Time's Out

We thought we would wait. We're squeamish, unhappy about the prospect that our tiny, beloved Riley will be operated upon. The tumour which only a year earlier, worried us when it was approaching golfball size, is now far larger. The veterinarian who has looked after him all his young life assured us it would not go away on its own. He agreed we could wait; if there was no discomfort evidenced and he could manage all right, there was no hurry. All in good time. We'd know when the time arrived. Well, it has.

Riley isn't one of those stoic dogs, which most dogs are. Their discomfort or pain is held into themselves, they don't communicate their state of physical unease or despair. Not so our little Riley. Despite his aggressive behaviour outside the house when faced with a dog he isn't familiar with, he does not tolerate discomfort or pain. He lets us know. We know because of the previous occasion when we had to contemplate surgery for him, when he was neutered. When we brought him home he was unhappy and uncomfortable and in pain and he let us know it. Constantly, unendingly; heart-wrenchingly.

We hesitate to place him in that situation again. Riley presented, well over a year ago, with a lump located under his back left leg, toward his groin area. It was aspirated and laboratory tested, indicating it was comprised of a fatty deposit. It's called a Lipoma. Not uncommon in animals, including dogs. Has nothing to do with diet. Mostly occurs in older dogs, and often larger dogs, although it can occur in any dog, any age. And it requires surgery for removal. After which there are no guarantees it will not return. Or another come up elsewhere, and you're faced with the same situation again.

We realized a year ago that he was reluctant to jump up as he was once wont to do. That doesn't stop him, though, from complete mobility otherwise, and we're not certain his unwillingness to jump has anything to do with the lipoma. Fact is, when we took him mountain climbing last September once he was out on the side of the mountain he did plenty of jumping, never hesitating, and he managed the climb as well as did Button, our older poodle. Riley is a toy poodle, very small, and now the lipoma is large, easily three times larger than it was last fall. While it doesn't appear to compromise him physically, we don't want to leave it any longer, to grow even larger.

So we're faced with the prospect of an imminent surgery. We looked into laser surgery; supposed to be better, faster recuperation, less bleeding, but our veterinarian has informed us they found scant difference between laser and conventional surgery. Our daughter, who had one of her rabbits neutered with laser surgery agreed. He's going in on Wednesday for an examination before we set up an appointment for surgery. And while he'll undergo surgery for the lipoma, we've decided on dental surgery, to remove those loose front teeth.

It'll be a double-whammy for the little guy, and we're anything but happy about it. The veterinarian assures us it will translate to better overall health for him. That's what we want for the little guy, after all.