It's All About the Labrador...

Today I'm going to introduce you to the Lady of the Manor, my yellow Labrador retriever, Kes.

Kes is the last of a line of Labs from our own bloodline...and in spite of her "ear thingies", she is a purebred. Her grandma was my female, Bryn, and my Uncle Larry owned her mother from one of Bryn's litters. We owned Kes' daddy, Morgan, who was a handsome boy and a great hunting dog. Since his death two years ago, Kes has been an "only Lab", which is the first time we've had only one dog in over 28 years!

The reason I'm writing about Kessie today is because tomorrow she has to have a major surgery. You'd never be able to tell from the way she looks or acts around here, but observant owners that we are, we noticed little blood spots on the tile from time to time. Upon further inspection, we found that she had bloody stools, so off to the clinic she went. Our vet, Stephanie Lantry in Sarasota, found that she has a mass of growths inside her, well...rectum, attached to a significant portion of the rectal wall, and her regular body functions irritate the growths causing her to bleed.

Dr. Lantry ordered up a biopsy, and tests confirmed that they are benign (sigh of relief), however we needed to explore removal for her continued health. We met with a veterinary surgeon, Dr. Kirsh (also in Sarasota) and Kes is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning.

She'll be at the clinic at least overnight to monitor her recovery and manage any discomfort, and we expect a full recovery...But today, is her day. She's Queen for a Day and will get lots of smooches, hugs and attention. (And, of course, no food after 6 pm and an early morning walk tomorrow to "clean out her system".)

I just thought I'd share a few photos of my little dog doing what she does best...sitting in the sun by the pool; visiting her "pet" gopher tortoise - who actually comes to see her every few weeks; and sleeping with her favorite toys after a little afternoon swim. She's nearly twelve years old, but still acts like a "puppersnapper".

Tomorrow will be a long day for Handsome and me, as we await news from Dr. Kirsh following her procedure. But we know she'll be ok in his capable hands, and look forward to the surgery and recovery being behind us. (No pun intended.)

Just yesterday, Kes and I were chatting and she said she wants a baby brother. I told her we'll have to discuss that with Handsome and see what he thinks. For now, I think we have enough on our hands. We can think about puppies after Kessie is back to her healthy self.