Nolan went off as usual on Monday to have his bath. When I went to pick him up, the lady who bathes him was very concerned. While bathing him she found blood on him, and couldn’t work out where it was coming from. She eventually located the problem on his foot, to what appeared to be an abscess. She then applied a bandaid, which didn’t stay on for long, but long enough to stop the bleeding. We discussed it and decided the best bet was to observe it initially and see how it progressed. If it didn’t improve, I would take him to the vet….urgently to Mudgee if necessary, otherwise to the vet in Rylstone on Wednesday, depending on how things progressed.
By the time we arrived home, a 5 minute trip in the car, the bandaid had parted company with Nolan’s foot altogether, and I encouraged him to lie quietly on his bed; firstly I wanted him not to bump it, and also, it was still oozing at this stage, and I wanted him to only make a mess in one place. Eventually things calmed down, and it was obvious it was no longer bleeding. I kept an eye on things, but by the end of Monday I had decided I would take him to the vets on Wednesday. I didn’t think an urgent trip was necessary, but it definitely warranted further investigation; this wasn’t behaving like any other abscess he’d had before. To be honest it looked awful.
Wednesday came, and off we went, at the appointed time. We went through the usual carry on, with Nolan expecting attention and treats from the vet assistant; and the usual kafuffle about him getting weighed. We weighed his front half and his back half, we weighed his body but not his legs, they were hanging over, and eventually he got his act together and we weighed all of him! I noticed this was a common problem with all the dogs there that day; one dog refused to get on the scales altogether….she just lay down on her back, feet in the air, and had to be lifted on. She was a fair size too, although thankfully not quite as large as Nolan….
Then it was his turn to go in, and he didn’t want to go….typical. We got him in with a bit of encouragement, upon which he took off round the surgery smelling everything in sight. Eventually he turned his attention to the vet, and then the vet was able to inspect his foot! He agreed it was a nasty looking lesion….around the size of my thumb nail. On closer inspection he found it was actually part of a pre-existing tumour (benign) on his foot. We had known about this for a while, and were watching how it progressed. Up till now it hadn’t caused a problem so we weren’t worried about it. The vet said I think it might be time to remove this tumour….it’s become ulcerated. It will be hard to get it to heal, and it will happen again. If we remove all the tumour, it will be better for him in the long run. He informed me because of the position of the ulcer and the tumour, he may have to remove part or all of the closest toe. He won’t know for sure till he operates. One good thing that would happen if part or all of the toe was removed is that it would provide extra skin for when he has to stitch things back together.There’s not a lot of spare skin on that part of his foot, and it would make things easier to close it all over.
He then gave Nolan a good going over to make sure he was still in good enough health to go through the operation. He was pleased Nolan is fairly lean at the moment, because that would make things easier for all concerned. He assured me they would use a special anaesthetic appropriate for older dogs, to lessen the risk. While this wouldn’t be considered an emergency, the vet felt it should be done as soon as possible….and I agreed. So….after being bombarded with all this information, I went home to make the appointment!
I rang the Mudgee surgery, and made the appointment for the following Tuesday in Mudgee. I had to have him up there between 9 and 9.30 am, and depending on how things go, he might be ready to pick up as early as lunch time, but quite likely not till 3 or 4 pm….so I will have to cool my heels for hours in Mudgee. Argh! I’ll find a few things to do up there, and take a good book with me, and/or find a huge tv screen in a shop up there, hopefully with the paralympics on it!
I must admit though I’m not looking forward to the after care. I have the feeling Nolan will be a less than ideal patient….he is very likely to try and remove his dressings/stitches, and I’m sure he’ll milk this situation for all he’s worth! I’m hoping the vet will put an “elizabethan collar” on him….one of those things that will stop him reaching his foot and damaging his stitches. I’m sure he won’t like it, but I don’t think he’d like to have to go back and have the vet repair any damage he inflicts on himself either! Rest assured….if he does wear one of those collars, there will be photos taken!
And I will keep you informed on his progress….
Mamaroo's Diary 