jto_MSU

Great news! Pathology results are in and it's an inclusion cyst - so, non-malignant and all we have to do is watch it to be sure it doesn't get bigger or get infected, so no surgery! I am so, so, so relieved. Thank you everyone for your good thoughts and insights!

I used my blood donation contacts at MSU and got him in today. They did a needle aspiration and looked under the microscope. The vet we had said that it wasn't scary looking, but it wasn't normal either. She didn't see inflammation, so I think she was gently leading me away from thinking it was a hematoma? They are sending the sample to pathology for more testing. She kind of mentioned mast cell tumor, but that they wouldn't know more until pathology was done with it. So, nothing terrible yet, but nothing overly reassuring either. Still feeling anxious.

So sorry to hear this news. Hugs to you and Kasey!

Well, it looks like we'll be waiting to get in with my regular vet until Friday unless it gets worse - I would have had to wait until June 9 to get in to MSU. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that it's a contusion - I don't know of any specific injury, but he's pretty clumsy so it wouldn't surprise me if he did bump something while playing with our other dog or running in the door or something. He pretty much charges his way through anything- especially if he's trying to beat Oscar to something. Thanks again for your input.

Thanks everyone! I'm really hoping it's nothing. I'll update after our visit with the vet. I can't believe our boy is already 7, the past 4 years have just flown by.

No pain that I can tell and he's typically a yelper when something bothers him.

It feels solid but not hard like bone, so maybe slightly mushy? It doesn't move, so fixed to that spot. I can't lift it away from his body.

No, he stays right around the same weight (66 lbs). He's been eating well and just had his annual appointment in March. It's not the same on the other side. It also doesn't feel bonelike. My searches suggested maybe a floating rib, though it doesn't feel like the ribs right before it and I've never noticed anything like it before.

It's mainly the one bigger one in the picture and with feeling around couldn't tell if there might be a smaller one near it, the certain one is the one protruding. We'll be trying to get in tomorrow to find out more.

My guy Joker is turning 7 in 4 days and out of nowhere, on Saturday, I noticed that he has at least one lump on his right side just past where you can feel ribs. It feels firm but not rock hard and it doesn't seem to bother him much when I touch it. It doesn't move from the location when feeling around. I already called the emergency department at the MSU teaching hospital where we normally go for any issues related to him and they said unless he starts acting off, that I can just schedule an appointment with the appropriate doctor on Tuesday, so I will be doing that first thing tomorrow. I haven't been able to find too many examples of lumps of this type and I wasn't sure if there are specific things that I should be sure to mention related to greyhounds or tests that I should be sure to get? I'm really dreading this and am hoping for no major surgery as he had a very difficult recovery from a cut that had to be explored last year (he was extremely anxious and upset for about a week after the surgery). Trying to stay positive that it's something benign. Any experiences? I have some pictures of it, I'm just not sure how to post them. Sorry if they don't show up. Edited to try to get pictures to work.

That definitely looks like it could be the case. His discharge papers say they suspect a soft tissue injury to the biceps femoris/semitendinosus muscles.

They checked his pads and toes and he yelped when they extended his hip and touched the muscle on the rear of his leg (right rear leg). This was the leg that he was not putting weight on. He did not yelp when they did the same things to the other side, so I think it probably was a muscle-related. We'll know for sure if it gets better with rest. Just so relieved that there wasn't any bone related issues.

Just got back and settled in. They did x-rays and did not find any bone-related issues (thank goodness!!). Based on their exam and the lack of anything on the x-ray, they believe it's some type of soft tissue injury to his muscle. He received Rimadyl, tramadol and strict rest for 8 weeks. It's going to be a tough time for a guy who loves to zoom around the yard and hates doing business on a leash! I'm so thankful it wasn't worse! Sorry for the delay in posting, we're juggling an almost one-year old human child too =) Thanks again for the advice!!!

Thank you so much for your responses, we'll be heading to MSU this afternoon. I'm really hoping that we're not facing osteo- he's so young.

