Poor Hank had a little papilloma on his eyelid, as aging dogs sometimes do. It didn’t cause much of a problem, until it did.

Earlier this summer, one day he suddenly had a red and swollen eye.

Our vet diagnosed an eye infection and a swollen lid that took a couple of weeks to resolve.

Since then, he hasn’t left the little papilloma growth alone. He keeps scratching at it and after it scabs up, he scratches it off, leaving a growing wound on his eye.

After two or three visits to our local vet, John said he wanted a second opinion and suggested we go to Whitehorse asap. Jeff took him down for an urgent vet visit (otherwise he’d have to wait weeks and weeks for an appointment). For an urgent visit, you just drop him off early in the morning and be prepared to leave him all day until he can be seen.

He was sent home with a cone and they suggested they remove the troublesome spot from his eyelid in a surgery a week later.

Oh no. Not the dreaded cone!

He still managed to remove the scab twice, even with the cone on!!

Yesterday was his surgery. Jeff took him down to Whitehorse during the night before. He needed to have two doses of 3 medications before his arrival, so by the time Jeff dropped him off, Hank was so impaired he could barely walk!

To remove the lump or mass or just angry papilloma, or whatever it is best referred to, they took a wedge out of his eyelid and sewed him up. Here he is post surgery:

Jeff and Hank drove all the way home after the surgery. Hank was pretty out of it and walking like a drunk sailor. I set up a camping sleeping pad in the living room and slept on the floor with him.

He has to keep the cone on 24/7 – for the next 14 days! No exercise for the first 5 days either. Save us! He needs an ointment applied to his eyeball twice a day and a pain killer/anti-infammatory oral syringe once a day for 5 days.

They sent the tissue away for testing. 🤞 Really hoping it isn’t something bad. Poor Hankie! At least the stitches are supposed to dissolve on their own. Here’s hoping he can leave it alone so it will heal nicely!