Beauty

As everyone knows, my dog Beauty is my "girl."  I love her so much!  A week or so ago we saw what looked like urine on the kitchen floor with what looked like blood in it.  She wasn't showing any other signs that something was wrong, so we decided to just keep an eye on her.  We had to run to Yakima to deal with a family medical emergency (my father was/is hospitalized and being diagnosed with cancer) and Beauty went to her "second home" (our friends' house).  They noticed a bloody spot after Beauty jumped on the couch, so they let me know.  I figured that those two events were sufficient to warrant a trip to the vet, figuring that she had a UTI.

So, yesterday I took her to Bellevue to see the vet.  During the exam, the vet thought that she felt a mass (in Beauty's bum...the site of her previous cancer).  She ordered more blood work and did some x-rays.  She suspected that the mass was a return of the cancer.

Additionally, she noted a heart murmur.  She said that they rate them on a scale of 1 to 6, and that Beauty is a 2.  She explained about murmur and said that it could lead to heart failure, but it could also not progress much. So, it really is anyone's guess about what will happen.

Today the tests came back and the x-rays showed an enlarged heart, enlarged liver, and also a mass near her bowel that is pressing on her colon.  Beauty's liver functions were slightly elevated, but it is unclear what could be causing that.  She also has some crystals in her bladder, but there is no evidence of any stones.  There was blood in the urine sample, but based on the way that they collected the sample, the blood could have come from the collection process.  So, that is not conclusive, but given what we saw at home, she likely does have blood in her urine.  

The vet is recommending that we have an ultrasound done find out more of what is going on.  When I mentioned this to Gess yesterday he was immediately opposed.  He doesn't want to put Beauty through unnecessary tests that won't make a difference in our decision making.  I don't want her to have unnecessary tests either, but I do feel like I want to know more about what is going on so that we can actually make decisions.  

So...we are in a rough position.  Neither of us wants her to have cancer surgery again.  But, we don't want her to die either.  It just breaks my heart to even think about this.  She is my little girl.  

Gess just talked to the vet and says that he has updates for me, but I have to wait until he gets home to hear.  Luckily she is not acting sick and doesn't seem to be suffering.  In fact, she is up looking for her toys right now :)