're not getting it, <B>look again.</B> There. Now ya see it? Duh." After a while, your brain gets to where it picks out little asymmetries and other subtleties and uses your subconscious mind to kick it up into your awareness, even when you're not looking for it. If that's a super-power, I'll take it! Damn useful one to have, in my line of work! :)AKDDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533003137934379516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-40115706298794840542009-03-20T08:38:00.000-07:002009-03-20T08:38:00.000-07:00From across the room, you noticed a discontinuity ...From across the room, you noticed a discontinuity of approximately one-eighth of an inch thick by roughly a quarter of an inch across.<BR/>Under fur.<BR/>When you weren't even looking for it.<BR/><BR/>Admit it: You have superpowers. You're some kind of X-Man (X-Woman?) mutant with the ability to observe the unobservable, aren't you?MaskedManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01847118110075039840noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-15964033487653102302009-03-14T12:29:00.000-07:002009-03-14T12:29:00.000-07:00I'm so glad she's doing so well. When you first w...I'm so glad she's doing so well. When you first wrote about noticing a swelling on her wrist I thought "osteosarcoma" and when you described the mass as being confined to the skin I was so relieved! I'm glad it wasn't that. Here's hoping she has many more wonderful years! <BR/><BR/>And I LOVED the splint decorations!Barbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13378199204420558607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-77823757588109580812009-03-12T16:26:00.000-07:002009-03-12T16:26:00.000-07:00I had no idea all this was going on! I am so glad...I had no idea all this was going on! I am so glad to hear that everything is going all right. Makes me miss Wyatt, though. :(Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12212057576029417109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-59748249976671804512009-03-12T09:47:00.000-07:002009-03-12T09:47:00.000-07:00KP, glad you liked the decorations. J is really go...KP, glad you liked the decorations. J is really good at making them. Nowadays they have pre-made cut-outs for splints nad wraps, which are very cute, but not custom-made the way J's are. I must tell you that it is NOT easy to do a cut-out that looks like a plane, though... the Vetwrap likes to stretch and/or fuse at inconvenient times. I wasn't sure it looked enough like a plane to be recognizable, so I made the little wing decorations to underscore my point. :DAKDDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533003137934379516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-33258509807215970492009-03-12T09:23:00.000-07:002009-03-12T09:23:00.000-07:00Beth, it's true that sometimes it's hard to compar...Beth, it's true that sometimes it's hard to compartmentalize like that. I've gotten better at it with much practice, and when it's my own dogs I know in my heart what is right to do. The toughest is when it's NOT My dog, but one as dear to me as if it were. It isn't my decision, so I have to consult another's heart about what is best for them to do, at the same time as leaving mine out of it.<BR/><BR/>Carole, thanks for the link to Cody's photo - what a doll. I love the mismatched ears. I'm so sorry for your loss. I can only imagine how hard this is for you.<BR/><BR/>Datista, I hope that Blaze's surgery gives her a long, disease-free second puppyhood! Bless her heart.<BR/><BR/>INO, it WAS lucky - lucky that she just happened to be sleeping with her feet tucked like that and that I just happened to glance at them that day. The mass was thin enough that with her wrists strait I would not have caught it. It was just a little profile popped out on the side of that one wrist, that didn't quite match the other one. I needed that skyline view to see it.<BR/><BR/>I'm in the same boat as you with older dogs... of the four dogs I've lost in the last 15 years, three have died of cancer. But 30 years ago, they could all have died young of diseases we now cure, so in that sense perhaps I'm lucky.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, similar to your dogs, Pepper DOES (very rarely) get popped in the mouth by the snow shovel... D watches pretty closely, but sometimes she does the stealth-sneak under the plane's tailfeathers, approaches from behind and gets clipped on the follow-through. Mostly she's pretty smart about it, though.AKDDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533003137934379516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-28475120631483535332009-03-12T09:17:00.000-07:002009-03-12T09:17:00.000-07:00Glad to hear that pepper is doing well and so well...Glad to hear that pepper is doing well and so well taken care of by you.