Today, Ray and I brought Jolie to the vet for her annual check up. Belle went for hers last week and did pretty well. The doctor was actually happy with her weight. She went from having to lose 20 lbs last year to only having to lose 7 lbs now.

I was a little worried about Jolie's visit. It is not that she has been crying because of pain or seemed at all sick, but she has developed a couple of growths. One is on the crown of her head, one is on the side, and a third is on one of her back hips.

One of the ladies I work with helped me look it up in our pet books. I felt a little better about them because dogs get growths that are abnormal but not necessarily dangerous. This is how I was able to give advice to Fredo about the one he found in Buffy's mouth. I had just been researching it. The good news is that based on the descriptions, these fall into the category of not being something to worry about. Of course, as Martin is always happy to point out, nothing really stops me from worrying.

The vet took a need and pulled out some of the cysts to send for testing. Overall, she said they seemed to look OK initially. With that said, the one on her head was not clear, but kinda brownish and clumpy. In either case, they were goign to send the samples out for further testing.

Basically, they are hoping to rule out cancer, which is uncommon in dogs as young as Jolie. The little memere is only 3 1/2. It is better to be safe and have it checked out. We should get the results back in about a week, when the doctor will call.

We will have the choice about whether we want to remove the cysts, but it might be a good idea even if it is not cancer because they will just grow again. The good news is that the doctor was very positive about it.

Jolie seems pretty unphased about the whole thing, though. She actually passed her physical with flying colors!