Lottie Was Very Brave

Last Thursday I found a lump on Lottie’s chest.  So we went to the vet on Friday to have it checked out.  It didn’t appear to be a grass seed (which is what I was hoping it would be), so I was given certain things to watch out for over the weekend.  If I saw certain signs, I’d need to get in contact with the vet and have Lumpy removed quick-smart.  If it didn’t do anything, I should think about having it removed the following week.  The best case scenario would be that it would prove itself to be a grass seed, but this seemed unlikely.

So of course that made it quite a stressful weekend.  I was constantly checking Lumpy to see if it seemed to be growing, to see if it seemed to be clinging to anything, etc.  And of course it’s not like I had a model of how Lumpy was on Friday that I could use for comparison.  It never seemed to definitely be doing something worrisome, but I was certainly second guessing my Lumpy assessment skills constantly.

Monday FINALLY arrived, so I phoned the vet first thing in the morning to book Lottie in to have her parted from Lumpy.  With Australia Day falling on Tuesday, the first day I could book her in for was Thursday.  I grabbed the appointment but wasn’t looking forward to a few more days of stressing over Lumpy.

I should just add at this point that Lottie was totally unfazed by Lumpy.  Maybe she thought it was odd that I kept squeezing an area higher up on her chest instead of petting her tummy, which is the True Purpose of Humans, but she certainly wasn’t in any pain or discomfort.

Thursday finally arrived – right after Wednesday as expected.  I dropped her off in the morning and was told I’d get a call after her surgery. She’d probably be ready to be picked up after 4.30 pm.  I went home to the very empty house and pottered around – I put all her bedding in to wash, hung it out, gave her bowls a scrub, aired her beanbags and doona.  It was seeming like a very long day indeed when just after noon I had a phone call: I could pick up Lottie in just over an hour.  Hooray!  The wait was almost over, and sooner than expected!

At the vet surgery I spoke with one of the vet nurses.  A grass seed!  It was a grass seed that had worked its way into Lottie’s muscle.  A mass had formed around it.  But it was definitely a grass seed in the centre,no pathology required!!  Lottie was brought out and immediately started dancing and leaping; so much for her being a bit dopey from the anesthetic.

We arrived home, and Lottie headed straight for a long drink at her water bowl.  Then headed outside.  Next thing I knew she was running, leaping, and flying around!  GGAAHH!  I’d been told to make certain she didn’t run and leap and stretch as this could do Bad Things to the sutures, which are right under her right front leg.  I called her back into the house, and then Lottie remembered that she was supposed to be doing her Poor Puppy act.  She spent the rest of the afternoon gently whinging at me and complained if I dared to get so far away from her she couldn’t put her head on my knee.  So I spent the rest of the afternoon pretending to be the new growth on Lottie’s side.  But Lottie would like it pointed out that She Was Very Brave Today.

Lottie says: read the vet's instructions!

Lottie: a Very Brave Girl

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