Hello! I haven't been to the forum much, but I have a health medical question that I would like to get peoples' thoughts on before heading to the vet. Joker (Imperial Naples) is almost 5 and he's had a slight limp the last week, but was still running around the yard and not complaining. My husband called me today to say that he was whining and limping much more pronounced and when he felt along the offending leg, it seemed like he had a pain in the rear haunch muscle as he whined when he touched it. Is this a typical injury? What should I expect for treatment? We have a local vet that we trust to administer vaccines and such, but I also live near MSU Vet Teaching Hospital where he donates blood, should I just head there or is this something that the local vet can handle? It doesn't seem like he's in constant pain, but it's something that is now impacting his ability to get around and needs to be addressed. Thanks for any insight!

That's great! We have a Jack Russell mix, Oscar, who recently started reacting to one dog in our neighborhood - I think I'll try what you did to see if I can make it work for him too. I think if I can get Oscar to behave, Joker will too since he pretty much just reacts to whatever Oscar is reacting to. Thanks for sharing!!

Thanks everyone!! Honestly, we don't really know exactly what Oscar is. We adopted him from a county shelter in South Florida and were told that he was 3 year-old JRT mix. He's 26 lbs, so he's definitely mixed with something bigger and we think a little more laid back. He's very terrier when it comes to prey drive, digging, and ability to jump very high and climb trees, but he's not a big barker and, aside from some a couple of energy bursts each day, enjoys lounging on the couch if he's not looking out the window.

I posted an introduction a few months ago and we've now Joker (Imperial Naples) has officially become a member of our family!!! We decided to foster first in order to make sure that our next family member got along with Oscar (JR mix). We had walked Joker a few times at meet and greets and DH seemed to really like him- mind you, we were still thinking that a female would probably be the best fit in the long run with Oscar. The first day that Joker stayed with us, Oscar did pretty well- though after a few hours, he realized he wasn't leaving. After a day of a little resource guarding and a small nip, they had worked it out and have been great buds ever since. I don't think Joker got the "laid-back" greyhound memo, but it's worked out great for Oscar. They do zoomies all over the house together, play tug, and "bitey-face" all the time. In fact, Oscar gets tired and Joker just barks and play bows at him till he'll play again. We quickly knew that we didn't need to look any further, we had found Oscar's new buddy. Anyway, we're all thrilled it's official! And without further ado, here are the requisite photos!!

Thanks everyone! It's been great to meet all of the groups and learn about the breed! We're thinking we may foster for a bit to see how it goes with Oscar + 1, but I'm sure it won't be long until we have at least one more permanent family member =) My husband wasn't able to go to the past meet and greets, so he'll be joining me at the next one and then hopefully we'll be able to submit an application to a group soon. All of the groups all been so great, it's going to be tough to figure out which one! Thanks again! Hopefully I'll be able to share some greyhound pictures soon! Here's one of Oscar- not a grey, but we love him.

Thanks everyone! Kolarik1 - both! I received 2 degrees from MSU and am now lucky enough to work there after living in S. FL for 3 years (we LOVE being back). K9Cookies and OwnedBySummer - I've gotten some excellent information from people at GEM- I went to their meet & greet last Saturday. I just figured it would be great to meet some Lansing-area greyhound people too. mcsheltie - I'm planning on going tomorrow, so hopefully I will meet you there! Do you know if it will be ok if I bring Oscar or do you know for sure there will be greys there that are not so fond of smaller dogs? He's close to 30lbs, so he's not exactly a small dog, but obviously not quite as big as a greyhound. He did really well with them the last couple of weeks- we just wait to approach until we know who may not want to meet him =) If you think it would be a problem though, he can stay at home.

Hi! I've been lurking around this forum for the past few days, so I figured I would take this opportunity to introduce myself! We haven't yet added a grey to our family, but are looking to do it soon! Oscar (our rescued JRT mix) and I been to a couple of meet and greets on the East side of MI and met some really great people, but will also be going to some more in the next few weeks. My husband is taking the bar very soon, so any major life changes will have to take place after that =) We're in the Lansing area, so I was also hoping to find out about any local adoption groups/ resources. My searches seem to put most of the groups on the East and West sides of MI- though I am planning on attending a G.R.A.C.E. meet and greet this weekend closer to home. At this point I am trying to learn as much as possible- I've read the Cynthia Branigan and Lee Livingood books and now am just trying to get as much personal insight from people owned by greys as possible! Thanks in advance!