Mandy doin' A-OK

Boy my foster sister Mandy has been super annoying lately. I think she has a crush on me or somethin'! I do love the ladies but it is not like she will play with me or my toys or anything useful, she just follows me around and she nuzzles me and stuff. Since she has lost some weight she is all perky and on walkies if I sniff something she has to come sniff too and just when I get a good trot going she decides it is time to play catch up. That would not be so bad except that she tries to circle me and gets us all tangled up! Momma says to be patient, she just does not understand leash behaviors yet and I am trying but when I step off into some trees for my private time I DO NOT want to end up hogtied!

Momma will explain the details of her bad beak sickies- it is kinda complicated and has scary pics so if you are like me and not into that kind of thing then maybe stop here!  But you see she is looking pretty good with her new smile!

Mandy's doc says the biopsy revealed a low grade tumor called a multi lobular osteo sarcoma that was fully resected. Good news is that no further treatment should be needed (in terms of chemo/radiation). The not so good news is that it is not uncommon for this type of tumor to recur and 50% of recurrent tumors metastasize. See the 'before' pic compared to when I first noticed it to see how much it grew in just over a week!

The doc felt confident from the report that she got it all and the cells in Mandy's case showed low activity so she thought it was pretty likely that at Mandy's age she would likely live out her life before this came back. I would like to be able to tell potential adopters a more simple 'all clear' kind of thing, rather than 'basically I think she probably is in the clear' but soooo glad it is not worse news which it easily could have been!

As you can see, she is still looking good after her partial (rostral) mandibulectomy! I have read other stories of doggies with a similar diagnosis whose owners opt for just removing the surface tumor and or using radiation to treat this because the prospect of removing part of the jaw sounds scary.

Removing the affected jaw offers the best prognosis though so I wanted to show how great a doggie can still look after this proceedure so people won't be too worried. She is still eating soft food but should have no problem funtioning normally by next week too! She is also not really drooling more now that she is more healed and used to her new mouth. A lot depends on where the tumor is and Mandy was lucky it was in the front as this is easiest to remove without disrupting the stability of the jaw.

I would also like to clear up that this is different than the initial diagnosis I suggested and that it is not likely related to lack of dental care but stand by my strong support for teeth brushing! Aside from healthy gums that is the best chance you have of noticing important changes to their mouth where tumors are quite common in dogs! Here is what 'beautiful chompers' (for a nearly 9yo boy!) should look like!

I think Mandy is really lucky that she was rescued in the first place but am also proud to volunteer for a rescue that will dig deep into their pockets to treat a foster dog (especially an older one) with the same standard we hope all dogs will be treated after they are adopted. I think they have given her a great chance for a happier second half of her life in a loving home as every dog should! LRRoF is having their annual 'Friends and Family' fundraiser this year and once again this year we have a generous donor who will match our donations up to $10,000 so now more than ever, even small donations will make a big difference! If you want to help me meet my modest goal of $200 please click here or see the button on my side bar! I know lots of you already support lots of worthy animal causes but if you would like to also support homeless labbies in Florida we would be most grateful!