Little Trooper

Back in January, as I wrote in a couple of previous posts, we took Simone to the vet to have a growth that had appeared on her left rear leg examined. At the time, the growth was small and slow-growing, and the vet said it it was benign, so removal was optional. So we decided to watch and wait. But the growth started to get bigger, and we decided it would be best to have it removed. (As long as she was going to be under anesthesia anyway, she was also going to have her teeth cleaned and her claws clipped — a real spa vacation.)

When we went in two weeks ago for a preoperative exam and blood work, the growth was a pendulous, hairless three-quarter-inch sac that looked, it must be said, like a miniature testicle. (The tech assisting the vet during the exam actually did say it, but we were all thinking it.) By this week, it had swollen to more than an inch in diameter and had taken on a pinkish tinge, so it definitely needed to be removed. (I considered taking a picture of it, but it was too disgusting, plus it would have been impossible to get Simone to pose for the shot.)

I'm happy to report that the operation was a success. The vet left us a voice message at home, since she wouldn't be working on Friday morning when we picked up Simone; she said that the growth had come off nicely, and that Simone was eating well even though one of her teeth had had to be extracted. (Friday morning when we were picking Simone up, one of the techs said that Simone had accidentally been fed extra the night before, because she had eaten all of her food so quickly that the tech thought she hadn't been fed yet. "She loves her chow," I remarked. Just like her mom.)

She was perky when we got her home and seemed glad to be back in her own space. The stitches come off in two weeks, so we have to make sure she doesn't chew them off on her own. So far we've been able to interrupt her when she goes after them, and she stops pulling at them. I've warned her that if she doesn't leave the stitches alone, she'll have to wear the Cone Collar of Shame.