Jack's Surgery

Jack, also known in our house as Jack the Wonder Dog, has had a tumor growing slowly on his side for a few years. Our old vet said most likely it was a fatty tumor, and there wasn't any reason to have it removed unless it was bothering us.

After we moved to Arizona, the tumor had grown to the point where one friend said it looked like a Chihuahua was hitching a ride on his side! (See the "before" photo.) The tumor didn't cause him any pain, but it sure looked bad. So it was time to have the thing removed.

Jack had his surgery two days ago. Our vet said it wasn't a lipoma (fatty tumor) as he had thought. It looked to him like a cancerous tumor. The good news is that it's a slow-growing type that won't spread through his body, and in Jack's lifetime probably won't come back.

When we picked him up after the surgery, they said the tumor weighed 7 1/2 pounds!! At the same time, we saw a dog whose owner said she weighed 7 pounds. It was really funny and kind of put it all into perspective.

The vet tech said they did a "tummy tuck" on him, too, because he had so much extra skin to accomodate the tumor. I'm sure with that scary-looking incision, he'll still draw attention if we take him out in the neighborhood. Check out the "after" photo I took last night before changing his dressing! (See the drainage tube sticking out?) I wonder how long it will be before his hair grows back.

I'm so glad we had that thing removed. It was expensive, but we needed to do it!