Blu's Surgery and Recovery / More Leann / Garage Sale Approaches
Shortly after posting my last entry back on Wednesday, my parents came home with news about our sick German Shepherd, Blu. A large growth was noticed inside his gut and the vets assumed it was blood. Their theory was that a tumor/growth had ripped a hole in something and blood was leaking into his abdomen. The dog required surgery or else he'd die. To my surprise, my dad decided that the animal deserved a fighting chance and he approved whatever the vets wanted to do. I had expected some discussion to have taken place about our inability to pay for it, but he later claimed that if it was possible to save Blu, it was worth a shot. So, the dog was left in the care of the doctors Wednesday night to go under the knife.
Late that evening, we waited for the phone call status update. My folks told a couple stories about other pets we've had in the past, and how this was exactly how Jessie died. Huh, I'm surprised I've never mentioned our family's previous pets on my journal before. I'm searching through the over 800 past entries and I can't find a single reference. Well, then, no time like the present!
Beau (AKA Bow) and Jessie were two dogs we had before Blu and Max. Beau was a large mutt while Jessie was a smaller little thing. I don't know their breeds off hand. Beau was a very intelligent dog and took care of things. He died of unknown natural causes (Probably simply old age) around 2003. Jessie was a little dog with an attitude and would quickly jump to growling if you invaded his personal space for any reason. He'd never really seriously attack anyone, but wow did he seem vicious. He died within half a year or so of Beau (Which opened the door to my parents getting Blu and Max) from shock after having a football-sized tumor removed from his abdomen. The dog was maybe the size of a standard mailbox, so to have a mass as large as a football removed from his insides was just too much for his system. He survived the surgery but not the night.
So here we were again with Blu. A mass had to come out but would he survive the night? Blu is a MUCH larger and stronger and younger dog, so the odds were good. When the vets cut him open, they discovered that the mass wasn't blood but a grossly swollen spleen. The thing weighed three pounds, more than three times the maximum normal for a dog his size. They cut that organ out and were surprised to find no tumor. There was also very little bleeding. They sewed him back up and kept him overnight for observation.
Thankfully, Blu survived the night and was returned to us Thursday afternoon after they were sure he'd eaten something. In the days since, he's been on some serious medication to fight off whatever disease made his spleen expand so ridiculously. As such, he's really come out of his funk and he's almost totally back to his normal goofy self. It's been quite a transformation to see him come back a little each day. It's also funny to think that, had we not taken care of this, he'd have died by now. Strange what we humans are capable of. It makes you think.
In other news, Leann and I spend a whole lot of time together. Typically, I'm visiting her in Tigard and we walk around and watch TV and have meals together and simply talk. It's enriching and comforting. It's also nice to be able to confide in someone once again and not be judged or not have her run away screaming. It's nice to have a girlfriend!
Finally, the second garage sale my parents have been threatening to have for a month is finally definitely going to happen this coming weekend, August 28th, 29th and 30th. We have a lot of work to do this week since we're doing this sale solo without the help of our neighbors who made signs and advertised for us during the block sale nearly a month ago. Also, this coming weekend is also the annual Hillsboro Airshow, which may or may not help. We'll see. In the mean time, we've got a whole lot of work to do before this Friday!
Late that evening, we waited for the phone call status update. My folks told a couple stories about other pets we've had in the past, and how this was exactly how Jessie died. Huh, I'm surprised I've never mentioned our family's previous pets on my journal before. I'm searching through the over 800 past entries and I can't find a single reference. Well, then, no time like the present!
Beau (AKA Bow) and Jessie were two dogs we had before Blu and Max. Beau was a large mutt while Jessie was a smaller little thing. I don't know their breeds off hand. Beau was a very intelligent dog and took care of things. He died of unknown natural causes (Probably simply old age) around 2003. Jessie was a little dog with an attitude and would quickly jump to growling if you invaded his personal space for any reason. He'd never really seriously attack anyone, but wow did he seem vicious. He died within half a year or so of Beau (Which opened the door to my parents getting Blu and Max) from shock after having a football-sized tumor removed from his abdomen. The dog was maybe the size of a standard mailbox, so to have a mass as large as a football removed from his insides was just too much for his system. He survived the surgery but not the night.
So here we were again with Blu. A mass had to come out but would he survive the night? Blu is a MUCH larger and stronger and younger dog, so the odds were good. When the vets cut him open, they discovered that the mass wasn't blood but a grossly swollen spleen. The thing weighed three pounds, more than three times the maximum normal for a dog his size. They cut that organ out and were surprised to find no tumor. There was also very little bleeding. They sewed him back up and kept him overnight for observation.
Thankfully, Blu survived the night and was returned to us Thursday afternoon after they were sure he'd eaten something. In the days since, he's been on some serious medication to fight off whatever disease made his spleen expand so ridiculously. As such, he's really come out of his funk and he's almost totally back to his normal goofy self. It's been quite a transformation to see him come back a little each day. It's also funny to think that, had we not taken care of this, he'd have died by now. Strange what we humans are capable of. It makes you think.
In other news, Leann and I spend a whole lot of time together. Typically, I'm visiting her in Tigard and we walk around and watch TV and have meals together and simply talk. It's enriching and comforting. It's also nice to be able to confide in someone once again and not be judged or not have her run away screaming. It's nice to have a girlfriend!
Finally, the second garage sale my parents have been threatening to have for a month is finally definitely going to happen this coming weekend, August 28th, 29th and 30th. We have a lot of work to do this week since we're doing this sale solo without the help of our neighbors who made signs and advertised for us during the block sale nearly a month ago. Also, this coming weekend is also the annual Hillsboro Airshow, which may or may not help. We'll see. In the mean time, we've got a whole lot of work to do before this Friday!