Thursday, March 5, 2009
Update 6:30PM: We called and got our last check-in of the night to see how Sol was doing. They said that Sol was “zonked” out and sleeping very soundly. I can just imagine. She had a very long day and I bet the little girl is exhausted. One of the vet techs is a pug lover, so they told me Sol was getting a lot of attention. It made me feel good that there was a fellow pug lover on site! Later in the night, they are going to offer Sol food and see if she will eat it. If she eats and drinks tonight they said that it is very likely that we will be able to pick her up tomorrow. My money is on her eating. She has always had a very strong appetite. The next time we can check-in on her is at 8:00 am tomorrow morning. After I get the report, I will let you know how things went through the night. Have a good night everyone.
Update 3:30PM: Sol is out of surgery! She is alert and doing well. The surgeon was very pleased with how the surgery went and that Sol had suitable tissue left to close the incision. While she was under and they were working in her mouth, they also shortened her palette and removed her satchels. They took this precaution to prevent any complications during the recovery period as it might pose a problem since pugs are a bracycephalic breed. We are going to call around 6:00 pm to get an update to see how she is doing. After that we will call in the morning to get a report on how things went through the night. Right, now we are scheduled to pick her up at 10:45 am on Saturday. There still is a small chance that we will get to bring her home tomorrow afternoon, although she will have to have a very good night to make that a reality.
A huge thank you to everyone for all the well wishes! Hopefully, the mammary tumors are nothing to worry about. Frequently, they are not an issue, but not knowing Sol’s history could be troublesome. We believe she is spayed, which will increase the odds that the mammary tumors are nothing, but at this point we aren’t sure. She is quite a furry girl and they could not find an scar on her belly. Although, our vet said she was spayed during her initial exam. They may need to do an ultrasound to be sure that she is spayed, but at this point we are just going to wait the 24-48 hours for the pathology report. We are going to tackle one issue at a time and let the little girl recovery from this hurdle before we start testing and getting exams done on the next.
Update 1:00PM:We just got the results of the CT Scan. Things look very good. Very little of the jaw bone will need to be removed which is fantastic. The surgery plan is that they will need to remove about 2-3 cm in all directions. This is really the best news possible. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that. I would be on cloud 9 right now had it not been for a little “but” in the conversation. When they sedated her for her CT Scan they noticed a very small mammary tumor! They aspirated it and sent it off to the pathologist. When they told me that my heart sank. Just when we thought we were out of the woods. In any case, it could very easily be nothing, but I feel like we are back at square one again. I am doing my best to stay positive.
On an unrelated, but positive note, Sol was quite charming this morning. She was making friends with everyone at the office.
I will give another update as soon as Sol is out of surgery.
Well, today is the day. The day I have had such mixed emotions about for a week. Sol didn’t get to eat her breakfast this morning and she was none too happy about that, but we had spaghetti, one of her favorites, last night for dinner so she did get a nice treat the night before her big surgery. The procedure will require at least one overnight stay at the hospital, possibly two or three nights depending on how far the cancer has spread and how much of her jaw they need to remove. I am really hoping that she will get to come home Friday evening or Saturday morning. However, I am bracing myself that she might not be able to come home until Monday. They are staffed 24/7, I know for sure because I asked 5 different people, but I would just feel a lot better having her home. However, I know being at the surgery center is the best place for her.
I will do my best to keep everyone updated throughout the day. The first update with be the CT Scan results. Bad news on the CT Scan would mean that Sol doesn’t even have the surgery.
Thanks again for all the well wishes! I will keep you posted.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Well, we have reached a verdict. We have decided to have surgery for Sol to remove the cancerous tumor from her mouth. We came to a decision last Wednesday and scheduled her surgery appointment for tomorrow at 9am. At that time, we will meet with the surgeons and they will do a CT Scan. The CT Scan is the final step to make sure Sol is a candidate for surgery. There is a possibility that the cancer has spread too far and that surgery is no longer a viable option. Sol will go under a light sedation for the CT Scan and the results will be read immediately. If the surgeons feel they can remove the cancer, she will be fully sedated for her surgery. If not, they will let her wake up and then she will come home with us. In case surgery is not an option, we will be staying in the Maitland area until we know the results of the CT Scan.
Making this decision was a long and winding road, that seemed to circle back several times. We tried to consider everything and in the end we went with our gut feeling. In the two months that we have had Sol we have seen her zest for life be rejuvenated. The pug that could barely hobble along the first day she arrived here now will not settle for anything less than a half mile walk. And unless you plan on taking her for a ride in the car, don’t let her get anywhere near the garage. Dog park, dog beach - she’s game! And if she catches a wiff of a cookout within a mile radius you better believe she is going to be showing up at your grill.
Since we adopted Sol, I can’t count the number of times I have remarked on her optimism. At this point no one can say for sure, but I am going to take a cue from Sol and be optimistic in this situation. I am not going to let this be the beginning of the end. Instead, I am hoping that this is going to be the beginning of a new chapter in Sol’s life. Am I being selfish? Maybe. But, through her actions, I feel like Sol is showing me that she is up for the fight and that she is looking forward to living out her golden years cancer free.
The Saturday after we made our decision, I received the latest issue of Bark magazine in the mail. The issue is devoted to senior dogs and the first thing I read on the cover is a byline that says “14 is the new 8”. That issue could not have come at a more perfect time. I have practically read it cover to cover. I feel good about our decision. Yes, I’m a bundle of nerves, but there is this strange calm under all those nerves that keeps telling me everything is going to be OK. For now, that is what I am going to believe.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
At our last visit to Paw Park, Sol made friends with another wise gal like herself. Looking forward to your captions in the comments.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Wow! You guys did very well. I guess I will have to make the next trivia question much more difficult! The answers are below and if you click on a picture, the full size image will be revealed.
- A: That cute, little, floppy ear belongs to none other than Luna
- B: That very dark brown ear belongs to Baby Benny
- C: That very tiny ear belongs to Ms. Sol
- D: That velvety soft ear belongs to Henry
Click on a picture to reveal the full size photo.
Monday, March 2, 2009
It always surprises me how well you all know the pugs. I was thinking about it one day, months before Sol had come into our lives, and I thought it would be cool to do something on the blog to test your knowledge of Benjamin, Henry, Luna. So after months of sitting on the idea here is the first Who’s That Pug post.
I thought it would be neat to post an ultra close-up picture of the pugs and see if you could guess who is who from the photos. Sol is of course included, but I think her pictures will be a little bit easier to identify because, let’s face it, one of these pugs is not like the others. Consider her pictures the credit you get for writing your name on your test paper.
For the first post, I thought we could take a close look at the pugs’ ears and see if you can tell who is who based on the photos. Each photo is labeled with a letter. In the comments section, write the letter and then the name of the pugs that you think belongs to that ear.
So no one loses any sleep tonight, I will post the answers this evening (around 5pm EST).
Good luck!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
If last week’s sweater was the president of the ugly sweater club, this one might be the vice president. This fleecy coat was Henry’s when he was a pup. He wore this in many snowstorms!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
This week’s flashback: Another one bites the dust
I love to play a game of tug with Benny. He thinks he’s tough and that just cracks me up.
