Rocky Lane

We started this blog last April when Rocky was paralyzed. Here we are one year later. Rocky has had an amazing recovery. His attitude is always positive, he's a fighter who loves life! He's back to running and romping with his best friend, Kaia. He loves to roll on his back in the grass and feel the warmth of the sun, loves to fetch, and LOVES to play keep away! He's really great at it.

I took Rocky to the Vet a couple weeks ago for a sore he had in between his toes on his front paw, the doctor, prescribed some ointment and bandaged his foot up. Rocky also has a fairly large bump on his back right on top of his hip. He's had it for a few years now, and at one time, it actually burst. We took him in for that when it happened and were told that the bump was a "sebaceous gland". We were told that it was pretty normal for it to rupture and drain itself. I know, that's really gross and probably TMI.

Since we were alreaddy at the Vet's office, I decided to have the bump checked because it looks like it has been getting bigger. The doctor stuck a needle in it and pulled some stuff out, put it on a little glass slide and took it to the microscope. After waiting about 20 minutes, he finally came back in and told me that the bump was a "Mast Cell Tumor" which needed to be operated on ASAP. Then that was that, he escorted me to the front counter so I could pay for the services rendered and told me he would email me some information on Mast Cell Tumors. The front counter guy, scheduled Rocky's surgery for three days later.

On my way home from the Vet, I continued processing all of the information. I called my friend Elena. Her dog had cancer late last year, and I wanted to see if her dog's cancer was the same as a Mast Cell Tumor. She confirmed that her dog, Aspen was diagnosed with the same types of tumors.

Jeff was on his way home from southern Utah. He had left the day before to go on an annual "guys only" 4 wheeler/motor bike ride. I waited until that evening when he was home to tell him. We both decided we needed to have a second opinion before we proceeded with surgery. We were able to get an appointment the next day at another animal clinic. The doctor tested the same area three different times, and was unable to find any cancer cells. They just weren't there. So, needless to say we were pretty upset that we had been given bad information. Jeff called and spoke to the owner of the first clinic, Dr. Law. He's the one who fixed Rocky's paralysis. He stood behind his doctor and insisted we bring him back in so he could take a look himself. After talking it over with Dr. Law, we decided to have the lump removed, just in case. We'd rather be safe than sorry. The lab results just came back on Thursday, and it is cancer. :( They are pretty sure they cut all of the cancer out. We're watching him closely, and sending positive energy his way for a fast recovery.