"There's nothing wrong with me a couple of treats won't fix."

It's been three weeks since Vida's surgery. Check it out. If you look really close, you can just about make out the path of the scar. Except where the hair is growing over it. Yep, it's already receding into the forest of fur that's coming back (the brindle pattern helps camouflage it too, hehe).

It's called a Nerve Sheath Tumor

We have a name for it now, the blob that Vida just got off her leg. It was a Nerve Sheath Tumor. It looks like the margins were good, and while there's a chance it could come back I'm not too worried (good news about this type is that it doesn't spread). Not unconcerned enough to stop the extra immune supplements and care, but it was immediately clear after the surgery that her energy was clear now.

Post-Surgical Energy Seachange

Within two days of removing the growth on her leg the change in Vida's energy has been profound. Her energetic body has been released from a burden. 

Bubble Removal Complete

Vida's had a "bubble" growing on a rear leg for two years now. I didn't worry about it because it seemed like a lipoma (a fatty growth, usually benign), it didn't bother her, and with her mouth we had a much more serious issue to take care of. In fact, I think most of the vet notes didn't even mention in. Lipomas have become so common that they are considered normal in old dogs - even though Vida isn't old yet. 

No one has an official explanation for them, but I think they're the body's way of compartmentalizing bad stuff (how do you like that for scientific). For instance, Vida's first started when she was given a phlegm clearing herbal blend ("Max's Formula") two years ago. It was as if the body was asked to move the phlegm, and not being able to get it out of the body, set up a spot to store it. 

If given a choice, what would your dog choose?

Yesterday morning we closed up our New Hampshire cabin and started the drive back to San Diego.

While my mom and I were busy with all of this, Vida didn't hover, or sunbathe. She spent nearly two hours disappearing into the woods. She'd reappear occasionally (sometimes when asked, sometimes on her own), checking in before diving back into the forest. Her brindle coloring really does make her disappear; I'd never see her at all if it weren't for her white collar and tail tip. She slides in to her woodland role even better because her tags are held in a neoprene packet that silences them.

She'd come back with her eyes bright and shiny, her mouth open and tongue red, panting slightly. But she wasn't panting from exertion as much as from excitement. While I'm sure that her adventuring was a good way for her to deal with the stress of our preparations, it felt like she was excitedly drinking in as much scent as possible so it would last her until we returned next year. It was as if she were trying to commit the geography of smells to memory so she could remember them later and access them in her dreams.

La Vida Not So Fresca

Brace yourself.....

Vida's eating dry food.

Not 100% dry, but I finally came to the end of my rope shopping for reliable raw food.