Phew! I must say that my heart sank when I saw that you'd updated this post! So, so pleased that he's OK x
Thank you for your concern @5labs Such a rollercoaster. Bad enough waiting for the appointment let alone the results!
Phew, hooray, and wagging tails. Was the vet able to address any concerns you had about vaccinations? Sorry to be late to congratulate you. Johnny is on day 2 post-TPLO surgery and I'm a zombie from lack of sleep. He's worked out how to open the pen and appears to be scheming to get rid of the cone. He's doing great and Toby's good report made my day
Oh no poor you and Johnny! How did he do that? The thought of Toby on restricted exercise is scary. Do you have to give him any sort of sedation to keep him calm? I hope he recovers quickly. At least being in the winter it’s easier to stay indoors. I hope you get more sleep soon! The local vets have said he can have the leptospirosis as a separate vaccine and the others every three years. The oncologist is happy with that. We have had rats in our garden at the bird feeder(I have had to stop feeding them) and Toby loves any water so I feel that is the safe way to go. I saw a dermatologist about his itching at the same time. Initial findings(when he was knocked out) are he has an overload of fungal spores especially on his front feet and the small fold on his bottom lip due to his compromised immune system. He has given me a foot wash. My challenge for this weekend(and every three days after) Now he knows he isn’t having more chemo he can have tablets too. If that doesn’t work we will be doing an elimination diet. These dogs!
We don't know what happened - it appears to be a degenerative disease. He came home from the field just fine, took a nap, and got up on three legs. He failed conservative treatment and here we are. We have a sedative, in addition to pain meds and NSAID so time will tell. He seems to be doing well. Wound check and exam in 10 days then PT starts the week after. Lepto: I often think that rats are the primary industry in our fair city so my two get this annually, especially since it's contagious to humans. I hadn't thought of the bird feeder. Thank you! The nice man at the city "vector control" office told me to clean up dog poop immediately because rats dined on it. Yuck. Glad you're making some progress on the itching. It's odd because 14 mo Maggie had a series of 5 histiocytomas, a benign growth caused by a part of the immune system being overactive. At the same time she was chewing on her feet like mad from a bacteria, so we also have a medicated foot wash. Yes, these dogs! So happy to hear Toby's good news
It’s a slightly odd one because he doesn’t bite his paws at all and it’s worse at the front than the back. I do wonder if it has anything to do with Kongs. I put some of his food in one each day and he has small amounts of peanut butter or banana in a Kong when I go out. I’ve noticed they get quite wet and he uses his front paws very effectively. We’ll see how it goes and go back in a few weeks. Love the names Johnny and Maggie. Hope you get a stress free period soon!
Hello, I saw your posts on the MCTs and was wondering if you had any pictures? My 2 year old had a black ball that looked like a skin tag or mole and she bit or scratched it. It is in her inner thigh but closer to her knee. It opened up and very strange black and gray material was inside. It didn’t bleed much and I’m not sure if I should be worried or not. Thank you!
Hi Lauryn I know this wasn’t addressed to me but I thought I would answer anyway. Toby’s MCT was more like a wart that just bled then got bigger. There was no other discharge. However having seen hundreds of photos and descriptions of MC tumours over the last year there doesn’t seem to be a standard. I would keep an eye on it as it heals and see a vet straight away if it doesn’t. It might be worth asking if you can send a photo to them. A needle aspiration would easily confirm what it is. Keep us posted and if it does turn out to be a MCT I have lots of information. There are many innocent things it could be so don’t panic just yet.
thank you so much for sharing that. I will keep an eye on how it heals. I will definitely reach out if anything changes. I appreciate your fast response!
I've been reading this post this morning and am so glad he's doing ok! I was shocked to read about his ear tumor as he is so young! My lab has had lots of health issues from food allergies to skin issues and having a tooth out because he broke it as well as hip dysplasia but after reading this i feel so sorry for little Toby! Lucius celebrated his fifth birthday in April after small black lump appeared but is luckily benign so we are leaving it where it is. Much love to Toby and hope he continues to do well!
Thank you! So glad the lump turned out to be benign. Sounds like Lucius has been through the wars too. Toby has far too much energy and spirit to be poorly. Ironically he went for his 6 month staging yesterday. They are very thorough. Full examination whilst asleep chest X-ray, stomach ultrasound,needle aspiration of liver and spleen and that pesky lymph node again that is still bigger than the other side.Oh and the all important pedicure! Results on Friday.I instigated the appointment a month early as I found him licking a scab on his back leg. 24 hours later he had chewed it off. I don’t know what the original problem was and the oncologist said it was too flat to aspirate so I need to keep an eye on it. Always something to worry about but he is oblivious which is the main thing. All the best.
All good news for Toby. No unusual Mast Cells found in liver spleen or that lymph node. Onwards and upwards for another 6 months!
Thank you! Can’t believe it is now 13 months since my first post. Hope all is well with you. How is Johnny doing?
I'm so happy for you Johnny ... sigh. His 8 wk post-op x-ray was cancelled during the CoVid-19 lockdown but we managed to keep working with the rehab vet via email. I kept him on the leash because we didn't get the x-ray to confirm the surgery was successful. He did very well. At 13 wks post-op, one fine day he came home from his 20 minute walk, took a nap, got up, screamed, and went onto three legs, suggesting he blew the ligament in other knee. We see the vet on Tuesday. I've been leashed to Johnny since the end of January and now onto September. I think the uni. vets felt sorry for us and said I could have the first available surgical slot to repair the other knee, so hopefully that will be Wednesday. Otherwise we're fine. At least the riots stopped so the roads are open.
Oh no that is such bad luck. Is it usual it to happen to both sides? I hope all goes well next week and you get him fixed. You will be glad when this year is done and dusted!
The vets tell you there's a 50% chance of the other ligament going but they also say it's a degenerative disease. I knew it was a possibility but I wasn't prepared for it to happen so soon. Yes I look forward to this year being done and dusted I have to remember to post a photo of Maggie so Toby can decide if he wants to let her have his phone number
Poor thing. Fingers crossed all goes well. Haha yes Toby is partial to a pretty girl. Can’t guarantee he will stick with the social distancing rules though or remember his manners!
