This afternoon I found a decent size lump on Faith's abdomen just inside her left rear leg. My mother in law has a chihuahua who has a lump in the exact same place which is a tumor that she is preparing to schedule surgery for. Now that has me freaking out over this lump I just found on Faith.

For anyone who doesn't know, I'm fairly new in my area (recently moved to a new city and state) and the two local vets I've checked out so far are AWFUL and I don't want to take Faith to either of them which has me even more stressed out as I'll need to find someone further away that I don't know anything about and whether or not they are any good. I don't have a holistic vet near me that I would feel comfortable with and I can't wait until my next trip to FL to have my old holistic vet look at her.

I feel just horrible right now.

Here's a pic of the lump. In case you can't tell it's located just above my index finger...


I feel so bad for Faith, it's just been one thing after another with her.

Poor Faith!
And I feel awful for you that you don't have any decent vets around you!
Would it be an option to talk to your MIL's vet to see if they think it could be the same thing? Or are they a bit far away?

My MIL is going to my old holistic vet in FL. I finally convinced her to see my wonderful holistic vet that my dogs used to go to. That's a 7 hr drive one way so that's not an option. I've got two vets that I'm "considering" calling on Monday that are a bit of a drive for me but if I need to have her seen right away then it might be all I've got for now. I'm seriously considering taking her to a vet in NC that a friend of the family has told me wonderful things about but even that's a 4 hour drive one way and I don't know if they could see her again in a short span of time if it turns out to be something that requires surgery (hopefully not). *sigh*

Oh poor Faith! I hope it's nothing that requires surgery. My MIL's 8yr old Bijon has had a lump developing in the same spot for MONTHS and they don't have the $ to take him to get it checked out. I explained to my vet what he had to see what he would say and he told me that he would have to see it, but that if it moved around it was probably just fat accumulating, but that if you couldn't move it that it's a tumor. You could move it...which is good, but geez that thing is getting big and must come out soon! We can't afford to pay for it or TRUST ME I would have. I feel so helpless. If it was one of my dogs I would figure it out, but unfortunately we can't. Even if I wanted to my hubby is like no way.

I hope it's nothing serious for poor little Faith. Keep us posted Val. She'll be just fine!

Oh no! Poor Faith.
Val, I hope you can find a good vet you can trust to look her over, hope its nothing to bad

Do dogs have lymph glands in that area like people do? Sometimes in humans tick bites can cause the lymph system to kick in and you will see an enlarged lymph gland in that area. Has she had a tick recently?

Hope and pray it is nothing serious!!

Yes, there is a lymph gland in that area same as in people, the inguinal lymph nodes I believe. I check all the dogs all the time for fleas and ticks and I haven't found anything on any of them.

She had a lot of ticks last June (2010) before I switched off of Advantix and onto essential oils. Since she's been on the Rose Geranium oil since June of last year she hasn't had a single tick. Not sure if it matters but she never had enlarged lymph glands when she picked up ticks last summer.

Faith picked the worst possible week and month for this to happen. This week is going to be a busy one for me, Tuesday through Thursday and possibly Friday of this week are not going to be an option to due prior arrangements. Of course if this was an emergency then Faith would absolutely come first but I don't think this is an emergency situation, especially considering she seems otherwise fine. Tomorrow and maybe Friday are my only free days this week for an appt. Aside from Monday morning next week I have the rest of the week pretty much free and clear.

So I'll be making some calls to a couple vets tomorrow that I might consider taking her to for an exam. One vet office doesn't really impress me and it's a lot farther away but they have a first exam free for new clients offer. The other vet is much closer and seems like it might be pretty decent but no free first exam. Soooo, I'm a little torn at the moment. I guess I'll get a better idea after calling and talking to them.

I'm really hoping that it's just something simple like a hernia or fatty deposit. Faith has had too many complications and surgeries in the abdominal region for me to feel comfortable with yet another surgery.

Okay good news! I called this new vet as soon as they opened and would you believe they are booked solid through next Tuesday?! BUT as it just so happens they had ONE opening left at 4:40 PM today! So we are lucky that Faith will be going to see the vet this afternoon. This vet is more expensive than any other vet I've EVER been to so I'm praying that she works out and will be *fingers crossed* the "one" for us. I like that this place is a small practice with only 2 vets and the vet she's seeing is a Dr Jan which is the same name as our last holistic vet in FL...how ironic!

