Growth on my dog's hind leg.

[Galeann]

This is a growth on my labrador's left hind leg. It grew about an inch and half and then stopped for over a year. It didn't seem to bother her. I assumed it was just a fatty tumor. For a few months now, it has been changing, growing extra little bumps on the lower edges. She licks it frequently. Does anyone know how serious this might be? Ethel is about 9 years old. I cannot afford a large vet bill. We have had to do an extensive mold remediation in our crawl space and in our house. We are in $50,000 worth of debt because of this remediation and we're not done yet. Ethel runs around our property like normal. I have thought about calling into the vet to make an appointment to show pictures through the door window so there is a barrier. Advice welcome.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Anytime a tumor forms, and then changes, there is of course a concern.

I totally get the inability to afford vet visit. (We just ended up having to replace almost every inch of our sewer to the tune of $25,000).

I recommend you take a photo and send it to your vet via email. They can give you their thoughts, which may be they won't commit to anything without visual inspection and a vet visit.

The general rule of thumb is if the tumor moves freely under the skin, it is likely fatty and benign. If however it is fixed, it usually means it has a blood source and is cancerous. The fact that it is changing and bothering her indicates something is amiss. Fatty tumors generally don't do that.

Sometimes tough decisions have to be made on behalf of our pets, and it will reflect your philosophy of pet keeping. I personally do not value the life of my pets, and the expenses incurred, more than the life of my children or husband, and the financial needs of the family. So I am not willing to go into great debt on their behalf. I am an old farm girl who knows when it is time to say goodbye and put an animal down when need be.

So, you can wait and do nothing, knowing that it may be cancerous and can metastasize into the lymphs, lungs, liver, etc., meaning you will be shortening the animal's life....Or you can see if it can be excised now. Sometimes the outcome is little different if it has spread, except you now have a $1000 vet bill.

I'm sorry it's a tough choice, but see if you can't at least get a cheap vet assessment, then you can make a long term decision.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[Galeann]

Thanks much for the education and advice.

 

[Galeann]

I just realized that the picture of my dog's leg had not loaded. What do you think? I will make a call to a vet to see if I can get a guarded evaluation before wrangling 90 pound Ethel to the vet.

 

[em_dawson]

Yeah, that's not normal at all. Is it an open wound??

 

[Lady of McCamley]

I agree. That's nasty looking. Send photo and call vet.

 

[Galeann]

Yeah, that's not normal at all. Is it an open wound??

It is not an open wound. The pink area looks like pink raw skin probably because she has licking at it.

 

[LaFleche]

How is your dog doing and what did the vet say?