boxofdelights

Tai's lump turned out to be a subcutaneous hemangioma, which is weird -- very weird, even -- but Not Cancer.

Also weird: the lump was a couple inches above where Tai's right hind leg meets his torso. The vet stuck a needle into it twice, trying to get some cells to examine, but found nothing but blood. That evening, Tai stopped using his right hind leg. The vet we saw the next morning kept explaining arthritis and orthopedic injuries and conservative versus aggressive treatments, while I kept screaming JESUS CHRIST IT'S A MAST CELL TUMOR GET IN THE OR. (Not out loud. My outside voice was saying the same thing, only calmly and rationally.)

I mean yes I see that there's nothing unusual about sudden lameness in a nine-year-old ninety-pound GSD mix, particularly one who has just acquired a large, playful packmate, but How Coincidental Is It that this happened right after the vet punctured his mysterious lump?

As coincidental as a coincidence, apparently!

While he was under for the mass removal, they X-rayed his hips and knees. Beautiful joints for a nine-year-old ninety-pound GSD mix, apparently. No arthritis, no torn ligaments, balls solidly in their sockets. They also cleaned his teeth. So he's all set for a long, happy old age.