Surgery on Thursday

Both vets think that Isabelle is strong enough for the surgery. Her regular vet called her a tough old bird. The tricky part will be the post op pain management. When Isabelle gets too worked up or pants really hard, that's when her trachea collapses. She will need some extra sedation and pain medication to keep her calm immediately after surgery. But too much sedation can depress the respiratory system so it can't be too much sedation. 

Fortunately both vets think they will be able to manage this after surgery. She'll likely stay longer at the vet after surgery than normal which is just fine. It likely won't be overnight since they don't have anyone at the clinic after hours. 

Isabelle was trying to push mom off the chair. She wanted it all to herself.

Mom is going to take Friday off to stay with Isabelle and be there with the oxygen if she needs it. Oxygen makes her feel very nice and calms her right down. 

This is the fourth version of a bandage. The first version would have been fine except that it got in the way of her going to the bathroom. Now that she's on steroids, she's drinking and peeing a lot more. Hopefully this weird version of suspenders will keep it in place. 

If you are the praying kind, please pray that the tumor shrinks. The smaller it is, the less surrounding tissue has to be removed too. Please pray for good margins, that the surgeon's hands are steady and skilled. Please pray that she recovers easily and that the pain is manageable. 

Mom is so not a pug. She's hungry for the first time since Saturday! She said the worry was quite an appetite suppressant.

Mast cell cancer

It's mast cell cancer. The same cancer Quincy had.

We saw a different vet than our normal vet because she was off today. He examined the tumor and aspirated it. Mom pretty much thought it was mast cell even though it looked very different than the tumors Quincy had.

He said that the tumor didn't appear to be attached to anything like an organ which is good news. But it's pretty large and in a strange spot meaning that getting clean margins will be a challenge. You want to remove tissue surrounding the tumor to make sure to get all the cancer.

We don't know if it has spread to her lymph nodes or not, or spread in other places in her body.

She was pretty perky at the vet, a change from her behavior at the house and in the car.

Since our regular vet was out, we will be talking to her tomorrow about surgery. She knows Isabelle better than any vet. Since Isabelle is well into her senior years and already has a breathing problem, surgery is riskier than usual for her.

Unfortunately, this isn't one of those tumors you can leave alone. Because of where it is, basically in the space between where her back leg meets her body, it just being there causes pain. Mast cell tumors release histamine when they are irritated (like being poked or having pressure applied) which can make the dog feel bad. Since Sunday, Isabelle has been feeling bad. It's hard to get comfortable for her.

The plan for now are pain medications, Benadryl to fight the histamine, antibiotic and steroids. The vet is hoping that the steroid and Benadryl will shrink the tumor some. Mom MacGyvered together a bandage from Tena pads and tape to keep the tumor covered. If not, the blood matted the fur on her leg and tummy. She walks a little funnier than usual but that's likely the tumor's fault.

The most important thing is Isabelle's comfort and quality of life. Surgery isn't worth the risk and pain if it has spread already. We'll know more tomorrow. In the meantime, Isabelle has had a burger and a ton of her Pumpkin Kisses and lots of pain meds. She's still eating like a champ.

Prayers needed *updated*

SFP mom here. Found a large lump on Isabelle's inner back leg. Ping pong ball size. Hard and red. There's a small spot on top of her leg that looks like it could have been a bug bite, so I'm praying that it was just a nasty reaction.

It's not an emergency per se, so I'm waiting until Monday to go to the vet unless something changes. She's still eating, drinking, pottying, walking as normal.

You pug people know how terrifying this is. Your mind automatically goes to cancer. At 14, I don't know that Isabelle would survive the surgery, much less chemo or radiation. And I don't want her to be in any pain or discomfort just because I want her to live a few more months.

So please pray, send positive thoughts, whatever juju you can spare for me and Isabelle. I'm freaking out, and I need to be strong to handle whatever this turns out to be.

Thanks in advance.

Update
Overnight, the mass started bleeding which is never a good sign. We are back from the ER vet who said it is very likely cancer. Isabelle has pain medication and an antibiotic for now. We will be going to our regular vet Monday to come up with a plan.

Independence Day weekend

We had a guest for the holiday weekend, Elliott! He's been here lots. 

We had hoped that Blaze might feel more comfortable with a boy pug to play with. 

Yeah, no. 

It started off okay. 

Then he started hiding behind the table to keep away from Elliott. 

 Elliott is high energy, even for a 6 year old. Fortunately, Blaze has been standing up for himself, especially when it comes to unwanted attention (if you know what we mean). No fighting or anything, just letting Elliott know he needs to knock it off. 

Unfortunately, Elliott is not a fan of fireworks. He doesn't react like Tallulah did, but his anxiety spread to everyone else. Blaze was a little unhappy with the noises, but he would have been fine if just he reacted. 

So mom broke out the Frosty Paws. She crumbled up Calmplex tablets in everyone's ice cream since the boys refused to take it. And wouldn't you know it, Elliott refused his ice cream even! 

Mom had to resort to Benadryl and essential oils to keep the peace. 

 Isabelle just enjoyed her ice cream.

Sometimes being deaf is a good thing!

Meet foster Blaze

Blaze has been with us for about a month now. 

He's up to date on his shots, neutered and really well behaved. 

He knows he's in good hands now.

He's weird though! He wouldn't eat for 24 hours after he got here. And we were nice to him, too. He's a little underweight and has some skin issues, but he's really a good pug. He is better potty trained than we are. He marks like crazy outside, nearly tipping over he hikes his leg so high. 

But not even once in the house.

Mom thinks he is likely allergic to corn or chicken. He was on some low quality food, but mom has transitioned him to our food. It can take two to three weeks to show any results. In the meantime, he's on Benadryl to help with the itching. Mom is pulling out all her home remedies to help his skin and itchies so he'll be improving in no time. 

He's only six. He'll be snatched up so soon! If you know someone in Virginia who is looking for a sweet boy, put in an application at Pugs U Gotta Save!

Delayed birthday post

Arthur left us with just a little rain. Honestly, we slept through the whole thing. Including the tornado warnings through mom's cell phone. Oops. 

We are behind on posting, but we'll start with our birthday!

Mom ordered us 2.25 pounds of treats from Pugs in the Kitchen! 

Tallulah and Petunia will share the Bacon Bites and Banana Blackberry Mint while the Pumpkin Kisses are just for Isabelle. Those are her favorites.

What's that you say? We get burgers for our birthday? 

Sweet!

We stalked mom the whole time the burgers were cooking. It was sprinkling so mom had to use the indoor grill. Only one burger cooked at a time! It was torture. That's Blaze in the donut of despair. He's cone free now.

 BURGERS FOR EVERYONE!

Thank you to everyone for our birthday wishes. It was a great weekend!

Arthur :/

Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Arthur wants to ruin our 4th of July! Fortunately for us, we should only get some rain and wind. The brunt of the storm is on track to hit the Outer Banks of North Carolina at the moment.

At this point, Arthur isn't a big threat to us. We'll have plenty to do inside on Friday, then go back to having fun this weekend! It's likely that the worst of it will be overnight Thursday into Friday morning. Maybe when we wake up Friday, it will all be over.

So stay dry and cool, friends. We certainly intend to. AC, potty pads, bully sticks. We are good to go.