Our pal, Buddy Beagle went to Cedarwood Veterinary Hospital this morning for a follow-up appointment.

He’s had a hemispherical lump growing in the gash that HairyFace has been tending. The gash was healing nicely: skin closing over the exposed flesh, no infection (thanks to a honey of a new treatment). By this morning just a small crack was left and the lump standing proud. We all hoped the skin would climb up over the lump and the lump would eventually be reabsorbed into his body. But that wasn’t happening. In fact, the skin was digging in under the lump.

This could lead to gangrene. So Doctor Sandra decided to keep him long enough to remove the problematic lump.

To reduce the stress on him, they used a local anesthetic while Dr. Sandra removed the lump and stitched the hole it left closed. This was not as easy as you might think.

This is because the whole area is scar tissue, which is stiffer than skin and does not hold stitches as well.

And she needed to avoid pulling skin in from the direction of the tail because that would pull his tail off center more than it is.

Remember that Dr. Sandra and her staff quite literally put Buddy back together after three large dogs tore him to shreds. He has made a remarkable recovery and is such a little trooper: full of love and spirit.

Buddy’s “pucker-butt” will smooth out as the incision heals. It does not seem to be giving him any pain, and he’s soldiering on toward a full recovery. He’s such a good boy.