So, for those of you who have followed me for a few years, you’ll know that I love my dog, and that my dog has caused more gray hairs than almost anything in my life ever has. Between all her lumps and bumps, her great escape, her eating a box of raisins… seriously, this pooch has kept me on my toes.

She had developed a lump on her leg that at first, we didn’t think much about. She’s had lumps and bumps on her since puppyhood – all just fatty tumors and no big deal. This one grew aggressively and got really big. While it still didn’t seem to bother her, we got it checked out and removed, since it was soooo huge. The vet thinks it is malignant. Because… of course it is. Cancer is determined to touch everyone I love. For now, though, she made it through surgery, is acting just fine, and our next steps are unclear. We might meet with oncology, but we are waiting to see what the actual lab results say. Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, we’ve literally had to modify our furniture (take the master bed frame and box springs away and put the mattress on the floor and cover the couch with foot stools so she won’t jump up – because she kept trying to jump and she’s not allowed for two weeks). The cone of shame was also an epic fail, so I made her a little sleeve out of old pants to deter licking. So… pant-sleeve… Pleeve? Slant? Anyway… It doesn’t hurt that she looks absolutely adorbs.

So, one step at a time, but I have my fingers crossed that it is just another benign lump. I’ll let you know.