BALTIMORE, MD......Beautiful 5 year old Neapolitan Mastiff Mix was picked up as a stray by a Good-Samaritan that saw her walking down the road on her way to work. She was immediately taken to BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter). We were contacted and immediately put someone on the road to pick her up the following morning. She went to an ER facility for the night to be closely monitored. We had our Surgeons and Specialists all on call for when this incredible dog arrived. Bubbles is the most magnificent dog. How she has remained sweet and loving with this massive growth is beyond me. When we first received her, we did extensive tests and scans to get a better idea of what we were dealing with. Today, we did cat scans and took a biopsy so we could determine what Bubbles had growing on her face. What we did discover is that the growth is coming from her Zygomatic Arch which is her cheekbone. There are different forms of tumors that form on bone but hers is a little different for it to be an MLO (multilobular osteochondrosarcoma). We have also discovered small areas on her lungs that could show that it has spread. The mass is full of blood in the core from areas that have been bleeding. The mass has bone as part of it and has a lot of inflamed tissue. The mass has taken over her left eye and has shifted it out of it's socket which we could see from her cat scan. We do not know what the condition of the eye is but it does appear to be intact but displaced. We have to wait for the biopsy to come back before we can proceed. Once we get the type of cancer we are dealing with, we can then determine the best course of action. Whatever it is, we will deal with it. We will either have a tumor that we can shrink with radiation and can then do surgery or we are dealing with a tumor that we cannot shrink and the tumor will have to be removed as it is now. Any surgery is going to be very complicated. The mass is very vascular and there will be excessive blood loss. Bubbles is anemic right now because of the tumor but not enough to merit us doing a blood transfusion at this time. This a very young dog. We do not know if the tumor has been growing since she was young or if it grew to this size over the last couple of months. Knowing the kind of tumor will tell us how long. The fact someone abandoned her in this condition is INHUMANE and TRAGIC. I am so glad we have her. Sweet Bubbles uses the tumor like it is a pillow she props her head on to sleep. The tumor is massive and hurts. It is very swollen, irritated and red. The slit that you see in the picture is not from it rupturing but is the slit of her left eye. We are just at the beginning stages of taking care of Bubbles. Once we know what we are dealing with, we will then determine the best Hospital and Surgical Oncologist for this sweet dog. Where she is now will probably not be where she will remain. There are only a few places in the Country that have the type of Nuclear Radiation that she will probably need. It will take 4-5 days for us to get her biopsy back. She is stable and being closely monitored in an ER Facility. There is no use in anyone sending us a ton of e-mails with questions. What we know is in this e-mail. Once we get more information, we will post it. Please, be patient. We have a Team of Doctors, Oncologist and Surgeons from all over the Country that we are consulting with. All you need to know right now is that we will do everything possible to save her and give her the best quality of Life. She is a happy girl that loves everyone. We need to get some food into her since she came in very underweight. We are taking baby steps with our sweet girl to make sure her quality of Life is always the best it can be. She is the most courageous girl that has gone about living her Life and loving everyone. We love her and so admire her courage. No animal deserves this. She should have been given proper medical care when this started to grow. She has made the best of a terrible situation. Whatever she needs, she will now get. Her Life isn't over, it just got better. We will be with her every step of the way and will not do anything until we get the answers we must have to make the best decision. Please, keep Bubbles in your Prayers.
