The lump was about the size of a marble.  She had rolled on her back for her usual belly rub; a sign of her utter trust, security and happiness. There among the curly tufts, the hard, round lump reared its ugly head on her sternum.  My husband and I looked at each other and without a word, we knew that we were both thinking of Max.

He had been the same age as Amber is now when our groomer discovered the lump on his paw and once the lump was removed, it was not over.  When it was determined to be cancer, there was chemotherapy, more surgery and after effects.  Even though Max never acted like he had a bad day in his life, this was the beginning of a gradual decline over which we had no control.

Amber resting after surgery

I took Amber to the vet the next day and the day after she underwent surgery. We won’t know the results of the pathology report for 5 days and since there’s a holiday weekend in there, we probably won’t know for more than week.   The wait is hard, but the lump is gone from her chest.  Now it’s in my throat.

It makes me sick to think that there is some creep out there who is placing strychnine-laced hamburger along the canal where owners frequently walk their dogs.   These attacks started last November and several dogs have been seriously sickened and at least, one has died.  As much as I really hope they catch this sicko, it is also a cautionary tale of why owners need to keep their dogs on a leash and to work with them to only eat something on the ground when told it’s okay.  I know getting dogs to only eat on command takes a lot of wok, but with what’s going on here, we pet parents/owners really need to take the lead.  According to a recent article in the Arizona Republic, if you have any information regarding the poisonings, you can contact Mesa Animal Control at 480-644-2268 and to find information on these poisonings, go online to www.carriagelanecanines.com.

We just got an email warning, reminding us about the xylitol danger to dogs. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is commonly used is sugar-free products like chewing gum, candy, chewable vitamins and throat lozenges.

In humans, high doses of the sweetener can cause mild diarrhea, but in dogs, it can be fatal. When a dog ingests xylitol, it can cause a sudden surge of insulin, causing a sudden decrease in blood glucose.  Within 30 minutes, the dog may exhibit signs of weakness, lethargy, loss of coordination and seizures and without veterinary intervention could suffer severe liver damage and irreversible brain trauma within 24 hours. Just three grams of xylitol can kill a 65-pound dog, which is about 8 to 10 pieces of sugarless gum, but for a small dog, it could take as few as two sticks to prove fatal.

As you may have noticed, dogs are pretty good Hoover vacuums when anything even remotely food-like hits the floor. In addition, an open purse lying on the floor is just an invitation for a little nosing around. So be diligent about keeping chewing gum, candy or any other foods containing xylitol out of our paws.

But if accidental exposure does occur, call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435 and get your pet to your vet for immediate treatment. It really could be the difference between life and death.

Recently while our son was away at camp, my husband and I took our dogs and went to our second home in Flagstaff for a much needed respite from the Phoenix heat. We haven’t been there much lately because two years ago we had a fire and it has taken this long to get all the repairs finished. But finally, the smell of smoke has been replaced by fresh paint, new carpet and thoroughly sanitized furniture.

When we arrived, our Airedales, Amber and Krissy, ran wildly through the house and yard, relishing in each scent of the cool mountain air. We let them romp freely while we got busy with chores with the house.

It was about 11 pm on the second night we were there. I was in the other room, writing an email to our son at camp when all of a sudden I heard my husband yell from the other room. That’s when I began to smell it…SKUNK in capitals. I leapt up from the computer and headed around the corner to the family room just in time to see my husband leading our dogs into the house by their collars. He yelled, “I think they got sprayed by a skunk?!” This leads me to the first thing NOT to do if you think your dog got sprayed by skunk:

1: Do NOT bring your dog in the house. You may think you know what skunk smells like, but when it’s that up close and personal, this smell takes on a life of its own and it quickly permeates everything—including you.

My husband started rubbing his hands alternately around Amber’s body and then Krissy’s to see if he could find the source of the noxious odor. “Do you think they got sprayed?!” he repeated, but I could hardly speak, my eyes were welling with tears. “Get the tomato juice, “I was finally able to gasp. My husband let go of Krissy’s collar for a moment and she promptly went over and wiped her face on the carpet. This brings me to the second thing NOT to do:

2: Do NOT try to waste time trying to find the source of the smell and let your dog wipe her face on your new carpet. The next day I spoke to my neighbors who live across the street. They had been sitting outside until the smell of skunk forced them indoors. They were across the street. Trust me, it smells worse in your living room.

“Let’s put them outside!” I started to shoo them back outside. “Wait!” my husband yelled, “I don’t know where the skunk is!” We finally decided that we should put them in the garage and that I should sit with them while my husband went to the store for tomato juice. This brings me to the third thing NOT to do:

3: Do NOT sit with your dogs in an enclosed space. I felt like I was slowly being gassed to death and even though we left the garage door open for three days after that, the garage still smelled like skunk.

My husband and I still argue about the efficacy of the tomato juice treatment. I really didn’t think it worked all that well. He claims it did, but I think his olfactory nerves are permanently damaged. As for the dogs, they don’t seem to mind either way. They’re just looking forward to the next time they can chase that stinky black cat with the white stripe.