Sophie at the vet’s but it’s good news

A few months ago I noticed that Sophie had developed a small lump under the skin on her lower abdomen ; it wasn’t bothering her so I left it alone but kept an eye on it, however quite a while later I noticed it had grown and two more lumps had developed close to it so I booked a visit to the vet’s. I was told that these were probably mammary tumours and she would need an operation called a ‘mammary strip’ – it wasn’t a small operation though and the recovery time would be quite lengthy so as I was due to go to Ireland at the end of November I postponed it until after I’d got back home.

I finally booked Sophie in for her operation on December 17th but when I took her in that morning I was dealt quite a blow – she had developed some more lumps on the other side of her abdomen near her chest and though they were only tiny at the time they would grow and would eventually need removing. The vet said that all the lumps were probably caused by a hormonal imbalance and recommended that I have her spayed asap, which left me with three options – (1) have the original operation which I’d already paid an expensive amount for, then have a second operation at a later date which would be another expensive amount, (2) have the original op plus the spay (an added cost) then the second op another time (again, another expensive amount) or (3) have the whole lot done at once, in which case they could reduce the combined extra cost. It was a no-brainer really, apart from keeping the cost down I couldn’t put Sophie through two or even three separate operations so I agreed to have the whole lot done there and then.

I’d been told I would be able to collect Sophie that evening but I got a phone call to say that even though the operation had gone well and she was in recovery they were keeping her in overnight just to monitor her. I finally collected her at noon the following day along with three lots of medication and strict instructions – plenty of rest, peace and quiet, no walks except once round the garden on a lead, no running, no jumping, no picking her up etc. and I had to take her for a post-op check three days later.

Now I personally don’t agree with confining dogs in cages unless it’s for transport purposes but knowing that I would need to keep Sophie separate from Poppie I’d put them both in a cage each before I went to Ireland. For one thing it was easier for my friend Lin to deal with them while I was away and also it would get them used to being separated, although the cages are next to each other. So since Sophie came home she’s been in her own little den with a new bed and a hot water bottle, and post-op care has consisted of medication three times daily, a slow circuit of the garden every three hours and a hot water bottle refresh 3-4 times a day. For the first couple of days she was a bit subdued but since then she’s come on in leaps and bounds (almost literally) and for the last few days has been back to her lively little self.

Coming home in the van

Today I took her to have her stitches out and the vet was very pleased with her. The test results showed that the lumps were non-cancerous, the mammary glands and all the lumps had been removed and she has also been spayed to sort out the hormonal imbalance, so there is now only a very very slim chance that this will ever reoccur. So Sophie has been given a clean bill of health and can now start going for walks again, although they will only be short ones to start with. The whole procedure may have been a very expensive business but when I get a paw on my leg, a tail wag and her little face looking up at me I know it was worth every penny.