It sounds so simple. Pet your dog. Duh. But do you? Life gets busy and time gets away from all of us. When was the last time you gave your dog a good rub down from nose to toes? Do. It. What’s the big deal? Cancer.

Two weeks ago, while petting behind Barkley’s ears, WickedHubby detected a bump.  He called me over, “Kate, I think we found another one!”. Sure enough, it was one of THOSE bumps. For the fourth time.  Barkley is a four time Mast Cell Tumor (Mastocytoma) survivor. He is only five and a half years old. Each time, we discovered a lump under his skin where there previously was not one simply through petting him. Every time, we brought him to the vet to have it diagnosed. Sometimes they were big enough to aspirated (liquid pulled out with a syringe and analyzed by the vet), other times they were not. Eventually each was surgically removed and sent for a histological analysis at the lab. Twice the tumors were proven benign. Twice they were stage 2 Mast Cells, and twice they were stage 1. (For a total of 6 surgeries. Not kidding.) These tumors are bad news. They are most common in larger breeds, and very common in boxers. I don’t know why Barkley has them since they are not common for either of these breeds, but he is a typical case where the cells recur but can be removed completely. Unfortunately, these are big metathesizing problems. Hopefully, we will not have to deal with cancer in another area of his body (than his skin), but we are not going to be surprised if eventually this is the case. Barkley’s life has been saved four times by our wandering hands giving him affection and discovering bumps under his skin. If they had not been removed, likely they would have become more aggressive and possibly lethal. Vets are always surprised when we show up and say “we know what it is, and its gotta come out.” According to our most recent vet, most dogs don’t have owners who catch such things, and by the time they arrive are not able to be saved. So get the word out! Pet your dog! Save it’s life!!

HOW: Give your dog a weekly petting rub down from the tips of their ears to the tips of their toes and tail. Feel for any bumps that are new, and get them checked by a veterinarian if they do not go away on their own within a 2 week span. Look for any color changes or tender spots too. These will also need attention. It’s as simple and as difficult as that.

Update: This one was a stage 1 about the 1/3 the size of a pea. It was located behind his ear. The stitches will come out on Monday and we will be rid of the dreaded cone of shame. Our family shouldn’t own three of these buggers (cones of shame)… But we do.

Update 2017: Barkley has been saved from 12 cancerous tumors this way. Four vets have not believed me and have eaten their words when the histopathology came back positive. Trust your gut. Pet your dog.

June 2009