say a prayer for my "bulldog" for the day!

My beloved Penny, 13 year old black lab, is having surgery today at the veterinarian school at MS State. Although we are through and through Rebels (me and penny), we are extremely grateful to have a qualified facility like this to go to on our family vets' recommendation.

Several months ago, we noticed a mass on her neck that continued to grow. Our family vet did a fine needle aspirate and an incisional biopsy which both came back inconclusive. Last week we had our first visit at State where they did a CT scan (among other tests) which revealed that the tumor is not only huge but is tangled between both the jugular vein and carotid artery....those who know anything about medicine/anatomy understand that this location is very dangerous considering one wrong snip and she could bleed out. Initially, it didn't seem that the risks out-weighed the benefits, but the tumor is still growing and pressing on her esophagus and trachea, and they highly presume it to be cancerous so we decided in her best interest to attempt surgery.

A sweet greyhound dog is on stand-by to offer blood if she needs a transfusion. And a team of 5-6 surgeons are working on her (only one student which I'm thankful for but understand that this is how they learn to be the best in their field).

I'm sure some of you know people (or may even by thinking yourself).....do you realize that she is only a "DOG"....well, no, not really!! To me-Penny has been my best friend since I graduated high school. She has gone to Ole Miss with me and then was our class mascot in dental hygiene school. She has been my therapists, my shoulder to lean on, and my diary and secret keeper for over 11 years now. To me, she is not just a dog....she is my first baby!!

I am now awaiting a phone call on her progress. If the surgery is successful, she will stay at the vet hospital for a couple of days and then we will go from there.

Please say a quick prayer for my sweet "bulldog" and also for myself.....I thought I was doing much better with this than I am! I will keep you posted!