I'll update on how it goes at the vet this afternoon and what the vet says! Keep those fingers crossed for us please!

Good luck little Faith! Been following, just haven't had a chance to comment yet Val. But my parent's dog had fatty tumors a lot and it's always scary but getting it checked out is really the best thing. Good luck!

Good Luck!!
Fingers and paws crossed over here!

GREAT NEWS! Faith is fine!

She saw the vet this afternoon who gave her a thorough exam. Turns out she has weak abdominal muscles that are very thin and thus have created a little gap or hole if you will that her insides can sort of shift towards and create the little bulge that we were seeing. The vet believes that the weak abdominal muscles are the result of her having so many litters while she was living with the BYB before we adopted her.

Faith does not have a hernia right now but the vet said because of her weak abdominal muscles she has a greater chance of a hernia developing. Dr Jan says no heavy lifting for Faith!

Faith does have a small ball of fat in that area but it is not a concern.

So Dr Jan says the little lump that Faith has right now should be considered Faith's "normal". However if we ever notice that it gets larger it is likely a hernia but of course we'd need to get her re-checked to be sure...IF it ever gets bigger.

So the verdict is that Faith is nice and healthy, the vet has no real concerns, and no surgery is required!

I am actually pretty happy with this new vet overall also. Not as great as my last holistic vet in FL but she's pretty good and way better than the other two vets in the area that have already been tried out. I might actually start using Dr Jan as my dogs' primary.

WOOHOOO I'm so happy that Faith is ok! I've been thinking about her today!

YAY! So happy to hear she's okay and that you might have found a vet that you like!

Thank Dogness Faith is ok!
...and bonus that Dr. Jan worked out!

All paws up in the air for Faith and Dr. Jans! Woot woot!

Great news all around, faith is ok and u might have found a vet!

Yep, we are SUPER happy with the verdict and finding a potential new primary for the dogs. I'm so glad we can breathe a sigh of relief after that worry filled weekend!

Oh my goodness, I'm so glad she's going to be OK.

Well, I was laying on top of Mya earlier and found a small bump on the upper back/lower neck. Kind of right above her shoulder blades..in the middle. I've been feeling it all day and it doesn't seem to hurt her, but this has me freaking out...of course! The vet doesn't have any appointments available until Monday morning. Now I have to spend all weekend worried I'm hoping that it's just a grease ball or that maybe Kody hurt her while playing.

Not a good day! I woke up with a nasty headache also and had to stay home =(

I hope Faith will be okay!! Just an idea: 24 Pet Watch has AMAZING pet insurance and for super cheap. I have kept it on all my dogs because I know vets can be expensive. You still have to prepay the vet and then the insurance cuts you a reimbursement check within 10 days, but it makes decisions SO MUCH less stressful when you are faced with financial restrictions. Website below:

http://www.24petwatch.com/petinsurance/dog-insurance.asp

I have QuickCare Gold for my dogs, but anything is better than nothing

I'm so sorry to hear that Melissa. So you have an appt for Monday then? I'd be worried sick all weekend too. I hope it's nothing serious. I'll be thinking of you and Mya all weekend. Let us know how the appt goes Monday.

Yeah Val, at 845am. At least it's early. She's acting fine and let's me mess with it so I'm hoping it's nothing, but I'm totally freaking. Can't help it. I'll definitely update you as soon as I get out.

I'm a bit late, but I'm glad all is well with Faith!! Melissa, I hope Mya is ok too! Trust me, I understand the worrying, it seems that's all I've been doing for the past several months! Sending lots of positive thoughts your way!

Thanks Mindy!

Okay, we'll update this one first. I was FINALLY able to get Faith in to see my old holistic vet in FL for a second opinion on the lump. I did NOT share the info or vet records from the 1st opinion I received about the lump to rule out any preconceptions.

Turned out to be good news yet again. The lump is definitely not on her mammary gland and she confirmed what the other vet concluded about it. It's a harmless fatty lump that she said was not even worth aspirating. And if there's any vet that I trust completely it's this one so I am very happy to say it's nothing to worry about and can breathe a sigh of relief finally.

That's great news!!