Poor Bodie

About two weeks ago, Bodie had to have surgery to remove a growth on this leg. We were told that the growth contained mast cells, which is essentially cancer. Luckily, after biopsy of the removed growth, it appears to not be cancer. While he was under, several other growths were removed, and all appear to be non-cancerous. That, of course, is the good news.

The bad news is that once again, Bodie is in recovery from surgery. The day before we left for vacation, we had his stitches removed. Everything seemed fine, until about midnight. It was then that we noticed the wound on his left "armpit" had opened. We tried to close it with a "butterfly" but that would stick to his skin/fur. We covered it with gauze and wrapped him with an ace bandage to try and keep the wound from being exposed.

All night long, Beth and I traded off laying with Bodie to keep him from moving around and at 8 am we took him over to the vet. Luckily, the doctor who had performed the initial surgery was on site and she was able to staple the wound back together. The whole procedure was quick, but it means that Bodie is in the kennel wearing the e-collar and not allowed to play with other dogs.

Hopefully, over the next week the wound will heal and this will be the last of the complications with the surgery, but being in the kennel for so many days seems to bring on issues on its own. We'll see when we get back...fingers crossed he is ok.

Marathon Dog

Miles went on his first long distance adventure this weekend. While I was in DC with my family, Beth walked the Susan Komen "walk for the cure" with Miles. Although the walk itself is only 5k, it was about two miles to and from the walk itself. Thus, Miles and Beth logged about 7 miles on Sunday. Pretty impressive.

Beth reports that Miles was incredibly well behaved, although a little scared of the large crowds. He seems to have been very well received by the other walkers, and as you would expect, happy to be petted by anyone who wanted to give him attention.

I would have expected that he would have been dead tired after this event, but by the time I got home at 5:30 pm, he was back to his normal self, running around the apartment, acting very happy to see me. It is nice to come home to a couple dogs who treat you like a long lost friend after only being gone a day or so.

Bodie didn't make the long walk, but I am happy to say that he appears to be recovering very well from his surgery on Friday. He is annoyed that we won't let him roll in the grass, and his walks have been cut short, but beyond that he is in good spirits.

Both dogs are enjoying the spring weather and opportunities to hang out on the balcony. I can't wait until later this summer when we move into our new house and they have a deck and yard all their own (well, they have to share with Beth and me).

Away for a little while

I have to leave the boys and Beth for a weekend to go to a conference in Toronto. It is a bummer to be away, especially since Bodie appears to have another health problem. He will have a small growth removed next Friday. It seems the growth has mast cells, which can be a big probem, although I think this won't be that bad. I just get a little nervous whenever he needs to undergo treatment this serious.

If all goes well, I'll be reporting that he is fine by the time he and Miles head to the Dog Hotel while Beth and I go away for Memorial day.