I've been so focused on my book for the past year or more that I can't even remember the last time I posted an Ella update here to the blog. I find that unconscionable, so I'm here to remedy that.
First off, Ella is doing just fine, despite the fact that she had surgery last month, the second time this year. Like many wheaten terriers, Ella is prone to developing big sebaceous cysts, which for the most part we have left alone. They're mostly only a problem if they start to grow. In that case they can cause intense discomfort, or they can even burst and get infected.
Normally we've handled Ella's cysts by having them drained with a needle when they get too big, but in February we finally had to send her under the knife for the first time to have four of them removed. One had burst, another was getting bigger, and we figured we would just take as many off as possible as long as she was under anesthesia anyway.
This is considered minor surgery, but it's still nerve-wracking, especially because of the anesthesia. But Ella came through the first surgery fine, which made us a little less wary about doing it again last month.
Ella turned twelve on October 7. Two weeks later, she had one sebaceous cyst removed from her back, one fatty cyst removed from her armpit, and two adenomas (glanular tumors) removed from near her rump. The adenomas were tested and were benign.
Ella recovered just fine from this surgery, too, though she had to wear this blue jumper for the next two and half weeks to keep her from chewing at her stitches. (She doesn't do very well with a cone because she can't go up and down the stairs in our house with it on.) The jumper has a butt-flap that has to stay fastened while she's in the house. The worst thing is when you forget to undo the flap before letting her outside. And by "you" I mean "I."
On November 5, Ella got her badass stitches out, but even before that she was as bouncy and energetic as ever, as you can see in the first video below. The second video was taken not long after the stitches came out. The third video is just one I like from earlier this year.
Can you believe this is a twelve-year-old dog?
Crossposted from Inhuman Swill
