​My Leo

I am afraid to write this.  The story I want to write has unfolded, but Leo’s condition is not yet determined.
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We took the puppies to the vet a couple of weeks ago, for general check-ups and immunisations.  Leo had accumulated a few little things to be looked at: a lump under his bottom jaw (maybe to do with that bone that got stuck there a week before, poor thing), and a blister like nick on his foot.  It made him limp quite badly, maybe a bug sting, we thought.

By the time we got to the vet the limp was gone.  All’s ok, I thought.  The vet disagreed.  He was worried.  Turns out Leo’s toe was swollen and his gland was very large.  He put Leo on an aggressive dose of antibiotics, for all his various symptoms.  ‘If he is not completely better by the end of it, bring him back!’ He said.

At the end of the 10-day treatment Leo was fed up.  He ran away when I tried to give him the last pill, little bugger.  The lump in the jaw was mainly unchanged (depending on who you ask), the leg was improved, but not completely.

‘I wonder if it is as bad as that’, I said to Ben.  ‘Maybe we should get a second opinion’. 
While contemplating our options, I called the vet.   We booked an appointment for Leo early this coming week, for overall X-rays and ultrasounds under general anaesthetic.  ‘What are you thinking?’  I asked him.  ‘It could be a Melanoma.  If he is miraculously symptom free by Monday, call us and cancel’, he answered.

I got off the phone in a hurry.  I had a bunch of tradies due to arrive any minute.  The tree guys were already late.  The plumber arrived on time.  He was booked by the tank people, not me, arriving to quote a tank replacement reconnection.  The puppies were barking furiously as we inspected the site.  John, the plumber, looked at them and said: ‘We just lost our dog’.  I looked at him in horror and started tearing up.  Embarrassed, I explained that Leo may not be ok, we are testing, not sure yet.  And that’s 1.

‘What did he die of?’ I asked.  ‘Cancer’, john replied.  But we were miss-diagnosed twice.  ‘It took us 3 vets to get a proper diagnosis’.  By now we are both tearing up.  ‘The first two vets had no idea’, john continued.  ‘They kept giving us one wrong diagnosis after another.  All big stuff such as kidney failure, possible cancer.  It’s not like they said he had a splinter in his paw, each diagnosis was a shock’.  My eyes widened: ‘That’s why Leo is going in!  But it’s not trivial, apparently’.  And that’s 2.

John continued: ‘By the time we got him to the third vet he was thin and very tired.  The vet tried to fatten him up but it was too late.  He ran all the tests on him, X-rays, ultrasounds.  Turned out he had lung cancer, and in other parts of his body too.  There was nothing left to do but live out the bucket list with our boy before the end; lots of time together, beach trips, spoil him as much as we could’.  By now the tree people arrived, late.  The puppies were going crazy.  I asked them to wait, drying my eyes.  It was positively comic, the tree guys probably wondering what on earth was going on. 

Then John said: ‘The South African guy, in Southern Highlands Vet centre, he’s good’.  ‘You mean Chris?’ I asked.  ‘Yes, that’s him, Chris.  He’s a good vet.  He was the third vet that finally got it right’.  I stared at him in disbelief.  ‘I got off the phone with Chris just now.  He’s the one who will be testing Leo on Tuesday!’  Alright, Universe, you’ve got my attention.  And that’s 3.

I barely asked John any questions.  I didn’t tell him about Leo.  He just kept volunteering all this information.  The message was clear: Take Leo in on Tuesday.  Don’t mess around with this.  And forget about a second opinion, stick with Chris.

After everyone had left, I rushed to do some shopping in whatever time was left of the day.  Teary and distracted I kept forgetting things.  Leo, you’d better come good, we need you with us, you beautiful soul! 
 
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Over the weekend Leo developed an ear infection, he was sore and irritated.  By Monday I had Dave calling me to tell me he had to put his cat down, due to cancer.  Omg, where is this going?  All this doom and gloom.  Maybe this story will turn out to be another diamond?  Maybe.
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(The Diamond post was due three posts ago, will post it soon).