The Welshie went home in the morning. Terra did not want to come out to say hello to her owners, even after we'd been sitting and talking for an hour. That was strange since Terra had approached all of the guests during the puppy party. I definitely need to schedule more visitors to come and quietly hang out.
She did at least go outside with the other dogs and the owners and milled around. We noticed that she had a large lump on her left butt bone, next to her tail. I knew that Wolfhounds (and other large bony breeds) get hygromas and that they should just be left to resolve on their own. However due to the placement I was worried that it was an anal gland problem. (Chimera once had an anal gland abscess that ruptured.) So off to the vet we went.
Terra was relaxed as we entered the waiting area. She wagged her tail and sniffed around. She went onto the scale easily (44.5 lbs). She hesitated going into the exam room (going from large room into small enclosed one; understandable). She met Shawn, the one male tech, with a wagging tail and kisses - yay!! She recognized Dr Diedrich even though she had been mostly asleep during her first vet exam, and also gave her wags and kisses and cuddles. She is a favorite at the office already!
The doctor was familiar with hygromas but also surprised at the location of this one. Just in case, she did a rectal exam to make sure the rectal wall was intact. Terra got a little cup of frozen chicken broth to lick to keep her busy. She stopped and tried to get up during the exam, but she returned to the broth as soon as it was done. No grudges held here.
The doctor then aspirated the lump and got bloody fluid. Slides showed no significant amounts of white blood cells. It was just a hygroma. She drained it, since the needle was already in there, but by the evening it had returned to nearly its previous size. We'll just leave it to resolve on its own.
So we got our first unnecessary vet visit out of the way already.
I took Terra and Chimera in the car for a 5 pm training appointment. Terra used to whine and be restless in the car, but now she just settles to sleep. She slept all through the appointment. I asked the client to come out and meet her when we were done. As expected, she got a wagging tail and lots of kisses.
Finally we drove to Sherry's. I'll be gone all weekend. I trust Sherry to take good care of my dogs but it was so hard to leave Terra. She's just a shy little baby!! Hopefully this will be another good socialization experience for her.
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