I'm sure that post title got you saying, "Huh, wha?" But you read it correctly. Our lab, and first "kid", Scout, is now one limb less. And I think its gonna be a minute before I'm over it.
If you know us, you know we have a beautiful, sweetheart of a yellow lab. The Hubs and I adopted her from a lab rescue in Central Florida the summer before we got married, seven years ago. She's about eight or nine years old (not sure, since she's a rescue), and has been a really great big sister to Z.
This has been a stressful couple of weeks. Like, crazy stressful. About seven or eight weeks ago, we noticed a growth on Scout's ankle. Although we had hoped it was some kind of critter bite, we had a good idea of what it really was, a mast cell tumor. She's had one before and it was no big deal. Non-cancerous, easy surgical removal. Easy. Peasy. Not this time, though. This time it grew fast and angry. And because it was on her rear ankle, at her leg's skinniest spot, we had to see a surgical specialist. ($$ka-ching, ka-ching$$)
We scheduled surgery, but had to wait a couple of weeks. In that time, the tumor, which didn't seem to cause Scout any pain - thank goodness, grew to the width of her ankle (and almost two inches up her leg by the day of her surgery) and had completely ulcerated (the least-disgusting explanation: because it had grown so "fat", the thin ankle skin was stretched as far as it was gonna stretch and was tearing open.). It was super gross, and a huge process to bandage. Layers of gauze and padding, covered in an old sock that was taped around her leg. Scout was always so good and would just lay on the bathroom floor while I wound the gauze around her, Z patting her back and saying, "Aw-wite, Cow, aw-wite. Ok, Cow, ok."
On the day before her surgery, things got even worse, which I didn't even know was possible. Scout, now on sedatives to keep her from chewing and licking, was agitated all day, the tumor grew overnight so that it stuck out even farther from her leg, and we kinda knew that just removing the tumor, and the margins that would prevent it from growing back, would be impossible. We knew she was going to lose the leg. To top it all off, another tumor had sprouted up on her front, where the front leg meets her chest. #whenitrainsitpours
Scout's surgery yesterday went well, and although we haven't seen her yet, I've been getting updates from the vet tech during the day, and I call the hospital in the evening to see how she's doing. She's been walking, with a sling for assistance, and everyone has fallen in love with her. Those big brown eyes'll getcha every time!
We get to bring her home tomorrow and, honestly, I'm so nervous. As I mentioned before, I'm not handling this very well, and I don't know why. It's turn-on tears over here all day long! I think part of it is mom guilt. Like it's my fault that this has happened. Insane and irrational, I know. Part of it is that fact that the Hubs is so chill about the whole thing. Usually, our roles are reversed. He's a worried mess of anxiety 90% of the time and I'm the one who lets it all roll off my back. But this time, his calm has me totally freaked out. To hear that our girl is doing so well already, is definitely a huge comfort.
I'm also worried, but only a little bit, about Z and how she will handle it. We've been talking to her about how Scout's boo-boo was so bad that the doctor had to remove her leg. And we've been watching videos of some amazing three-legged pups on YouTube, to get her, and us, used to the idea. But, since she's two, we're not sure what she's really understanding. I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Z has a big heart, and loves her fur-bestie more than anything, so I think we'll all be ok in the end.
I'm anxious to get Scout home already. Although it's been nice to have a break from my nursing duties, it's just plain weird around here without her. Like my world is slightly off-balance.
I'll let you guys know how we're all doing, and how Scout is adjusting to life as a tripod soon.
