I wanted to keep my blog content pretty, but let's face it, sometimes real life as a dog owner is not pretty!
In November we noticed a small growth on Violet's gum/mouth and after her breeder suggested it was best to get it checked out due to bully's and their sun worshipping, we took her along to the vet. Well, Mr M took her along to the vet because I got stuck on a train and missed the appointment, which in my head lead to a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
In November we noticed a small growth on Violet's gum/mouth and after her breeder suggested it was best to get it checked out due to bully's and their sun worshipping, we took her along to the vet. Well, Mr M took her along to the vet because I got stuck on a train and missed the appointment, which in my head lead to a clusterfuck of epic proportions.
The vet and Andy were unable to keep Violet still for a needle biopsy, so with "it's probably skin cancer" hanging over our heads, she was promptly booked in for surgery to have the growth removed. The day we picked her up from being under, the vet said that she'd probably just removed a wart and that she was sorry, but we were okay with that, because... skin cancer! The growth was removed via a v-cut, which was sewn back together with dissolvable stitches, lasting all of a day, because... bull terrier!
A week later and to our relief the growth was confirmed as a wart (or a canine oral papilloma if you want to get technical) and we went on our merry/gap-faced way until another one sprung up before Christmas. Then another, and another until Little Miss had clusters in her mouth, one under her chin, one on her snout and one next to her eye!! Not pretty. We returned to the vet during the break for Violet's 1 year vaccination and to see if they had more information, or a cure.
Canine oral papillomas usually affect young dogs under the age of 2 because their immune system is not fully developed, dogs transmit the virus to other dogs through greeting each other, sharing toys or drinking out of the same water bowl, so Violet could have picked it up from day care, the dog park or the water bowl at the local park. We basically have to wait it out, which in a way is a good thing because after some heavy googling I've discovered the drugs sometimes given in these cases are the human equivalent of chemo and there's no way we want to put our fur baby through that. Patience is not my strongest quality though.
Enter the holistic route! There is so much info on the internet that it is very easy to go wrong, especially with dosage, but I've done some mega research and even found a blog (here) about another dog that suffered from the same virus, albeit a much milder case. Last Friday was the second time we've administered 2 crushed tablets of Thuja 30c, we'll do it a third and final time in a fortnight. I also found a Wart Prescription Pack available through Australian animal naturopath Greenpet - this entails us sprinkling vitamin c powder on Violet's meals, homeopathic drops between her shoulders twice a week, cod liver oil once a week and putting Thuja cream on the warts, which is pretty much an exhausting game of chaseys, not always with a successful outcome.
Mid week, I attended a Hunde Dog Nutrition Masterclass where I learnt more about nutritional needs and what we could add to Violet's meals to boost her immune system. With two days worth of natural food in a tub, I feel like I found the last piece of the puzzle. Now, I don't want to jinx anything, but this weekend has seen some improvement, the warts on her snout and next to her eye turned blood red and have almost disappeared and some of the big bastards in her mouth have shrunk.
Fingers and paws crossed that we see a full recovery in the next few weeks!
