Tucker's Surgery

A friend of mine once told me that while you may have many dogs in your lifetime that you love very much, you are rarely granted more than one "heart" dog. I thought she was crazy about that, until Tucker came into my life.

We adopted Tucker in April 2008. He was rescued from a puppy mill that was raided and he was covered in fleas and matted fur, which had to be shaved completely down. He also had two large infected gashes on his hips from rusty wires in his cage. He was 14 months old and because he hadn't had a whole lot of human interaction, I expected him to be shy and fearful. Boy was I wrong! He came bouncing into our house and made fast friends with our other dogs and has been the happiest little guy ever since.

In September 2008 I experienced my first taste of what  chronic fatigue syndrome would be like. Shortly after that I experienced my first pains of fibromyalgia. For the next year and a half I was bedrest while doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with me. During those darkest hard days Tucker never left my side, not even to eat. He still is that way to this day. He can tell when I'm having a good day, or a bad day, or a very very bad day. On those are very bad days he sticks to me like glue. He will lay with his head on my pillow right next to me with his paw on my shoulder, or his head is on my shoulder. When I cry he will try to lick away my tears. Since Jay has to work so much, I really feel blessed to have Tucker there to help me not feel so lonely.

Unfortunately due to his early life, his body was not allowed to grow and develop as strong as it should have. He has many problems with his back and hips and neck, and has to had to be in a vet specialty hospital overnight a few times when his pain gets so bad and the spasms won't stop.

Now it is again my turn to take care of Tucker with the same care that he takes care of me. He had to have surgery yesterday on his leg to remove a growth. He has had other growths and "old man warts", and our vet has never been concerned about any of them. This growth however is different. The vet called this growth both suspicious and concerning. 

                                       

We will hopefully find out the results as to whether his growth is cancerous or not by Friday. Until then I will cuddle him and keep him company just as my "heart dog" does for me.