<BR/><BR/>Loved the cut outs on the splint. Made me smileolkgalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06709415210291868314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-23966954044837756282009-03-12T07:09:00.000-07:002009-03-12T07:09:00.000-07:00How lucky that she lives with a vet and got her pr...How lucky that she lives with a vet and got her problem noticed so early!!!<BR/><BR/>My dogs love biting the snow, too. <BR/><BR/>To the point where we can't leave them out when we are shoveling in the yard, as they will bite the shovel in their impatience for it to lift snow.........<BR/><BR/>They have to be satisfied with the snow we fling over the fence to them.<BR/><BR/>So glad Pepper got a good report.<BR/><BR/>We have had a cancer diagnosis three times for five dogs......... So far..........I need orangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16819543886910857718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-19120814856671387912009-03-11T20:51:00.000-07:002009-03-11T20:51:00.000-07:00This struck a little close to home, as Dad's 12 ye...This struck a little close to home, as Dad's 12 year old English Setter, Blaze, was recently diagnosed with mammary cancer. We caught it when it was tiny, about a lima bean sized bump, and did a mastectomy. She also had a tumor on the back of her knee and a cyst on her chest taken off, and the (benign) tumor on her hind leg was sending tendrils into the underlying tissue.<BR/>With any luck both our old gals will be around a while longer.<BR/><BR/>And while it sounds like Pepper is gracefully sliding into old age, Blaze is getting dementia and enjoying a second puppyhood whooping up on my 2.5 year old mutt, running around like an idiot and jumping up on the couch to knock the pillows off (only old dogs get to sleep on the couch so the younger dogs claim the pillows). :DAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-57123193532233097152009-03-11T19:51:00.000-07:002009-03-11T19:51:00.000-07:00I'm so glad that Pepper is doing well. I lost my b...I'm so glad that Pepper is doing well. I lost my beloved terrier cross this week to transitional cell carcinoma and was holding my breath as I was reading your entry, dreading bad news. Thank you for providing a happy-ending story. <BR/><BR/>(Photo of Cory <A HREF="http://southcanyonranch.com/?p=119" REL="nofollow">here</A>.)Carolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02397607466794618574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-25848211224674330182009-03-11T18:03:00.000-07:002009-03-11T18:03:00.000-07:00This brought tears to my eyes! It must be very dif...This brought tears to my eyes! It must be very difficult sometimes seperating your medical and emotional self from cases so close to home like this!!<BR/><BR/>I love that you included pictures. Thank you!!<BR/><BR/>My BC Bula does the same thing with the snow. She loves to catch it - but sometimes gets to close and gets a shovel in the mouth...i much prefer her jumping for the snow than the horse poop when I clean stall...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-5858032740902016842009-03-11T17:43:00.000-07:002009-03-11T17:43:00.000-07:00Dragon, nope - not working the race. My boss is, t...Dragon, nope - not working the race. My boss is, though; he's probably on his way to Iditarod as we speak. And yes, Pepper IS a wonderful dog! Thanks for noticing!<BR/><BR/>Holly and Inara, thank you, too. Unfortunately, cancer is the leading cause of death in older dogs. On the other hand, many cancers are curable - unlike, say, chronic heart or kidney disease. Cancer is a terrifying word - but taken as a whole, cancer is one of the more curable of the chronic diseases. <BR/><BR/>I'm just keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Looks good so far!AKDDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10533003137934379516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-67212464031145025202009-03-11T17:33:00.000-07:002009-03-11T17:33:00.000-07:00I keep hearing more and more people talk about the...I keep hearing more and more people talk about their beloved dogs getting cancer. It's terrifying. So glad Pepper is doing well!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-2109475213516481842009-03-11T16:54:00.000-07:002009-03-11T16:54:00.000-07:00What a great story about a beloved dog. I too, wor...What a great story about a beloved dog. I too, worry about my elders, got 2 of them. Pepper is a lucky girl to have someone like you to care for her.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17685436243608973979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6589783647802842771.post-362683132706864632009-03-11T14:23:00.000-07:002009-03-11T14:23:00.000-07:00Great story. Slow healing due to a lack of availa...Great story. Slow healing due to a lack of available skin is much like what we had with Missy Face.<BR/><BR/>Loved the airplane shots.....<BR/><BR/>Are you working the RACE this year?<BR/><BR/>She sounds like a wonderful dog....Dragon43https://www.blogger.com/profile/10300731439715496511noreply@blogger.com