Friday’s Sparkle….

It was just about 9 years ago when we brought this little sweetie here to our home.  It was clear from the very beginning that raising an English Setter puppy was a completely different game than raising a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy….

Right from the start it was a battle of wills of who was going to be the boss, but once she realized that I meant business, she learned to respect that……most of the time.

English setters are relatively easy to train as they are very intelligent, but they do have a very stubborn streak and they rarely forget if you have been harsh with them.  It took a while for Maggie to understand that she is not the alpha girl here, but her stubborn streak has always made me secretly smile.
When I call the dogs in from the yard, she frequently is perched on her favorite rock and looks at me..then purposely turns her head away letting me know that she will come in when she is good and ready.  Some days I will just smile and wait and other days, she knows when I mean business and pays attention.  A true red head for sure. 😉

2 weeks ago I gave Maggie a pre spring clip.  Normally I would have done it a bit sooner, but the winter here has been frigid so I left her coat on a bit longer than I usually do.  She had her last clip just before Christmas.  When I clipped her down this time, I felt a large lump by her groin and a few small ones around her mammary glands that were not there in December.  Needless to say she was immediately brought to the vet to be evaluated and was operated on a few days later.

I was sick with worry, but I knew that these lumps had only grown visible in the last 3 months, so I tried to stay hopeful…but one of those lumps was very big, so I was trying to be realistic as well, especially given that she will be nine years old next month. 😦

The vet called me yesterday and read the pathology results to me and they were good! 
The large lump if it had gone undetected much longer was heading in a malignant direction, but the report said that the Vet had removed the entire encapsulated group of tumors and they were all still benign, thankfully.  My vet told me that he was very surprised after removing and observing the tumors.  He felt that the result would not be favorable, but we both were relieved.

I will need to be diligent in watching for any new ones, but today she is ok and on the mend.
I want to thank all of my facebook friends for their support, prayers and friendship.

A true Friday Sparkle!!