Our Airedale, Salsa, went in for her every-other-month grooming appointment a few weeks ago.
When she was there, they noticed a growth on the bottom of one of her back feet. It looked just like the black skin her pads are made of but it was growing between the pads and was wrinkly like a raisin. It wasn't there the last time. It wasn't bothering her either because we never noticed her favoring that foot or licking it.
We took her to the vet to have it checked out. The vet said it can be common in older dogs (she's around nine years old) and that we could just keep an eye on it. He took some measurements for future reference and we headed home. However, the next day it broke open and started bleeding. Uh oh...we were about to leave for a week in Utah. I called the vet and he said we could either bring her in for surgery before we left or just bandage it up and wait until we got back. The second choice was what he advised would probably be best. So, we went with that.
Luckily, it only needed to be bandaged a couple of times and it stopped bleeding. We were even hoping it would turn out to be OK and that surgery wouldn't be needed. However, when we got back home, it started to bother her and she wouldn't stop licking it. So, in for surgery she went. While she was knocked out for surgery, she had her teeth cleaned and her nails done again too. He sent the growth in for testing to see what it is and what to expect from it. We're hoping it's benign.
She came home with her leg bandaged and a severe case of the drowsies.
She could barely hold her head up all evening. She'd work hard to lift her head and it would immediately start tipping over until she fell back down and just laid there again. It was kind of cute.
She did pretty well when we took the cone off and wasn't messing with the bandage. Whew!
When the drowsies wore off she became very snuggly. :-)
And, yes....a bandage is a pass to lay on the sofa! lol
I had to take her back to have her bandage replaced yesterday. They said it's healing up quite well.
I need to take her back on Thursday so they can look at it again and possibly re-bandage it.
Unfortunately, she decided that she doesn't like the new bandage and is having to wear the cone again. Poor Salsa! No fun for her...or us! She keeps smashing into walls and furniture with it. Argh!
We'll get the test results back in about a week.
The picture quality isn't the greatest on these because I took them with my cell phone.
Poor Salsa! Hope she heals quickly and the test result is okay....
ReplyDeleteIts tough when our fur friends are not well.
Our Calli has arthritis and has been limping and a bit stiff when she walks. She only 4 on April 11th so this is rather young! She's on meds and a weight reduction diet to shed a few pounds and is doing okay...
Pets for Salsa....
Susan and Calli
Oh poor Salsa - it's so hard to see our pets go through things like surgery. And I can bet she's not liking that cone - a dog we had years ago wouldn't move a muscle with one on........for hours........
ReplyDeleteI hope test results are negative and Salsa is on the road to recovery soon.
Fingers crossed the results are negative. Hope he will be well and back off the sofa soon. (That made me smile), our dogs don't need an excuse, they jump up every opportunity they get.
ReplyDeleteAw, poor little Salsa - it so breaks your heart when our furry babes are poorly. Please give her a big cuddle from me and I hope it heals quickly and the results are good.
ReplyDeleteHugs to you too,
Xx
It is so upsetting for man, woman & pet when surgery is required. But cone head dogs are so funny and entertaining! I wonder what goes through their mind when they wear the cone.
ReplyDeleteCouch therapy will work wonders! Hope she is doing better already..
ReplyDeleteAll best wishes for Salsa. Hope she heals quickly and all is benign. give her a chin scratching from me.
ReplyDeleteOh the poor baby! I think she gets an extended pass to stay on the sofa.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Meredith