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got rufus into the vet at 4pm today. as i walked in his wife vicki was there with a wad of paper towels and the phone started ringing.
she looked at me and said, "you gonna answer the phone or clean up the pee by the door?"
i chose the pee and told her she should put me on payroll.
then doc came in and i told him that i thought that rufus' anal gland had burst ouside the sac or else that he might have perinial fistulas---but i didn't think it was the latter as those usually show up in shepherds between the ages of 2 and 5 years old so i felt that it was the anal gland burst even tho it didn't look like an abcess.
vicki looked at me and asked, "how are you so smart?"
i had to reply, "smart about what?"
she replied, "smart about animals."
so i told her my regular speal that i had always wanted to be a vet but at 18 chose drugs instead and that i'm just the type of person that when i don't know something i study it.
at first doc looked at rufus' rear and said it just looked sore, but that rufus was just licking it and not worrying it.
i told him that i'm sure there was an abcess so doc lifted rufus onto the table for a better look (as i couldn't lift that monster).
as vicki held the dog i showed doc where i thought the abcess hole was so he went to get the peroxide...sure enough there was a pocket that even shocked doc some. i had him do it a second time while i watched closely to see exactly how he did it and this time he put antibiotic in the socket at the same time.
it was gross
the fluid not only came out two holes but also rufus' rectum where the tumor is.
and at that time i got to see the tumor.
doc gave me a glove and some k-y so i could learn how to check it now and then myself to know if it starts growing.
oh the fun i have with my vet!!!!!
now the only downside is that every 3 days i have to flush the pocket out with peroxide and then with the antibiotic---this shall be a challenge as i know mom can't hold rufus still while i do it so my hope is that trble will be willing and able to hold him.
doc didn't think this is the type of abcess to heal up and go away, so this will be an ongoing thing--- oh-boy!
the good part is, that as long as rufus doesn't start tearing it apart (doc said the licking is okay as rufus is just keeping it clean as it oozes) so every few days i get the fun at flushing a dogs rear and checking that the sores don't get worse or that he starts chewing on it.
the doc said that this tumor could be a slow grower and rufus could last for years if taken care of ; or it could be a fast growing tumor. all we can do is wait and see how it goes.
needless to say another trip to the store for latex gloves, k-y jelly and peroxide is in my future---think the checkout lady will think i'm a pervert?

i got all stocked up on surgical gloves, ky jelly, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol and big cotton ball the last few days and yesterday i went over to mom's early before trble got off work.i figured i'd get everything set up as i knew trble would be tired after work and still need to get home and get dinner for the family etc.
so i got everything together and then i asked mom to hold rufus so i could check his rear and see what all we would need to do.
AND THE ABCESS WAS HEALED UP . i used a couple of cotton balls with peroxide on the abcess and checked real good but the abcess hole was closed up and looked flat and good... YIPPEE!
so i called trble to telll her she didn't need to make a trip over, and asked mom how rufus had been doing which she said he had quit licking his rear all the time a couple of days ago.
so hopefully this will stay healed up (as i was really dreading having to wash out an abcess every three days) and i'll just have to keep an eye on rufus that his anal glands don't start impacting again where it gets that bad.
so i told mom to let me know if he starts licking alot or rubbing his bottom on the carpet, but for now i we are doing good and we'll just have to keep an eye on the tumor and for signs of impaction and take care of it right away in the future.

i hope there's someone watching over my doggy duties, as flushing abcesses on a strong, not want to hold still, dog i was really dreading. i am so releived (and methinks trble is too, as she would have been the one trying to hold him while i did it, and even at the vets it took me and his wife to hold rufus while doc did the flushing and that was with rufus confined up on a table...so this is a big releif as i was really worried if we could pull it off without have a disaster).
BTW: shopping for ky jelly has never been on my list before...do you know how hard it is to find just plain ky jelly to use on a dog? i had to pass up, the warming ky, his and her ky and so forth. finally hidden away on a top shelf i found a plain wrap lube that i figured would work...talk about embarrasing things to buy for a dog and of course i really didn't want to ask the young guy stocking shelves for help in finding the darn stuff .

nope, my vet is cheap cuz he doesn't have any fancy tables or stuff, it's lift and hold tight. my groomer has one of those tables thought and she loves it.
rufus has always been on the best food, and i check his bowels every time i go there and they are good.
like i told mom, rufus is so far 3 years above the average age of a GSD living and we have to expect something to take him down sooner or later. and i'm sure he's lived this long as she has always feed good food and taken such good care of him.
from what i've been reading anal gland tumors are rather common. now it's just seeing how fast his grows and how long he lasts as the vet was surprised at how good of health rufus' heart and everything else is for his age.
i'm just glad that the abcess healed up, and i think it wa there from the begining of all this but as it looked like carpet burn not an abcess hole we missed it. however i was happy to see that it has cleared up and closed up. now it's just keeping an eye on him and we may have to have the anal glands expressed more often cuz the vet says that the tumor is kida blocing the drainage hole on that side so he may pack up more often.
at least i'm aware of it now and know to keep an eye on it so hopefully we can keep it drained before it gets as bad as it did.
rufus is still going good tho for a 13 year old. when i went out to check his poo (oh such fun i have) thursday he still chased after and brought back his soccor ball when i kicked it across the yard for him. and mom was saying that she's still having to pick up all his house toys as he never has learned to put up his own toys when he gets done playing with them; and of course like a typical kid he has to get all the toys out and spread them all over not just one at a time

cali fetches too? that's interesting.
you know i never had a collie that would fetch until destiny? (and destiny will fetch forever)
now all my collies fetch; although fancy has more fun beating destiny and freedom to it then taking off with it so they can't have it.
most collies in the past i had wouldn't fetch. i'd throw the toy once and they'd go get it. i'd throw it again and they'd go get it. i'd throw it a third time and they'd look at me like, "oh, you didn't want that" and never go get it again.
interesting as destiny's mother, windy, was out of the stud that i went to due to his herding abilities...windy never fetched, but every collie i've had since breeding to him has.

I enforce the '3 fetch' rule - don't want my people taking my talents for granted!

I LOVE to pick my toys/bones up myself and toss them around!

toys could be fun, but bones could be hazardous to thoses in the line of fire