Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Relaxing

Getting the pathology results on Friday helped us enjoy the holiday weekend. Benny started feeling better and was almost back to himself and after just one day of Luna's new eye drop, we started to see an improvement in her eye. Both of those things were very relieving and helped make for a relaxing weekend.

Good news, good friends, family and fun. Those were the ingredients of our much needed and much enjoyed holiday weekend.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Pathology Results

We just received the pathology results for Benny's mast cell tumor. It came back as a Grade II tumor with clean margins. I am so very relieved that we got clean margins. I was hoping that it would come back a Grade I, but I knew that was highly unlikely. I am very happy it is a Grade II and not a Grade III.

In any case, our next course of action is to keep a very close eye on Benny to see if any other tumors develop. Which just means more petting or him.

And for those who like to see the gory details, here is a picture of Benny's incision. It was taken in low light with my phone, so it isn't the greatest picture, but it gives you a good idea of the size of the incision.

It is such a relief to know that the vet got clean margins. Hopefully, there won't be any more tumors popping up on Benny anytime soon.

Enjoy the holiday weeekend!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Eye Vet Results

Things went fairly well at the eye vet yesterday with Luna. Luna was a trooper as always.

The eye vet agreed that Luna's right eye is extremely dry. However, she noted that it is not because Luna is not producing tears (Luna tested at an 8 in her left eye on the Schirmer Tear Test this visit). It is because of all of the built up scar tissue on the eye.

So, we have added one more drop to our arsenal and have been instructed to give Luna the Genteal drops as often and as frequently as needed. The Genteal drops will help keep her eye moist.

The good news is her right eye is doing great. There have been no changes since our last visit, which is extremely good news.

I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend! Perhaps some lucky puggies out there will get to crash a few barbecues.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Adventures at the Eye Vet

Luna goes to the eye vet this morning for her usual checkup. I know the news is not going to be good. Her left eye has very low tear production and despite our best efforts we have not been able to get it to improve. We have been tweaking her drops, trying new medicines but nothing seems to work. There is just too much scar tissue on the eye for anything to be effective. So, we have been giving her lots of Genteal Severe Dry Eye Relief drops to help keep some moisture in her eye.

I'm anxious to hear what the eye vet suggests as our next steps because the drops no longer seem to be working in her left eye. They worked well for a few years, but starting late last year they have gradually started becoming less and less effective.

The good news is that her right eye seems to be staying the same. She appears to have good tear production in that eye and the current treatment appears to be working well. That is very good news because that is her "good eye", the one that pretty much gives her all of her vision.

I'll let you know how everything goes.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

6, 7, 8

For one week, and one week only, I have a 6 year old pug (Luna), a seven year old pug (Henry) and an 8 year old pug (Benjamin). Then Henry will join his brother and officially become a senior pug. Can you believe the boys are considered seniors now? I sure can't!

Friday, March 5, 2010

Surgery Anniversary

One year ago today, Sol had surgery to remove the gingival pappillary (verrucous) squamous cell carcinoma in her lower right jaw. The decision to have the surgery was one we agonized over. The main reason for our indecision was that we didn't know very much about Sol. We had only had her for a few months and the only thing we knew was that she was on the older side. Exactly how old, we weren't sure. Her previous medical history was a mystery. Our only real concern was would undergoing such a serious surgery be beneficial to Sol's quality of life. Would Sol be able to adjust to having up to half of her jaw removed?

In the end we went with our gut feeling and I am so happy we made the decision we did. The time it took for Sol to adjust to her new jaw was minimal and I never could have imagined that she would recover as quickly as she did.

Granted, there have been lots of other bumps this past year, but I can say that Sol's oral cancer has not been one of those things. She is a trooper and I am very happy to be able to celebrate this milestone with her.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Eye Vet

On Friday we took the whole gang to the eye vet for appointments. Luna was going in for a follow-up, Sol was going in for an overdue yearly checkup & Henry was going in for his checkup. Benjamin went along for the ride because he would have been a nervous wreck if he was the only one left at home. We sure can fill an exam room can't we?

First things first, Luna was very happy that she got the dog room this time around.

Luna got a good report. Her tear production was back up in her right eye. With her right eye doing better we are able to scale back on the number of drops, which makes me very happy. I'm sure it makes Luna happy too.

Sol was up next and she got a good report too. Her cataracts are looking about the same as last year which means no growth. Good news once again.

Henry had the last appointment and his technique was to keep his eyes closed for the exam.

Henry has the beginnings of cataracts so he goes in once a year just to get them checked out and to monitor their growth. Luckily, there has been no real change since the last visit.

Another round of great news!