A Lump of Worry

A few weeks ago, during one of our cuddles, Mum felt a lump on my side. It was bigger than the usual warts that had started appearing last year when I turned nine.

So off to the vet we went …

When we arrived, we weren’t allowed inside …

Hi Peter! But he went to speak to someone else and went inside with that black doodle. I had to wait my turn.

Eventually Peter came out to get me and Mum told him about my lump. He took me inside to be examined and he aspirated from the lump to test it.

While I was inside, Mum stood in the cold with all the others waiting. This is because of the pandemic.

Funny to remember that the last time we were here for our annual check-up, was a year ago at the end of March. We were sitting inside the vet when we heard the news that all restaurants, pubs and bars would be closed that night. And the following Monday, the first lockdown was announced.

May’s comment: I am very aware that Darcy is getting on with age. In fact since Darcy turned nine, I have started noticing changes. Every now and then I can see that her eyes have a very slight hint of grey film. And she started developing warts – three to be exact. I am used to warts as George has them all the time. One Friday afternoon while I was washing her paws after a muddy walk, I felt that lump on the left side of her lower body, my heart sank. My heart sank.

I called the vet immediately for an appointment. Even though Medivet Kensington is open 24 hours, 7 days, I wanted to see Peter because he, along with Mr. Butt who had passed away two years ago, had seen Darcy from her very first vet visit. I wanted to hear from Peter what he thought. But he wasn’t in over the weekend and the first appointment would be Monday.

I knew it could also be just a benign lipoma or fatty lump that usually comes with age. But my mind went into a spin. Reality sort of hit home. All weekend, I thought of the worst that would eventually happen. I know that her turning ten last week meant she had crossed the half way mark. It was also a reminder that all the time we have together is precious.

Thankfully, the test results confirmed it was just fatty tissue and benign. Just need to keep an eye on it and all future lumps.

Here’s a good description and advice from Vets4Pets.com –

Lipomas, or fatty lumps, are very common in dogs. In fact every year nearly 2% of the doggy population are diagnosed with one!

While they are tumours, lipomasare just made up of fat cells and so are mostly completely benign. 

Lipomas feel like soft slightly movable lumps under the skin.

They can range from being very small to being football sized, although most are very slow growing and never reach dramatic sizes.

Many dogs will get one or more of these fatty lumps in their lifetime, and these will be monitored by your vet for any problems. Issues from lipomas are generally just cosmetic – which won’t bother your dog at all!

In some cases, however, lipomas can grow to large sizes, or be in uncomfortable positions. In these cases your vet may recommend a surgery to remove the lump.

Although any dog can get a lipoma there are certain predisposing features.

• Breed.
• Weimaraners, dobermann pinschers, German pointers, springer spaniels and Labrador retrievers all had an increased incidence of lipomas in the study.
• Age – older dogs are more likely to develop lipomas.
• Weight – Dogs heavier than their breed and sex average were nearly twice as likely to develop a lipoma.

Lipomas are often just monitored if they are slow growing and not causing your dog any problems. Fast growing masses, those in problematic areas such as the throat or those preventing normal mobility however may need to be removed. This is a surgical procedure.

FYI – lipomas are also common in humans. Over the years, I’ve had a few on my back and even though I had two removed, they eventually came back.