Ann
Moderator
I usually do a baseline gallbladder ultrasound on my dogs at age 5, but when Sharon's Meadow had a problem at 4 and my vet agreed he's seeing GB problems earlier, I decided to take Misty in and have one done a week ago, at age 4.
The good news is that her gallbladder looks good. The bad news is that while he was scanning, my vet saw a growth on her spleen. My daughter lost her dog to a tumor on the spleen that ruptured just a few months ago; apparently they don't exhibit symptoms until it's too late. So naturally I panicked. I love all my dogs, but Misty is the dog who got me through the past two years, losing my son and breast cancer. She's been the dog who's always there at my side giving comfort. I'd sell a kidney to save her, and I only have one that works.
My vet said it would probably take surgery to save her life. I took her to the surgical vet who did Flurry's jaw tumor this morning for a consult. She and their internist scanned Misty again and agreed that while the growth is small and probably benign, there's no predicting what it will do. We are going to scan her again two weeks from today and unless it's substantially smaller, they'll operate to remove her spleen the following Monday. The surgeon said dogs do fine without a spleen and Misty should be able to live a normal, healthy life.
I shudder at the thought that had I not taken her in a year early, that tumor might have grown and spread, or ruptured. And it was purely by accident that we found it. So much like Meadow's gallbladder, finding it was a real blessing.
This is our third tumor surgery in three months: mast cell on Lacey in August, Flurry's jaw in September. I'm grateful they are both healing and well, but I devoutly hope this is the end of our streak. Please keep a good thought for my precious girl.
The good news is that her gallbladder looks good. The bad news is that while he was scanning, my vet saw a growth on her spleen. My daughter lost her dog to a tumor on the spleen that ruptured just a few months ago; apparently they don't exhibit symptoms until it's too late. So naturally I panicked. I love all my dogs, but Misty is the dog who got me through the past two years, losing my son and breast cancer. She's been the dog who's always there at my side giving comfort. I'd sell a kidney to save her, and I only have one that works.
My vet said it would probably take surgery to save her life. I took her to the surgical vet who did Flurry's jaw tumor this morning for a consult. She and their internist scanned Misty again and agreed that while the growth is small and probably benign, there's no predicting what it will do. We are going to scan her again two weeks from today and unless it's substantially smaller, they'll operate to remove her spleen the following Monday. The surgeon said dogs do fine without a spleen and Misty should be able to live a normal, healthy life.
I shudder at the thought that had I not taken her in a year early, that tumor might have grown and spread, or ruptured. And it was purely by accident that we found it. So much like Meadow's gallbladder, finding it was a real blessing.
This is our third tumor surgery in three months: mast cell on Lacey in August, Flurry's jaw in September. I'm grateful they are both healing and well, but I devoutly hope this is the end of our streak. Please keep a good thought for my precious girl.
