[Dailydrool] Please Help Panicked Momslave

[Brenda Waldrop]

Today I was brushing Copper, my 11-year-old basset, and the brush caught on
something in his fur right near the middle of his back. He seemed unfazed,
so it's fair to say it didn't hurt him. I moved the fur apart to see what
was stuck in it, and I discovered a nasty looking tumor-type thing. The
brushing looked like it had caused bleeding around the edges, so I grabbed
some paper towels and began to dab at it. To my shock the entire "tumor"
came off on the towel. It was slightly off-white and about the size of a
grape. It seemed solid, with a consistency slightly more solid than butter.

It left behind a gaping sore on his back about the diameter of a nickel. It
had blood, but it wasn't really bleeding. There also seemed to be several
small white blobs in the sore, but I didn't want to irritate it so I didn't
mess with them. I put on a liberal amount of Neosporin and let him go. He
bolted when I released him, even though I hadn't really been holding him
down with any force at all. He apparently knew I was doing something and so
he needed to stay put, but while it didn't bother him enough to try to
leave, when he was "released" he was clearly happy to go.

When I was a nurse I assisted in excising several sebaceous cysts and I have
to say this looks somewhat similar, but I have never seen one burst to the
top like that.

Copper has a tumor on his gums about the size of a walnut that we are having
excised in January. It's very slow growing, barely at all in the two years
we've had him, but it is cancerous. The Vet assures me that this type of
cancer will not metastasize outside the mouth, and the only reason we are
excising it, since it doesn't hurt him or hinder his eating/chewing, is that
it's gotten just large enough that in a few months time he will run the risk
of biting it when he eats, and then it could get infected and sore.

I'm really hoping the two are not related. He's only 11, and I know he was
abused, starved, and denied human contact for years, so I knew there might
be health issues a lot earlier than his actual age would warrant, but thus
far it's only been ear infections and a little arthritis. Copper is my baby,
he's a mommy's dog who can't stand to be far from me whenever I'm around.
When I adopted him all skinny, bald, and needy I promised him we would have
many years for me to make it up to him.

I'm probably way overreacting and this will turn out to be the basset
version of a large zit, but that's what momslaves are for right, to
overreact? So has anyone seen anything like this before. Can it wait for the
vet on Monday or should I take him to emergency? I really don't have them
money for an emergency visit, but I'll find it if someone thinks this
warrants it.

Thanks,
Brenda- momslave to Copper (wow what did I do mom's giving me all kinds of
extra love tonight.), Elphaba (I wish mom would stop hovering over Copper so
I can go over and taste that gooey stuff on his back.), and Aeryn (ATB)
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