Calling the Vet

While it's true that I love our vet Sandy, I'm not wild about having to call her. 

This morning I found a lump on Keeper's chest, very close to her right front leg.  About the size of a marble.  Not the itty-bitty kind of marble, but a shooter.  I was sitting on the ground, one dog on either side of me, which is a pretty common occurence.  Both dogs had rolled over onto their backs, and were very relaxed.  It shocked me to feel this little lump, and I could tell Keeper wasn't happy about me manipulating it.  I was trying to gauge exactly how big it is.  She'd had her eyes closed when I found it.  She didn't yelp or act like it was totally hurting her, but she was clearly uncomfortable - raising her head to give me "that look," and moving her feet around. 

Let's hope it's nothing.  Sandy suggested it might be some kind of fatty deposit, which sounds okay to me, comparatively speaking.  I'm to keep an eye on it for the next few weeks, and let her know right away if it gets any bigger. 

Cross your fingers?  Mine are crossed, about ten times. 

Keeps has been moving a bit "sore" lately, even though we haven't done agility.  She does run around the backyard with Riff, though, and we've taken them on a couple of hikes...so....maybe it's that.    She's gotten crabbier, too.  She was delighted that my son Will was visiting, but she did get growly/snappy with him one time...and she's gone after Riff twice this week.  None of us were actually in the room, so we don't know what Riff may have done - but we certainly heard the conflict.  Are these signs?  Should I worry?  More than I'm already worried?   

On the positive side, she was very, VERY sweet last night during our "Boxing Day Beef Bourguignon Dinner"....especially with KC.  She and KC fell hard for one another.  KC kept saying, "You all know I don't like dogs...but THIS dog...Oh my god, she's really special...!"

Riff was there too, of course.  And he did have a couple of fans.  But he's a shy dog, in a crowd, so he kept his distance.  Mostly.  

I hope you all had a marvelous Christmas Holiday. 
Hugs!