Loki Needs Specialized Surgery
This is Loki; My wife, Lily, and I (Ben) got him 3 years ago and he has been the best dog we ever could have asked for. He is a quarter Shi-Tzu and a mixture of several other breeds. He is such a playful and amazing dog. He sleeps on our bed most nights and is so much part of our life, we could never imagine not doing everything possible for him.
A few weeks ago we noticed a mass under the skin in Loki's crotch about the size of an in-shell peanut. Our vet was concerned right away, but couldn't say for sure what it was without further testing. He thought it was most likely an infection and so prescribed antibiotics for 10 days.
After 10 days, the mass in Loki was much smaller, down to about the size of a pea. This was mostly good news, because it confirmed that it was an infection, and not something scarier like a tumor. However, it still wasn't gone, and if we didn't get all of it, it would get larger again and probably threaten Loki's life. The vet prescribed another 30 days of antibiotics.
The mass is still there. The Vet thinks that there must be a foreign body inside of Loki that is causing the infection to stay. We take Loki on a lot of hikes and walks and it is probably some sort of barb from something like burgrass.
The mass in Loki is very near his urethra, so our vet recommended a specialist that would start with exploratory surgery to see exactly the problem, then, hopefully, remove the mass. We did get a second opinion from another vet and they agreed with this course of action.
We have already spent over $300 on the vet visits and the antibiotics, but the estimate for the surgery is between $1,800 and $2,200. The surgery will happen on November 9th, and we'll find out if they were able to remove it, or if something more is needed.
We absolutely love our little Loki, and fortunately, he is still happy and playful right now, but without treatment, it is likely the mass will become life-threatening.
Any help we receive for this will be immensely appreciated, we cannot express enough how much we care about Loki. Thank you!
