Poor Billy Ray. He’s not doing very well, y’all. Several weeks ago, there was some sort of growth that started to appear under the skin of his front right paw…like in the wrist area. See my very technical diagram of the wrist area:
Anyhow, GR and I thought that the growth was a fatty tumor, which is a non-malignant tumor that is very common in Basset Hounds and will sometimes go away on their own. Therefore, we didn’t take Billy to the vet. However, over the past several weeks, the alleged tumor started growing bigger and bigger until it was the size of a golf ball, which caused Billy Ray’s eyes to become even more bloodshot than they already are. And he was beginning to get a bit lethargic, which is also very common in Bassets, but he was becoming more sluggish than usual. Which basically entails not drooling with wild abandon and bleeding eyes when food is anywhere in the vicinity of a solid square mile.
So, on Wednesday of last week, Billy Ray went under the knife to have the tumor removed. And it turns out that it’s probably not a fatty tumor at all, but a type of skin cancer called hemangioma. But, we won’t know the outcome of all this until another week or so when the biopsy results come back. And if it does come back to be hemangioma, I have no idea what the prognosis is for this type of cancer. I’ve been trying to find related info on the internet, but you know how that goes…he’s either going to die a tragic death tomorrow afternoon or he’ll live to be 20.
Nevertheless, we’ve taken the approach that we’re just not going to worry about it until the results come back. In the meantime, his recovery is going slow because of the location of the surgery—imagine having a gazillion stitches in your wrist and then walking around on your hands all day! Bless his heart. His dog cousin, Kaya (who also recently underwent surgery), even sent Billy Ray a handmade pawmade get-well-soon card in the mail:
(Obviously, Kaya has way too much time on her hands, er paws…)
And this is just how the dog days of Summer are going around here at Casa Lulu.
And as an ode to Billy Ray, here’s some pictures of the stinky hound for your viewing pleasure:
Oh, poor Billy Ray! I hope everything’s okay. It’s kind of weird that hemangiomas in humans aren’t cancer. Hope his isn’t either!
Madame Queen’s last blog post..Night and Day
Oh, I hope it’s not cancer! Your poor doggie. I hope he feels better soon.
Good Luck Billy Ray and a Speedy recovery!
Lisa’s last blog post..Well Hello Dolly!
aw - I hope everything goes okay. My nephew got a basset hound and it developed leg problems too. I wonder if that’s “normal” for that breed. Such short little legs for all that weight.
Billy Rae’s got some mighty long ears.
Poor Billy Ray! We’re thinking good thoughts for him! Kaya is just crazy - I’m amazed she found time out of her long and full days of scrapbooking to make a little card! She’s very busy and important you know! Ha ha ha!
Poor little feller! Oh, I hope the resulting diagnosis is not cancer.
Amanda’s last blog post..A Jam Tart
Awww…poor puppydog and his owie wrist! I hope he’s feeling better soon and you get an excellent report of health from the vet.
angie’s last blog post..I’ll Show You Mine…
Hoping Billy Ray makes a full recovery!
Oh, gosh. I’ve been so behind in my blog reading and sorry to happen upon the tale of Billy Ray’s healthy issues. I hope he’s doing ok with his recovery.
Hope your summer is going OK, too.
Susan’s last blog post..Practically like going to Disney World
Aww, I’m so sorry. Sending good vibes your way…
I’ll tell Jack to send good doggy wishes and prayers to Billy Ray.. Poor baby
PS..I spent 3 hours on Thursday in downtown Atlanta…we went to the Georgia Aquarium..which was VERY cool
mp’s last blog post..Where do popcorn shirmp come from?
Billy Ray is THE perfect name for a bassett hound. I hope he gets better and spends the next 10 years giving Bindi dirty looks and thinking, “SETTLE DOWN SPAZ!”
alpha.dogma’s last blog post..Participation Ribbons All Around! Everyone’s A Winner!