Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Hmmmmm, what's up with Katie?

Last night I was visiting with the Dingbats around the campfire with Katie in my lap.  I was petting her and noticed something soft on her ankle.  Since it was dark, I carried her over to Hazel's nearby motor home and asked her to check Katie to see what it was.  Hazel has a nursing/medical background and has a lot of knowledge in the area of dogs, too. 

We laid Katie down and checked out the inside of her right ankle and this is what we saw (the black marks are permanent marker I put on the lump).


This is her other ankle, you can see how skinny and boney her ankles are:


It didn't seem to bother her, she was eating, drinking, walking fine, acting perfectly normal.  Hazel said she thought it was filled with fluid, and was not a tumor, and to keep an eye on it.  She gave me a permanent marker to mark off the four sides of the lump so I'd know if it's growing or getting smaller.

I took these photos last night when I got her home.   When she was laying on her back on our couch, I took this next photo of both her ankles.


And this morning:



It looks bigger, but it's the way she's sitting.  I think it's the same as last night.

Weird, huh?  I can't imagine what would cause something like this.  Any ideas?  At least she doesn't seem to be bothered by it.  I hope it will go down and we won't need to see a vet.

On another note...

I subscribe to a website called Living Life Fully.  Every day I get a quote in my e-mail box, and I liked this one - it kind of fits me the last few years, and probably some of you, too:

Living life fully doesn't mean having it all, going everywhere, 
doing everything, and being all things to all people.  
Many of us are beginning to see that too much is too much.
                                           
--Elaine St. James


It continued with these questions to consider: 
  • Is there anything that you have too much of?  What?  What do you do about that?
  • Why do we tend to fill all of the spaces of our lives?  Why can't we let space be space?
  • How do we go about recognizing what's essential and what isn't?
Living in our small spaces, I'm sure most full-timers have asked themselves the same questions.

Speaking of small spaces, here's our "small space" in it's new campsite - I don't think I've posted photos of our new site.



We have a nice view of the mountains to the west.

Behind us are the Dingbats.  We're close enough to easily walk to the campfire and visit, but still far enough away from the wash that we get TV channels.  We couldn't get any channels in the first space by the wash.

Below is is the wash that's behind our first campsite in La Posa West.  The parking lot that will be the location of the Big Tent is on the other side of the wash from the camping sites.




Every day more and more RVs arrive.  I wake up in the morning to more and more campsites filling. 

This is my last post for the year; 2013 will be history in 12 hours.  I've had a really good year, 2013 has been good to me - and I'm looking forward to 2014.  I'm expecting it to be even better!

Thank you to all our readers who have ordered items through our links this year.  We've generally had a tiny amount of income from our links, and we appreciate every penny, but this month has been different.  I'm sure on-line Christmas presents are the bulk of the purchases, but as far as normal on-line buying, whatever you're all doing, please keep doing it.  :)

Here's to better health and more wealth and tons of happiness for all of us full-timers, part-timers, friends, families and followers.  And a more peaceful world for everyone.

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everybody, and a fun and safe New Year's Eve tonight! :)

16 comments:

  1. First off, Fatty Tumors or cysts are fairly common in any mammals. To be watched for sure, but as long as they don't interfere with function or grown wildly they are nothing to be worried about. (that being said I would bring it to the vets attention at the next vet visit).

    I loved the quote you used in your post. I save quotes into a file (I added this one!) and I intend to think on it some more for New Years.... While I generally don't make a lot of New Years Resolutions, I do find it a time for reflection and I intend to contemplate on this as the New Year Starts.....

    Happy New Year to you and Katie!!

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  2. aw, poor little Katie ... glad it doesn't hurt her!

    I like your quote also ... I have a bazillion quotes I keep in a file.

    To go with your liking space ... I love this quote ...

    You cannot have everything. I mean, where would you put it?
    - Steven Wright

    I hope you have a wonderful Happy New Year ... lots of space and free from dingbats... could that be possible... hah

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  4. Great advise in the first comment...I totally agree. Good thing she is tan and could be marked for changes. Being on her foot/ankle if it hurt, she would be limping....

    I love the quote and questions to ponder!

    Happy New Year to you Barbara and to your sweet Katie.

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  5. Happy New Year Barbara ! I'll see you in Q in about 2 weeks.

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  6. I guess we need to stop at Quartzite sometime.

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  7. Both Scooter and Skittlez have fatty lumps (a couple on each mutt)and the doc said not to worry about them as long as they didn't bother them. But let the vet look at it next time you're there. Sure am looking forward to visiting. Happy New Year.

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  8. This summer Molly got a black, soft lump, on one of her hind quarters, the size of a walnut. The vet took a biopsy and sad it was nothing but fatty substance inside. Now it is gone again. Weird.
    Keep an eye on it and show it to the vet next time you have to go anyway. If it grows within the next weeks, I would consult the vet immediately.

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  9. I'm glad Katie doesn't have pain & is able to continue her activities! The very happiest of New Yars to you & Katie--loved the quote!

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  10. Maybe a spider bite... If its filled with fluid . How about a thorn? I'd keep an eye On it for sure. The fatty tumors don't usually grow that quickly. For you not to have noticed it before now. Poor baby.

    Happy New Years!!!

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  11. Have a Happy, Safe New Year... love reading your blog, as I hope you know... Not familiar with Katie's "thing" I would be worried until a vet saw it tho.. just me :)

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  12. If it's non-tender and freely movable, it's probably just a benign cyst. The older they get, the more liable they are to develop these sub-dermal cysts. It's not located in a troublesome spot - like say near a gland or lymph node.

    When is her next annual exam? If it's fairly soon, you might want to just keep an eye on it and monitor its growth. But if the appt. is too far in the future, it wouldn't hurt to have it evaluated. If nothing else, it will lessen your worry about it.

    Doris has a lump right now around her left jowl. Just under the skin. It's grown a bit since I've had her checked 2 months ago. It will get removed this month at the same time she has her teeth cleaning.

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  13. Sammy has little bumps on his back and his tummy. I asked the vet and they said it was like old age bumps, nothing to be concerned about.
    If it's not bothering her, and doesn't hurt it probably isn't an issue.
    Sammy's lumps don't get any bigger or smaller, they just grew there and stayed put.

    All the best in 2014!!!

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  14. Happy 2014! to you and all your followers. I agree with Kimpobolo that Katie probably has a cyst or lipoma (fatty tumor); however, I would have it checked just to be sure.
    Hope 2014 is the happiest and heaalthiest year - so far!

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  15. Sorry about Katies lump. I have no clue about it, but I hope it goes away and doesn't bother her. No signs of a bite?

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  16. Hope everything works out for little Katie. Keep us informed.

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