The Service Dog is Having Surgery

Isaac is having surgery tomorrow.  It's a very minor surgical procedure.  He has a mole on his tail and is having it removed.

I discovered the mole about a month ago.  It is on the underside of his tail, near the base.  He was on his back, enjoying a good belly rub, when I spotted it.  At first glance, I thought it was a tick.  That's what it looks like.  It is the size and shape and color of a tick.  And I thought, how on earth did he get a tick in the middle of winter?

Then I looked closer and realized it was not a tick but some sort of growth on the skin.  Like a mole.

So I made an appointment to have the vet check it out. 

It is indeed a mole.  Probably nothing serious, but the vet said the dark color was a bit concerning.  He said we could wait and watch it a while, or he could freeze it off, or he could surgically remove it.  He recommended surgically removing it, because then we could get pathology on it.  Even if it is a melanoma or something like that, it should be easy to remove the whole thing surgically.  The prognosis would be good.

And it will be a minor surgical procedure. He will have a few stitches and have to keep his tail clean and dry until they come out (so no rolling in poop for a week or so) but should recovery quickly and should not have too much discomfort.

I'm not worried about the results of the pathology.  I wasn't worried about anything until today, when I started worrying about the procedure itself and the anesthesia.  He's been under anesthesia before, when he was neutered and again when he had a tooth pulled.  But there is always a risk, with anesthesia.  A small risk, but still a risk.

I think it's going to be hard to sleep tonight.  I'm sure he'll be fine.  But I still think it's going to be hard to sleep tonight.