Sofie just always looks like she is smiling even if she is scared. In the bottom picture, taken last weekend, she heard a firecracker outside and ran to Louise for comfort. She still looks like she is smiling.
Louise had several sebaceous adenomas removed yesterday. I would have left them alone but the big ones had started bleeding and it was scary. I am not sure they bothered her, but when your dog comes to you with blood all over her head and your carpet, you kind of freak out (yes, I did).
A sebaceous adenoma is a benign tumor of the oil gland cells of the skin. Some people call them ‘dog warts’ but they aren’t viral like a wart is, though they do grow along a root system.
Lulu, aka BooBoo head, started to have them years ago. I had one removed last time she had a dental because she was asleep. She only had one then. Now she has them on her head, her face, her ears, and down her whole back. The one on her head, in the picture above, was very big and oozy (yuck).
The vet removed some surgically and others with a laser. Now she has stitches in multiple locations that will have to come out in 12 to 14 days. You know Lulu Bell, she is the sweetest girl and never complains. She was so happy to be home and have dinner (after significant sniffing from Sofie, Charles, and even Nine). Now to make sure she doesn’t scratch at them. I just love this dog and, like all my Zoo, I want her to be comfortable and happy for many years to come.
Every year is that crazy annual vet visit to get shots and exams and all that stuff. (Scroll over pictures to see what we are thinking.) Mom takes us all together for multiple reasons: (1) to get it over with, (2) because maybe we will support each other, and (3) because she gets a 10% discount on the tremendous bill when she brings in all 3 of us.
Peanut helped Mom this year because we are getting stubborn as we get older and are a lot to handle.
We are 10, 11, and 13, so there is more to check on. Lulu is going to have some surgery tomorrow to take those cysts off her head, ears, and face. Mom thinks it is best because they bleed a lot.
Charles has developed a tremor with this head which we think could be coming from his neck. Sofie continues to have massive anxiety and digestive issues. And Lulu is doing OK with her IBD, arrhythmia, and pancreatitis. Mom says that feeding time for us and the cats is like working in a hospital ward with all the different pills and powders. She is proud of us and says we take our medicine much better than the cats do (but we are not sure that is saying much).
Grief and mourning don’t have any time schedule. Sometimes, the ones you loved seep into a few minutes of every day. 11 years and you still have a large piece of my heart, Squash E Bear.
This is one of my favorite shots of the animals mirroring. Here is little Mini Cooper with Louise laying together on the bed under the blanket (I did the blanket thing, they didn’t). Humans mirror too.
Mirroring is a social phenomenon where animals mimic another’s posture. In humans, we may not only mimic posture but gestures and words. It is an unconscious behavior but it is a sign of being attuned and in sync with the other being. “It shows that there is comfort, trust, and rapport among them.”
Sofie 1 year old
The vet removed some surgically and others with a laser. Now she has stitches in multiple locations that will have to come out in 12 to 14 days. You know Lulu Bell, she is the sweetest girl and never complains. She was so happy to be home and have dinner (after significant sniffing from Sofie, Charles, and even Nine). Now to make sure she doesn’t scratch at them. I just love this dog and, like all my Zoo, I want her to be comfortable and happy for many years to come.
