Jodie called me from Widget’s House shortly after 8 a.m. this morning to say something was wrong with blind Pepper. Pepper hadn’t eaten breakfast, she wouldn’t get up, and she wouldn’t come out of her crate. I grabbed a thermometer and headed over.
By the time I got there, Jodie had managed to coax Pepper out of her crate, but I could tell from looking at this sweet Shepherd mix that she was one sick girl. Jodie also pointed out a lump she had just noticed on Pepper’s side. I ran my hand over her side, felt the lump, and thought, "Uh oh." I had barely put the thermometer in Pepper when the numbers started racing upwards … and I knew she’d have a very high fever. Seconds later, the thermometer stopped at 105.1 degrees.
[Normal body temperature for a dog ranges between 100.5 Fahrenheit (38.1°C) and 102.5 Fahrenheit (39.2°C).]
I called our clinic in Helena, Montana Veterinary Specialists, to let them know we were on our way. A short while later, I walked Pepper out to the drive, lifted her into the truck, and Alayne drove her to Helena.
Our primary care vet, Dr. Brenda Culver, called this evening to say Pepper is on IV fluids and antibiotics, and her temperature has come down to just over 103. But at this point we don’t know what the problem is. Blood work and other tests are pending. Chest X-rays looked normal. Brenda pulled cells from the lump but said she got a "mixed bag" of cytology results. There were no neoplastic (or cancerous) cells but a variety of other cell types, yet nothing definitive. Brenda’s husband, Dr. Britt Culver, is our internal medicine specialist there and he will look at Pepper tomorrow and probably ultrasound the growth.
At this point that’s all we know. I took these photos of Pepper this morning before Alayne took her over to the vet hospital.
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