11/17/2025
Hello everybody! Full transparency here…. As always from me 😊. I wanted to jump in & share some health news on Katie. About almost 3 weeks ago we noticed she had a mammary gland swollen like mastitis. We took her into our vet & he agreed it most likely was mastitis & gave her some antibiotics. I didn’t know dogs could still get mastitis after spay but they can! Even I learn new things everyday 🤪. We tried the medication for about 4-5 days & it brought it down, but not completely gone. So our vet prescribed a stronger/broader antibiotic & wanting to see her back in a few days if that wasn’t resolving the issue. Well, it didn’t & in the meantime Katie started holding up her right leg & not using it. There wasn’t any incident that we were aware to cause this new development. But when any pressure occurred on her elbow, she cried out in pain (thus breaking this momma’s heart). So we took a ride back to the vet. He did a x-ray & found nothing at all (this is both good & bad). His thoughts at that time were that it could be a secondary infection from her mastitis causing it or it could be that ‘C’ word. He was reluctant to say that though because it usually presents itself in their shoulder or foot - not elbow. However, not ruling that out. He decided at this point removing her mammary gland was necessary but wanted to resolve leg issue first. I asked if it could possibly be Blastomycosis (remembering one of our dogs presented with holding leg up as if injured). Blastomycosis is a airborne fungal infection that can blow in from 2+ miles down the road, a nearby creek or disruptive of soil. Once I reminded him that we have had a dog (2 to be exact) diagnosed & treated he decided to start her preventativly on that medication as well as some others -
Including some pain medication. (If you would like to know more about Blastomycosis, let me know, I have highly educated myself on it.). We had our revisit today - sadly with no improvement. Katie is 10, I am well aware of heartbreaking issues that happen to Goldens in their later years so I went in prepared. Throughout this whole time Katie has been eating (no persuasion necessary lol) & drinking, fully cognitive & wagging her tail - telling me she is still right there with me. Today’s visit was really telling me what I already knew - it’s most likely cancer. We have scheduled her for a biopsy tomorrow & removal of mammary gland. If the biopsy indeed shows cancer, Katie’s leg will need to be amputated. My vet wanted to make sure that he & I we’re on the same page regarding her possible diagnosis & outcome - I assured him that as long as Katie was eating & drinking, cognitive & happy that I would fight for her through anything. Meaning, I am not giving up on her because she is 10 & is having some serious health issues. If the biopsy shows it’s not cancer then we will look further into the Blastomycosis or may need to take her to Purdue. But this is where we are at so far…. Hug your babies because we can’t buy more time with them. Well wishes & prayers sent her way are always welcome. Katie has the purest soul of any dog I have ever had the privilege of loving. Thank you all ❤️
