What's That Lump on My Dog?

Lots of Frenchies get odd little lumps.  Sometimes it's just a pimple.  Sometimes it's a tumor.  If it's a tumor, it could be a mast cell tumor, which should be removed, or it might be a benign histiocytoma, in which case you are home free.

A lot of our volunteers' personal Frenchies have had histiocytomas and a few of our fosters have had them.  As you can imagine, it freaks people out to wake up one morning and find a growth that wasn't there the night before.

Handsome Izzy, sans spider bite!

One of our volunteers has a dog called Izzy.  Izzy was bitten by a spider on his face.  He had a big swollen lip that night.  When he woke up, he had a bump on his tummy.  It was a histiocytoma and it was related to the spider bite--all those histamines released to fight the spider bite reaction sort of came out sideways and formed a bump.

This is what Izzy's histiocytoma looked like. 

Here's what to do if you find a lump:  First, don't mistake a nipple for an ominous lump and ask your vet about it.  It will make your vet snort, and nobody likes to see that.  (We won't say who made that mistake, but her initials are F.P.) Once you have determined that the lump isn't a nipple, scurry over to the vet.  A needle biopsy will be done and maybe some other tests, and you'll have an answer within a few days.  Your vet will give you options if the lump is a mast cell tumor, and if it's a histiocytoma you can just breathe easy.

Tucker, not worried at all

One of our volunteers has an aged frog of nearly 14, and he has had a histiocytoma on his front leg for some time.  It started out soft and pink and over time has become harder and white.  His mom says there are 3 reasons she has left it alone.

1.  It's not itchy and it doesn't bother him.
2.  It's probably related to an immunity problem, and
3. since Tucker has had skin problems for a long time, if there's no reason to open a wound, why do it?

Tucker's vet is all in favor of leaving the thing alone, so his mom is going to do that and just keep breathing easy.

Breathe in as you count to 4, breathe out as you count to 6, that's the advice of

Frog Princess

Update:  The very night this was posted, one of FBRN's foster dogs, Miriam Rose, developed a histiocytoma!  Like June, they are popping up and bustin' out all over!