Showing posts with label Sadie's Lump. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sadie's Lump. Show all posts

July 14, 2018

The Hounds Hide From The Heat


Sitting here during a rain delay in the Reds game tonight, so I thought I'd pull some photos from the first half of today. It was a busy Saturday but the hounds didn't mind because they really like sleeping all day in air conditioned rooms. It was a 'scorcher' by 9:30am, so I knew we would not be doing much. If they moved at all it was just from room to room, do their different favorite sleeping spots.


Stella took a little while to decide if a walk was needed this morning. About the time I was about to take a step into the field she cut me off, stepped on my foot and jumped in front of me on the path. Just long enough to veer left to pee. She then headed back to the path way ahead of me to join Sadie. I don't want to read too much into that. She was just making a normal bloodhound move ... I think.


Sadie was sure she had cornered a rabbit. No barking (she never barks), and didn't go into the woods but she was positive that she had ran the rabbit out of 'her' field into the woods. I checked the right side of her first thing this morning before, running my hands over both lower sides of her.

There still is a slight lump on her right side. It is just like yesterday. It is not rock hard and it is not squishy as if there is fluid. It feels like muscle if anything. I still know it's not normal so I will continue to keep an eye out for any changes.


I wasn't sure what I was going to do today. The more I read about TVs, the more I felt I didn't need one. I am getting most of my reviews from online searches. Most of these sites are not selling any kind of TV, most likely have affiliate links built into the reviews and like anything else ... everyone has different opinions, different lab test results and different recommendations.


I was set to start more reading about the differences of HDTV and 4K UHD TV, when I had an article drop into my Feedly account this morning about using your DSL camera correctly. That gave me some information to look at again and maybe fine tune some things. Plus I could double check some camera settings. Just like the TV reviews, each has their own ideas and experiences in the camera field.


I did find a good website that explained a few things that potential buyers don't consider when buying a new TV. One of those factors is how far do you sit from the TV screen. Based on my distance of 7'8", I did not need any screen bigger than a 55".

Based on their testing the human eye would not be able to see the difference between a HD TV and a 4KUHD TV at certain distances compared to the screen size of the TV. Depending if you spent most of your TV time watching prime time shows, movies, sports, Netflix, or different apps ... that would also be a factor in what TV you should buy.


What happen to just buying a TV, plugging in your satellite or cable box, maybe your stereo or surround speakers and a DVD player then turning it on?? One TV fits all. So I stored that idea away for later research.

When I bought my TV in 2010 it was one of the largest screens available but it also fit in the back of my Toyota Corolla with the seats folded down. The HD market had forced me to upgrade because the TV shows were no longer matching up with my Sony SD TV. It turned out to be 46" and still continues to do a good job. I decided to continue my research but like anything I buy, I was going to set a limit on how much I would spend ... IF I bought something new.


There are so many 'behind the scenes' electrical functions that go on now it is simply hard to find one TV that does all those well. Every TV has specs that are pretty close with their competitors and each of them has something you would want the other to have. I guess that is just like anything else electrical from smart phones, tablets, computers, laptops etc.


Sadie still shows no sign of pain, discomfort, lack of energy, or appetite with her small lump. Even in the hot morning she could have ran all day if I had let her.


Stella was moving right along with Sadie this morning. I used very little verbal herding to help her complete the walk. I think they are slow until I remember the days of Winston lagging behind with legs not 4" tall and a pace slower than Stella. Like Sadie, his nose would always lead him off the path and making the walk longer.


I could tell by the end of the walk Stella was getting hot, because I was hot. Plus her jowls were hanging down more than normal. We didn't have too far to go before we could stand in the shade under the Mahogany trees in the backyard.


This is the sign that Sadie not only had a great walk but got some of her aerobic exercise in when she wanted to.


We stepped outside about the regular time after lunch. Heidi practically refused to come outside. She made a direct right hand turn to the front yard one step out the door and by the time I was finished talking photos of the bloodhounds, Heidi was standing next to the door to go inside. She is a very smart basset hound.

Stella had already decided there was no way she was staying outside any longer than 5 minutes ... as did Sadie.



They both let me know ... I should head for the door and let them in.


By early evening were were getting some sprinkles of much needed rain but the real storms were passing about 70 miles south of us.

I almost forgot to tell you I saw a first last night, ever ... I found a tick on one of Heidi's pads on her food. The tick had not been there long, was not swollen but had attached. My 'tickedoff" tool pulled everything out. I would not have caught it if she had not stretched out on the couch to sleep during the game I was watching.

