Wednesday ended a crazily as it began. In fact, some of the cases from Wednesday turned into cases on Thursday. The last visitor of the day on Wednesday was a Sheltie named Pookie. He was about 10 years old and his parents said “something's just not right with him. We were taking a trip to the Keys and when we got to Marathon and he didn't want to walk or wag his tail anymore, we turned right around. His gums were pale too.” Sweet Sally was the first one to look at Pookie and she told mother that his gums looked light pink when he first came in but have gotten pinker since he sat down. When mother looked Pookie over, she noticed the same thing “His gums get pale when he stands up, but pink up again when he lies down. He also seems tender in his belly. Let's run a few tests.” she said.


Pookie got the black and white pictures taken and some of his red syrup removed. When the testing was all done, mother wheeled the stool into the room with Pookie's parents, which I have learned is never a good thing. “Pookie is anemic” she reported “which means he's losing blood. And on the x-rays there seems to be fluid in his belly, and what looks like a mass on his spleen. We need to get a sample of the fluid. If it turns out to be blood then it means his spleen has ruptured, and he'll need emergency surgery to survive.” Pookie's parents nodded their consent and mother returned shortly with a syringe taken from Pookie's belly that was filled with red syrup. “So the fluid in his belly is blood. This means that he likely has a tumor on his spleen that has broken open and is bleeding. He'll need to have his spleen removed to survive. The other thing you need to know is that these are very aggressive tumors and have almost always spread by the time this happens. Even with surgery today, this tumor will likely recur within 6 – 12 months.” Pookie's parents spent some time in the room alone; water coming from their eyes. Pookie's mom poked her head out a few minutes later and said, “we're just not ready to say good-bye today. This is happening too quickly. Please go ahead with the surgery.” So the team went to work; a pinch in the back, a tube in the arm, fluids running and soon Pookie was asleep, upside down getting his belly shaved. Next was mother's turn in the no-awake-dogs-allowed room. The smell of red syrup started to fill the air and about an hour later, Pookie was getting placed back into one of the empty apartments. Another hour later and Pookie was standing up looking for his parents. They got instructions to take him to the overnight clinic for 'observation'. “Thank you so much for giving Pookie a second chance” they said as they carried him out the door. By that time I was too tired to even bark a farewell, but was glad to know that I didn't have to say good-bye.
 
Mother posted some pictures of Pookie's spleen below. Don't look if you get squeamish.

The thin part is the normal part.