Cancer

We found out today that the inflamed lymph node removed from Gizmo last week was inflamed because it is cancerous.


Moe's been cuddling with me since I got home and Alan told me the vet's news, but it's not because he doesn't feel well. He's acted completely normal since we first found the lump two weeks ago. Tonight he can just tell his momma is sad.
When Alan proposed to me almost three years ago, he handed me a tiny pug with a blue tag on his collar that read "Gizmo."
"Gizmo, this is your momma," Alan said.
Moe has been my shadow ever since.
So, now we need to figure out how to get Gizmo well, even though he doesn't know he is sick.
He has a mast cell cancer, which is one of the most common cancers in dogs. There's some easy to understand information about it here.
Although it's a well-documented condition, it's also a very tricky cancer because it acts like other conditions. In Moe's case, we think his allergies are a manifestation of the cancer.
But Moe's condition isn't even following any of the patterns "usual" for mast cell cancer. The vet found it in a lymph node, but the pathology report says that the cancer spread there. That means it began somewhere else. And we don't yet know where.
So, we don't really even know the extent of it yet. It is serious, but how serious?
Our vet is sending us to a canine oncologist in Houston. We'll probably get an appointment next week. There, Gizmo will have an ultrasound that will hopefully locate the origin of the tumor. Then we'll know what to do next.

The Moe - my hero

My little Gizmo loves his mama, and he won't let a lake get in between us!
I'd taken my bro-in-law's girlfriend, who is scared of the water, out on the Sea Doo. Kyle is a big party pooper and wouldn't go out, but we came back by the dock so she could beg him one more time. On the dock, my mom-in-law, Terri, was holding Max the Maltese (the girlfriend's baby) while the pugs kept and eye on me. Both were displeased I was not within reach, but moe couldn't stand it. He grouched and wiggled and finally decided he was coming to get me.
Splash!
After a heart-pounding second, he came back up and started paddling. I hopped off the Sea Doo (I'd killed the engine to talk to Kyle and Terri) and met Moe half way. He did scare me, but it was a sweet gesture!

Alan and Moe chill in the pool. Alan's doing this (dumb) thing with his facial hair. He's wanted to have chops "all his life," so I'm putting up with it for a little while.

We got to spend four days at the lake mansion (Alan's uncle's) with Alan's parents, brother and brother's girlfriend. It has a pool, hot tub, boat dock, boat, sea doos, and all kinds of toys to hold onto for dear life while being dragged behind a boat.

I looooove jumping wakes on the Sea Doo, but with my bad knees I can't absorb the landing with my legs, so I've got bruises on my backside. Those could also be from my butt imitating a rock skipping on a lake when I busted off the innertube, but who knows.

Alan, Kritter and Gizmo play the chase game - otherwise known as pug run, Alan chase.

Sometimes they let him catch them

Kritter and Max had a grand ol' time, and Moe even tolerated the fuzzball pretty well

Update on Moe

We got the Moe back this afternoon. All went well, we just have to wait 7 to 10 days to find out from the lab what it was. He's groggy and sluggish and I'm doing my duty as a good mom by not budging from the couch so he doesn't have to follow me all over the house.

Surgery for Moe

I have a long post and tons of pics of our weekend at the lake almost done, but I wanted to ask everyone to keep Gizmo in mind this morning.
A week ago we noticed a bulge on his undercarriage and took him to the vet to get it checked out. They took a sample - like a biopsy - and the results came back inconclusive. We were given the option to "wait and see" or have the mass taken out, and we thought it best to remove it. This morning Alan took him in at 7, and we get him back this afternoon. He has been on medication since we found the lump and it shrunk to almost nothing, which the vet said was a very good sign.
But I'm still a bundle of nerves. My little Moe doesn't want anything in life but to be right beside me, and I hate handing him over to anyone and leaving. I was going to go with Alan to take Moe in this morning, but I woke up with a bad headache. I knew I would cry anyway, so I stayed in bed and let Alan be the bad guy. Kritter went too, of course, because you can go out the door with a leash without Kritter fighting tooth and nail to get into the car. Afterward he came right in, jumped on the bed and went back to sleep. So I suppose if he isn't worried, I shouldn't be either!

Don't forget about us

No, this Frenchie isn't mine. But I may have one soon enough! Read below for an update on my Frenchie campaign.
I haven't had much time lately to work on the new template. I confess, I may wuss out and pay a real computer geek to do it for me! But I really want to get it done because I know this page doesn't view well with Internet Explorer, with the post sometimes not showing up and the sidebar dropping to the bottom. Everyone use Firefox! It's better anyway!
The Pug's Report (name doesn't really fit, does it? I don't have the pugs talking in first person. Alan would make so much fun of me if I did, but I think it's cute when people do it like that) will be on a little bit of a hiatus for a week or so while we head out on various little trips. We COULD have gone on an all-expense paid cruise around the Mediterranean with Alan's whole extended family courtesy of Alan's uncle, but dumb Alan just has to attend his first week of medical school. Does that make sense to anyone? Anyway, we're going to have a couple mini vacations. I'll take pics - cause the pugs get to come (of course)!
Alan also had the misfortune of breaking his wrist while playing basketball during the first week of his four-week summer break. Poor boy. He can't do anything he was planning on doing. And poor me, because all he has been doing in bumming around the house leaving messes wherever he goes. I can't keep up! In two weeks he's managed to lock himself out of the house with Moe locked in his truck - break into the house, thus breaking the door - fix the door, leaving a pile of wood shards and various doorknob parts strewn around - fashion a little table for himself beside the couch with the box from my computer, which has collected various wrappers, cups and crumbs - dirty every item in the kitchen multiple times.....it goes on and on. I'm not complaining, just marveling at his acute abilities. We both hope the wrist heals in record time.
Ok, so there's a random update.
Oh - I almost forgot! I've dropped off the "Reasons why we need a female pied French Bulldog" because Alan relented his opposition to the idea after reason four and told me we could begin looking in about a year, which is when we estimate Gizmo will have made enough progress with his new-person/dog phobia to be able to handle it. Hooray!!!