I check all the hounds after every walk or when they go outside, behind and inside their ears, their necks and between their shoulder blades. Those are all favorite places of the ticks. It has not been too bad this year for the hounds ... but I average 4-5 on my after the afternoon walk.

It was a good day here today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

July 11, 2018

Sadie Has A Lipoma - Vet Trip



The morning didn't start different just because Stella did not want to go on the morning walk. It all started when I got up and stayed up a little before 5am. I couldn't sleep so I decided to use the free data period to download the macOS beta version to my MacBook Air since it seems to be working so well on my iMac. All the hounds slept until 6:15am when they figured out I was awake and could feed them food.


They did their normal routine of going outside as soon as they woke up while I pour the breakfast kibble into their bowls. Everything was right on schedule. As I was standing next to Sadie while she was eating I noticed on her right side near the bottom of her stomach was a pretty good size lump. I rubbed my hand over her left side that was normal so I could tell the difference.

She did not show any signs of pain when I rubbed over the lump and I could tell it was soft. It seemed to be outside of her stomach but close to the skin. I knew I needed to have the vet take a look at it. Luckily when I called to verify their walk-in hours, they had changed to 9am so I could drive over immediately instead of waiting until 2pm. Since Stella was due an annual checkup I decided to take her with us get their shots at the same time.


Back to the walk ...

That top picture shows Stella barely looking around the corner of the house when I called her name. Sadie and I were ready to go and Stella was not around. As I walked back toward the house she was sitting in the carport just a foot away from where that picture was taken ... acting like she was hiding from me. As I approached her and telling her "let's go for a walk" ... she turned and headed for the door to go back inside. So that is where I put her and I left a little confused.


Sadie didn't mind though ... she is walking and that is all she cares about. As we walked I kept trying to look at her right side to see how that lump acted as she walked, trotted and ran. I did not see any changes in the size of the lump nor did I see Sadie flinching as she trotted in the field.



It's funny that each time I tried to take a picture of her right side she would keep turning so I could only see her left side. She also did that this morning inside when I was trying to get photos of it.


If you look closely you can see it lower middle ... once you see the photos below of her left side you can tell the difference.


By the time we got back to the yard Sadie realized that Stella was not there and took off for the last place Stella was standing. When I got to the door I looked in the window to see what Stella was doing. She was sitting here with her head down like she does when she is pouting. As soon as I opened the door her and Sadie were very excited to see each other ... and of course Stella wanted to go outside.


On the left side you can see how Sadie's stomach line goes straight back. I sat down in the outdoor chair thinking that Stella might go out into the field or even try to wander to the neighbor's backyard but she was onto something else.


They look different sizes but they both weight 79 pounds today when they were at the vet.


The vet wants me to keep an eye out on the fatty tumor to see if it gets bigger. If it does I'll bring her back in and she said she can take a sample by needle to test it. I am not an expert nor a vet but I was thinking that is what she would do today. Soon after getting back home I decided I was going to get a second opinion.


The loss of hair on Stella's ears is from allergies. Last year it was something else and not her hair loss. Looking at her vet record today she was down to 65 pounds in April 2017 when i took her in for loss of weight. She has gained all of her weight back.

Obviously by the way the hounds acted, a rabbit, or a cat had been walking along the wild ragweed and over to the burn pile recently.



Nothing like having a little wet early morning grass.


While Stella ate grass ... Sadie was trying to figure out who had been in her yard.



Finally the morning excitement was over and Stella decided it was time to come back inside, grab a leash and head for the vet.




Stella saw the cat over in the window sill but didn't bark, howl nor whine ... she didn't try to get away to go take a look either ... she just sat there looking at the cat.


Sadie sat next to me wondering what was going on since she only goes to the vet once per year. The vet said that growth on her eyelid was normal for an older dog and was not contagious when I asked. Stella just started to get on one her eyelid also. I have seen more of those growths on Sadie and Stella in the last two years than I had in the previous 29 years of having basset hounds and bloodhounds.


Heidi stayed home alone to guard the house. It was hard enough taking two bloodhounds to the vet at the same time instead of all three hounds. Sadie and Stella acted perfect and sat there watching people come and go in the waiting room and smelled a rabbit in a small carrier on their way out. They got their nails trimmed and didn't show any kind of resistance like they do with me trying to cut them. I also brushed a lot of hair our of Sadie and very little out of Stella when I got back home. Heidi barely sheds at all.


When she was laying down today I could get a good shot of the lump as I call it. I did some reading online and it's nothing to worry about but the articles did say today's exam was just "an educated guess" and even the test with the needle withdrawing some fluid gave false positives. Some recommended a biopsy to make sure it was malignant.

I'll keep a close eye on it.

A beautiful day today in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.