Our dear Lila Bean looks like a completely different dog from the one we rescued weeks ago.  She has gone from a homeless dog dragging a massive infected tumor and a ruptured abscess over her hip to this beauty.  I look at her original pictures and look at her today and find it hard to believe this is the same dog.

Lila Bean has been gentle and sweet from day one.   No one wanting to help her is still a mystery because she does not have a mean bone in her body.  Seeing a dog with a massive growth melts my heart for the pain and suffering the dog has endured.  Lila Bean lived with someone for years while the mass grew.   To abandon her in this condition is inhumane.  

I waited to post while she was recovering in hopes I would have her biopsy reports.   Lila Bean's histopathology results came back, and the good news is the mammary gland mass was BENIGN!  There is no evidence of cancer in any lymph nodes (either via pathology or flow cytometry). However, the wound over her left hip came back a subcutaneous mast cell tumor with a 2-12% risk of recurrence and a 7% chance of recurrence chance of metastasis. 

Dr. Rissetto and I discussed the best plan going forward and decided not to do chemotherapy at this time.  We are going to watch and make sure she does not have any recurrence in the initial area.  If she does get another mast cell in that area, we will go back and do more surgery with wider margins.  We will also be doing chest x-rays to ensure she does not have any metastasis in her lungs.

The area we thought would be cancerous and the area that was not a concern turned out to be the biggest problem.  Life is not hopeless because a dog has a mass.  Do a simple punch biopsy before putting an animal down.  The worst part was someone not taking care of the growth before it got so big.  Lila Bean's growth turned out to be primarily infected fluid.

If my home were not full of dogs, I would bring this special girl home with me.  All Lila Bean wants to do is follow you around, sleep at your feet, and give kisses.  She is delightful in every way.  She has not shown any aggression toward our other dogs and walks with dogs without any issues.  She has not been allowed to play since she is still healing from her surgeries, but I do not foresee any problems.

We have some fantastic dogs needing great homes. Please reach out to us if you are looking for a new member of the Family to shower with love and affection.   I am not aware of any other organization that supplies all the medical care to get the animal well before entering a new home.  Each animal is thoroughly evaluated before being adopted to make sure we have the right dog with the right Family.  If for any reason, the match does not work out, we take our dogs back.  

We never want to set a Dog or Family up for failure, which is why we are so particular about our adoptions. We will work with you to find the best match, and if a match cannot be found, we will let you know why.  Safety for our animals and the Families they go to is our top priority.

We are still taking donations for Lila's Surgery and ER Visit.  Any donation would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks for caring about Lila Bean and all the other great dogs you have helped us Rescue.  Your Love and Support are greatly appreciated and needed now more than ever.  Have a very blessed weekend.