I posted this photo of some colorful recycling and rubbish on Facebook, and my aunt called it "interesting." Is that what's known as "damning with faint praise," do you think? "Interesting" always seems to imply a kind of skepticism.
I remember hearing a story years and years ago about Queen Elizabeth II trying a hot dog and pronouncing it "interesting," but I have no idea whether it's really true. I just did an internet search and can't turn up any references to the episode, so maybe it never happened. (There is, however, a rather thorough piece about the likelihood that Prince William has ever eaten a hot dog.)
Anyway, I've buried the lead here, because I know you all want to hear about Olga and her surgery. As you can see, she came through fine, although she was seriously stoned when we picked her up last night. The first thing she did when she got home is go out in the back garden and lie in the grass.
As dark fell we finally coaxed her inside and since then, she's been sleeping heavily. She barely moved all night, from what I can tell, and she's snoring now.
The good news is, the vet said the x-rays showed no serious issues with her back legs. She has some spots that could be mildly arthritic, and causing her a bit of pain, and she gave us some pain medicine for whenever they flare up. No surgery is needed, though.
The bad news -- or the potential bad news -- involves the skin lumps. The doc removed them and sent them away for pathology, but apparently there's a chance that they're mast cell tumors, which can range from benign to very serious and even fatal. We caught them early, but I'll still be on edge about that until we get the pathology report next week. Apparently mast cell tumors are more common in so-called bull breeds like Olga, and they often appear on a dog's hindquarters around the age of 8 or 9 -- which is the right time and the right place. We can only hope, if that's what these were, that they aren't a particularly aggressive type.
We've cancelled Olga's dog walks for the rest of the week, and next week too, so I'll be coming home for lunch to let her outside and check on her. So far she hasn't shown any inclination to nibble on her bandages, but if she does we're supposed to put an old t-shirt on the lower half of her body. She's going to hate that.
Bless her...she looks so sorry for herself . I hope that you get good news re the lumps.
ReplyDeleteYes she will hate that if you use one of your more "interesting" T-shirts!
ReplyDeleteWell, as I said on FB, that is very tidy garbage and recycle.
ReplyDeletePoor Olga! I bet she'll be fine. I certainly hope she will. Remember my old dog Pearl? She was a boxer and boxers and bull dogs have a common ancestor and they, too, are apt to get tumors. By the time Pearl died at the incredibly advanced age of fifteen she had several lumps and bumps and they could well have been malignant but they certainly did not kill her. At least you're taking the proper steps which we did not do. I always joke that I never take my pets to the vet and they live forever. This is actually true for the most part. You and Dave are excellent dog fathers and will take good care of your darling girl. I'm glad to hear that she only has a bit of the arthritis in her back legs. As do we all.
Oh, poor Olga. Her expression in that photo tugs at my heart. We usually see her laughing. I hope the tumors are benign, and in any case you and Dave are on top of it. Is she really already 8 years old??
ReplyDeletePoor little Olga. At the very least, I hope she enjoyed the drugs. Or is that just me who likes hospital-strength pain killers? I never mind a little surgery because I wake up feeling incredibly rested.
ReplyDeleteIn French, the equivalent of "interesting" is "original".
I hate hearing that Olga has suffered or is suffering in any way, and I wish her a speedy recovery. One day at a time, I guess. I think I've been reading here on your blog since at least you got Olga -- I seem to remember that you and Dave had two other dogs before. I love that there's this long online friendship -- I have grown to love Olga, too!
ReplyDeleteOlga doesn't look very happy about the situation.
ReplyDeleteWishing you good news from the pathologist.
ReplyDeleteshe's certainly giving you the eye like wtf man. t-shirt on her hind quarters? tail through the neck hold and back legs through the arms? that ought to be a sight.
ReplyDeleteat least all the boxes are collapsed. the next town over has a big bin for recycling cardboard with a big sign that says 'please collapse the boxes'. there is a slot about 12" high and if an intact box can fit through it, people or rather some people just push the uncollapsed box through. people are so freaking lazy.
The look on Olga's face says it all! "This is all your fault" appears to be what she's thinking.
ReplyDeleteYour story about the photo made me laugh. On my drive to work this morning, I saw an electrical circuit box outside a bank branch that is rusted and peeling it's paint. As I sat at the traffic light waiting, I started thinking that on Sunday I should go down there and snap some macros. I bet there are some great patterns in all that rust and chipped paint. That will be a photo that I'm sure will elicit the same "interesting" response from my friends and family.
It has always seemed to me that babies and doggies bounce back from trauma to their bodies or an infection so quickly. In no time she will be back to her old self and sniffing all that interesting garbage.
ReplyDeletePoor Olga. I'll join the others in hoping for the best for her.
ReplyDeletePoor Olga. Hope the news about the lumps turn out to be okay with a very good prognosis. She has such a big fan club cheering her on!
ReplyDelete"interesting" is polite, I suppose, but if "interesting " is used to describe something I have created, It comes across as a bit insulting most of the time. Poor baby girl, you are so good to have taken her in early. I am surprised they did not send her home with a terrible cone!
ReplyDeletefingers crossed, all will be well for yet another eight years.
You definitely can tell she doesn't feel like herself - no smile! Here's hoping that you get GOOD news from the report!
ReplyDeleteBrave Olga! Tshirt? Not the cone of shame?
ReplyDeleteI use interesting to mean just that - interesting/intriguing/something I enjoyed hearing about/something I will follow up on - so please don't be insulted if I include it in a comment!
ReplyDeletePoor Olga. She doesn't look happy in that picture, and I don't blame her one bit. Hope she's doing at least a little better by the time you read this. Hoping, hoping, hoping that the biopsy shows no bad issues.
Oh, Olga. Such a forlorn look.
ReplyDeleteAbout the cardboard in the cage - some one who cares about what they do has packed that cage. Well done that person!
And the word interesting...
I recently read a Susan Sontag essay, An Arguement About Beauty, where she offers her interpretation.
Based on this, you might say the Queen was using the word interesting to avoid comitting to a judgement about the goodness, or otherwise, of the hot dog.
Interesting is a word I use more often than I prefer and it indicates a lack of vocabulary on my part...
Alphie