The weather report promises rain and barely 17*C, but summer is a feeling, right?

Despite hot days and bright light, that summer feeling didn’t land here for the last few weeks. Instead, we went through all the worries and stress that come with an unexpected rollercoaster of vet visits.

Everything seemed ok. We were in Belgium, and because the vaccinations were about to expire, we decided to vaccinate the dogs before driving back home. There is no need for extra stress at the border. Our bags were packed.
All the dogs looked healthy, acted normal, and had a healthy weight. Then the vet suddenly said: “I think I feel a lump here…”
I could barely feel it myself. Only when she grabbed it for me, I felt it pop away. Because we didn’t want to waste any time (and making an appointment in Sweden takes a long time), we immediately booked more tests: a punction with echo, and a CT scan.

The initial plan was to send the samples to a lab, but since Mogwai let it all happen without a struggle, the vet was able to take one extra sample that she could analyze herself. Only 10 minutes later she had news for us: “It looks like a thyroid tumor.”
The CT scan the next week didn’t show any metastases or other issues, so the next day Moo went in for surgery.

It’s always stressful, isn’t it, bringing your dog to the vet and waiting for them to wake up and more news. It was a modest relief that the surgeon was Ruth Fortie who did an amazing job when Ravasz had surgery (now almost 8 years ago). She explains everything clearly and is very honest about what is possible and what is not. I will never forget that she sat with me on the floor with Ravasz in a time that his situation didn’t look promising (but he lived and was a happy pup after everything had healed!).
Knowing that Mogwai was in good hands, but of course, they can’t perform miracles. If only… 🙂
After the surgery, it was 10 more long, stressful days before getting the final lab results. But Mogwai walked in happily as if she knew she was doing good. “It’s nice to bring good news sometimes,” said the vet (from the echo).

In short:
– The tumor was removed
– No metastases found
– The wound healed perfectly
– Mo can even swim again!!
– There is always a chance that she will develop another tumor, either in the other thyroid or somewhere else.
– No extra medication is needed at the moment.

We went home, packed the last things, ordered some fries, and started driving that same evening- all through the night to be home as soon as possible.

Normally we book a stay at a motel. It is 1600km after all. But with this whole situation and the sudden heat in Belgium, we wanted to escape as soon as possible. The dogs were fine with it. Air conditioning was on and they slept the whole ride.

Breakfast on the road

While I’m writing this, big drops drum on the roof and roll down the windows, but earlier today it was warm and the sun managed to get through the clouds.

Carpe diem! And wishing you all a lovely summer!
Fenne & the dogs

PS: If you’re interested in the Hurtta gear (like the life vests) our discount code is dogvision15. It will give you a 15% discount.