Murdy, our 12 year old puppy, had two masses that were removed. One is a basic lipoma at the base of his tail that was starting to be painful and would have likely started to cause other problems if left alone. The other is a mass on his left hind leg that is cancerous (skin cancer) that was successfully shrunk by steroids prior to surgery. Multiple scans showed us that the cancer hasn't spread.

He came through surgery very well, as we expected. He just needs some follow up care over the next couple of weeks.

We decided to go through with the surgery because, even though Murdock is 12, he is very healthy, active, and happy with a very strong heart and lungs. The surgeon was fairly confident that he could get clean margins. Allison and I believe that Murdy still has a couple years of working life and, hopefully, a few more years of retirement after that. The medications he's been on recently have zapped his energy but we are confident that he will be back to himself in a few weeks.

The cost of this whole process has grown to be more than we expected. We are just asking for your help for just a portion. We are asking that those who have been blessed with knowing him personally or even from afar to help us financially, if you are able. Even if you aren't able to, we'd very much appreciate your thoughts, prayers and well wishes as Murdock heals from his surgery. Thanks for reading!