Tumor Scare at Our House

Two weeks ago today my husband was brushing Ralph when he discovered a big lump on his bottom. We tried to tell ourselves that he had sat on a sliver or something, but that didn't make sense, because it didn't seem to hurt him at all.

So, Monday morning I called the vet... and found that I couldn't get an appointment until Thursday. The week was long, and Thursday was even longer while we waited for news that Ralph had come out of the anesthetic. After knowing of people who died from anesthetic, just the idea of it makes me nervous.

We went to get him and the vet said we'd have the lab results back on the tumor in a "couple of days." OK... so Monday maybe.

All went pretty well the first day, except for worrying because Ralph was completely lethargic. On the second day when it appeared that the pain pills were upsetting his stomach, we decided they weren't such a good idea. He was supposed to have 2 in the morning and 2 at night, but we stopped giving them to him.

I had gone on line and found the same kind of side-effects that killed our dog Harry when the vet prescribed Rimadyl and I obeyed.

That was still OK until late that night. Apparently that's how long it took for that heavy dose of pain medication to work its way out of his system.

About midnight Ralph started chewing on his stitches... not a good thing!

I finally gave him one pain pill and sat beside him, preventing him from chewing, until he fell asleep. The next day I borrowed one of those big plastic collars from my neighbor, but it turned out that one pill at about 10 or 11 at night was the right balance. Ralph stopped chewing his stitches, but wasn't lethargic and didn't have an upset tummy.

We were still worried, and wondering when we'd hear about the test results. Finally on Wednesday the vet called... a benign tumor that probably will not re-occur.

Thank God.

Spring Planting Danger to Your Dogs - Read before you buy mulch!

This has been around before, but since it's so important, I thought I'd bring it back.

It just wouldn't occur to most people that the garden mulch that makes their yards look so nice might kill their dogs!

So... the message from my morning mail:

COCOA GARDEN MULCH KILLING PETS!!

Please share this with all the pet owners you know and ask them to do the same - the information you take a few minutes to share might prevent the senseless loss of other pets.

Over the weekend, the doting owners of two young lab mixes purchased Cocoa Mulch to use in their garden. The dogs loved the way it smelled and it was advertised to keep cats away from their garden. Their dog (Calypso) decided the mulch smelled good enough to eat and devoured a large helping. She vomited a few times which was typical when she eats something new but wasn't acting lethargic in any way. The next day, Mom woke up and took Calypso out for her morning walk . Halfway through the walk, she had a seizure and died instantly.

Although the mulch had NO warnings printed on the label, upon further investigation on the company's web site, this product is HIGHLY toxic to dogs and cats.

Cocoa Mulch is manufactured by Hershey's, and they claim that, "It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it."

*Snopes site gives the following information:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cocoamulch.asp *

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores contains a lethal ingredient called 'Theobromine'. It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest it and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks.

Theobromine is in all chocolate, especially dark or baker's chocolate which is toxic to dogs. Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cocoa bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cocoa bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

Warning! Microchips can kill

This is chilling...

The article I read warned that our Federal Government is pushing for a time when all of us will wear microchips - so they can track our movements any time they wish.

This is bad enough from a political / freedom standpoint. But THEN the article went on to talk of the health dangers.

It seems the chips are the cause of fast-growing tumors that can kill a dog or cat within just a few months.

So, keep your dogs close by you. Protect them from being lost with collar tags or maybe even ear tattoos... but think 3 times before inserting a microchips than can lead them to an early and painful death.

For the rest of the story, go to The Health Freedom Alliance

More on Dogs Eating Stuffed Animals

After receiving some responses to last week's message about the danger of kid's toys for pets, I was glad to see the subject come up in Snopes tonight.

Those who wrote criticized passing the message along because it "just could not be true."

You can take from the Snopes report what you want, but I'm not going to give my dogs any more toys made for kids. The risk is just too great.