Poor Lucy the Puggle Dog. She’s had it rough the last few days.
For starters, it’s been raining non stop for the past 3 days. And if there is one thing Lucy doesn’t like, it’s going out for walks in the rain.
A few weeks ago I noticed a large red blister like thing on her paw. I asked the HH if I should take her to the vet and he said “she’ll be fine, it’s probably just irritated or something.” And then his favorite line “I’ll look into it.”
Meaning: I’ll ignore the problem until either
A. You ask me 100 more times about it or
B. Her leg falls off.
Fast forward to yesterday at the vet’s office.
After a quick examination, the vet determined the 3 week old red blister thing on her paw was most likely a Histiocytoma {benign tumor} and would go away on it’s own in a few months. Apparently histiocytomas are very common and usually appear on a dogs face or feet. The vet saw no need to slice part of it off for further examination. Which made me feel about 90% better.
Luckily Lucy isn’t bothered by the mass on her paw. Not one bit.
However she was completely bothered when the vet walked out of the room and then back in again with three filled syringes and a rectal thermometer. Turns out it was time for Lucy’s yearly dose of vaccinations {the rabies vaccine included}.
Poor Lucy.
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Madam Chow says
Poor Lucy! My dog had one of those on her ear, and it did go away on its own.
As for the vaccinations, 3 year rabies vaccines are available, and they are better for your dog.
Mavis Butterfield says
That is what she had… a 3 year rabies vaccine. She’s feeling better today. 🙂
debbie says
My one older beagle gets a three year rabies shot. We just adopted a second 1 and a half year old beagle. He gets a one year rabies vaccination. I don’t know why the difference. Could it be that these young dogs don’t have the antibodies needed??? Just a thought.
Fee- says
I found your blog couple days ago (via pinterest) – and I love it! I’ve read a lot of older posts and I’m gonna follow this blog from now on. I live in Finland (Northern Europe) and I love gardening. It’s bit different here due to climate. So different, yet similar. My backyard is covered in snow (lots of it!) and balcony is freeeeezing. No chance going out there with gardening tools – yet.
My Welsh Corgi Cardigan, Aava, sends her wishes to Lucy. My dog is a great gardener too.. Always helping, especially with eating the harvest. I didn’t get much blueberries last summer..
ps. Sorry for my english – not my native language 😉
SusieQ says
Love your page – I try to watch it daily.
BTW, dogs don’t need yearly vaccines. That is overkill and can cause autoimmune issues later in life. Every three years at the minimum. Vets can run titers now that prove the vaccines last much longer. Rabies every three years is the only one I redo – because it’s the law.
Now a check-up every year is reasonable. And teeth need to be looked at the same time. Get a blood draw when she is older and then yearly when she is a senior. If she is around other dogs, Bordatella every fall is also reasonable.
Maggie White says
My 10 year old beagle had a histiocytoma removed last year. Hers got to be the size of a blueberry and was between her toes..it irritated her so much she tried to chew it off! No worries for Lucy though, it’s an easy fix if it ever gets to that point! 🙂
Angela says
Rabies vaccine is efficacious for 1 yr the first time administered and then It is boostered every 3 yrs. It is the same vaccine however. Histiocytomas will usually be itchy, did u get the cone of shame or an antihistamine? Get better soon Lucy!
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope, no cone. 🙂
Helen in Meridian says
When the Sweet Babboo got the cone of shame, I put pink bunny ears on it because it was Easter.
Lisa says
Aww! She looks so cute wrapped up in the blanket in the last photo!
Michelle Wright says
Hi Mavis: Avid animal lover and rescuer here: She doesn’t need any of the other shots more frequent than 3 years either. I have 5 acres and don’t vaccinate them anymore as they don’t go anywhere. I know quite a few vet techs that don’t vaccinate theirs either because they are not good for them. I have my dogs and my cats on coconut oil (from Tropical Traditions- the one that doesn’t taste like coconut) and they don’t get fleas. Fleas don’t like animals that eat a healthy diet so that is great news. The flea meds are really, really bad for animals and are basically poison. Worse than us eating doritos! Just wanted to share because I can tell you lover her very much. She is a doll after all!
Barbee says
You are a very good Mommy.
Lucy is lucky to have a Mommy like you!
Jeannie says
My pup had something very similar, we tried Epsom salt soaks twice a day for 2 weeks. It drastically reduced the size and seemed to resolve completely. Don’t let the dog lick the salt water though so we applied rags soaked in the solution to the area.
Debi says
My dog get the 3-year rabies shot as well. For ticks as we have woods and a creek on the property, I use Neem oil. I also know that euclyptus oil will keep them off as well. Don’t have a problem with fleas, but if I did, you bathe the dog with Dawn soap, and will need to do this for several weeks at least once a week to kill all of the fleas as the eggs will hatch at different intervals.
Toni says
If you use essencial oils you could put frankensence or lavender on it diluted with a carrier oil like coconut oil.
Kamiko says
Hi Mavis, i hope Lucy is feeling better!