Last Thursday, we noticed Mojo really licking at the upper front of his left leg so we checked it out. Until then, there was nothing distinguishing that would've caught our eye. Once we started examining him, however, we noticed a slightly nodular and irregular growth coming out of his skin. We watched him and it for a day and decided it was time to take him to the vet on Monday.
Dr. K. suggested surgery as soon as possible so he's going in tomorrow. If we were to choose to have the tumor tested (sent in for histopathology, which alone costs more than the whole rest of the procedure and anesthesia combined), we would then know if the tumor is benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (the dreaded C word). If it is cancer, we would then have to choose whether or not to proceed with chemotherapy and other therapeutic and diagnostic measures.
Gil and I don't believe in going to those extensive means for dogs, as much of a part of our family that they are... especially with our own medical issues, surgeries and other treatments we have ahead of us in the coming year(s). To keep from having to be faced with a diagnosis of cancer and needing to choose NOT to do chemo, we're choosing to remain ignorant and not have his tumor tested. We'll just have it removed and go about our merry ways. That may make us bad parents and caretakers in the eyes of some, but honestly, he IS just a dog.
But he's MY dog. My first baby. This whole thing is making my heart ache something fierce.
Baby Mojo... isn't he sweet? 
Crazy Mojo at about 8 weeks... I love this look on his face! He continues to almost constantly wear the same expression.
Here, he's perched on a deck at the edge of steps... he was so scared of stairs when he was a baby; he hated even being carried up or down them.
We were finally able to pick Mojo up when he was 10 weeks old. 
The crazy Monkey loves mud and water... this was before our backyard was landscaped and it was nothing but a hug mud swamp. He's about 1 y/o in this picture.
This was when he was 2 y/o, just prior to us landscaping the backyard. We had a huge pile of dirt in the middle of the yard that we were working to remove and he loved digging and plowing through it. How could a mother get upset with her furbaby with a face like that?!?!
An unnaturally stoic poise.
At 3 y/o, just this past October.
1 comment:
Sorry to hear about your crazy Mojo needing surgery. I hope it goes well!
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