Aaaww, Poor Cocoa!

Poor Cocoa, our almost-13-year-old Cocker Spaniel! He started bleeding from a mass near his tail, probably a few days ago. We noticed some blood spots on the floor (thank goodness for our new tile), but were unable to see a source for it. I thought maybe one of the dogs had a paw injury, but couldn't find anything. Then yesterday I realized that it was definitely from Cocoa, that wherever he sat there was a smear of blood. I started looking closer, and found what looked like a mass right under his tail.

So, we took a trip to the vet this morning, and discussed options for treatment. We had decided to go ahead and have surgery on Monday to remove the mass and have it biopsied. Once we got results from that, we could decide about whether to pursue treatment options beyond that. While we were waiting for the doctor to come back and give us some more information, all of a sudden Cocoa started really bleeding a LOT, just dripping blood all over the floor. So that changed things. Now it had become more of an emergent situation and surgery had to be done today. The only good thing about this was that we were still in the vet's office when this happened; it could have been worse.

So, he had the surgery, and I picked him up a couple hours ago, the poor little thing. He needs to be kept away from our other dog, and he has to wear an "elizabethan collar" to keep him from licking the wound. So we've enclosed him in a little bathroom area off the kitchen, gave him a blanket and his food in there, and are hoping for the best. He is VERY upset, to say the least. Anyone who knows him is aware that he can be extremely vocal about his feelings!

You can see why the collar is difficult. We've never had to do this before, so I'm not sure if there's any way to make it easier. Right now, I don't see one.

He's having a hard time figuring out how to maneuver with it, especially being able to eat and drink. He can manage it, but he has to get the collar positioned just right in order to do it. And now it seems I have another part-time job (as if I needed one), just taking care of his medical needs for the next couple of weeks. Pain pills, stool softener, and antibiotics twice a day, surgical wound care twice a day and as needed, as well as an ointment for his red and irritated eye. I figure I'll be getting up 30 minutes early every day, just in order to get this new routine completed before I go to work!

Here's all the stuff we came home with. Yikes--he has almost as many meds as Jessica! As bad as this seems, I'm reminding myself that it is only temporary, maybe 10 days or so, and if the mass is not malignant he has a good chance to continue on his merry little doggy way for maybe another couple of years. If we don't get a good report from the biopsy, well, it will only have been a few more days, and I guess he deserves that.

UPDATE 11/29:

(Once again, I don't know how or why this is in blue; I can't seem to figure out how to turn it off.)

Well, less than 24 hours into it, I had to take the collar off. Cocoa was going to lose what sanity he has left; he was going absolutely crazy. He was wailing so much that he was getting hoarse, and whipping his head around so much trying to get it off that he probably would do more damage that way. So I took off the collar this morning and he has been very good, doesn't even seem to notice the wound on his behind, hasn't tried to lick it or rub it at all so far. So, so far so good... Now we just wait for biopsy results.