An Important Message From Meeka

Hi Everybuddy -

This is Mom speaking - Echo was kind enough to lend his blog to me for what we feel is a very important post.
As per our last entry, we've been busy. What I didn't share was the situation we've been coping with regarding our beloved Meeka. It's time to share his story.

A few months ago we discovered - quite by accident - a small mass on his upper gum. It was tucked away from sight so was easily missed upon quick inspections of his teeth and gums which we all routinely do from time to time. We have no idea how long it was there, nor had we ever seen anything quite like it. The next day we were in our vet's office. Meeka patiently let techs and 2 vets pull and tug at his muzzle, tilting his head one way then another. He seemed to know this was important. No one was really able to draw any conclusions as to what it was for sure. It could be a benign epulus....or perhaps something worse however all agreed they'd never seen a malignancy look like that. Several options were presented and we went home - our brains spinning, searching for the right thing to do. Unfortunately any mass in the oral area presents quite a challenge for getting clean margins. The only hope of doing that would be to remove significant bone mass in his upper jaw which would then require reconstruction. To even find a surgeon qualified to do that would be difficult. That meant our best hope would be to reduce the mass, then have it biopsied. The procedure was scheduled. Days later Meeka had a severe allergic reaction. His face quickly swelled and it moved dangerously lower, towards the throat region. This happened twice and despite my best efforts with Benadryl, Prednisone, and some major prayers I could not reverse the reaction. That meant 2 emergency trips to the vet to have an injection to reverse it. We had no clue what was causing this however none of them felt it was related to the mass. Unfortunately this made anesthesia extremely risky for him. We concluded that we need to wait several week to be sure we wouldn't be facing any more of these mysterious episodes. After an extensive blood panel and a chest xray, Meeka had his surgery yesterday morning. We opted for laser surgery since that was our best chance to remove the most tissue. He is recovering here by my side as we wait that painstaking wait for the biopsy results. I look at him and choke back the tears as he stares back at me with those soulful eyes. He's telling me he's okay for now and that I need to be brave. We always knew Meeka had an important job to do in this world. He's been a wonderful ambassador to the rescue world. Countless people have admired him at Meet and Greets and he sent the message that rescue dogs aren't just castaways with baggage. He became the Alpha of his pack. Always mindful of what the others are doing, scolding as needed and making sure they all stay safe. It came to mind that his work is not yet done. As I pray every moment that the biopsy won't indicate a very aggressive Sarcoma, even willing to settle for a malignancy....just please God, let it be a slow growing one - I realize this is yet another task for our proud Prince. He needs to let others know the importance of checking the mouths of your babies very carefully on a regular basis. Our vets have indicated they're seeing more oral malignancies now. Don't just quickly scan the lower gumline when you admire their healthy teeth. Pull up those lips and really look! Look for color changes, texture changes, swellings - and if you see a change, take them in to be checked. This is the message Meeka sends.
We ask that you keep Meeka in your prayers.