January Pet of the Month

Tula is a 6 year old Pug that has been coming to Rock Bridge Animal Hospital since August 2013. As with any pug, Tula has ample charm, and she has had all of us wrapped around her little toe since her first visit. Tula comes in every so often to have her nails trimmed. She doesn’t really enjoy her pedicures, but she will endure it as long as we let her lick (and by lick we mean inhale) cheese to her heart’s content.
 
When Tula came in for a nail trim in April of this year, it was because she had torn a toenail and needed the broken nail removed. As we were addressing the nails, and Tula was inhaling cheese, we noticed a large, soft lump just behind the foot pad of her right hind foot. Tula’s mom had noticed this a few weeks prior, and it hadn’t changed much since it first showed up. We decided to aspirate it to look at the cells microscopically and see what kind of mass it was. It turned out to be a mast cell tumor.
 

Mast cells are a type of inflammatory cell that is part of the normal immune system. Its job is to release antibodies in response to infectious organisms (particularly parasites). They are responsible for allergic reactions as well, and release histamines in response to allergens. When these cells go awry, they can create tumors, which can release their inflammatory substances just from being bumped. They can be very aggressive and spread quickly to other areas of the body, or they can be more stagnant and just stay in one spot on the skin. When they are surgically removed, we have to take a large area around the tumor to make sure we get all of it. Tula’s mass was concerning because it was in an abnormal place and got very large very quickly. There was also not a lot of extra tissue around the mass to remove, unless we amputated her leg.
 
Tula went to the University of Missouri for a consultation with the oncology department there, to determine the best way to treat this tumor. They aspirated her lymph nodes, which showed the mast cells had already spread to the nearest lymph node. They also evaluated her spleen and liver, which appeared normal. After the oncology consult, it was decided that amputating the leg and following up with chemotherapy would be the safest route to go for Tula, since her tumor appeared to be a more aggressive type.
 
We amputated Tula’s leg in May. Being her adorable, energetic, pug-self, she didn’t

miss a beat. She was doing her best to walk out the door the day of surgery! She recovered very quickly from surgery and balances like a pro on her three legs.
Tula underwent 3 months of chemotherapy at the University of Missouri and is currently in remission! She is loving life, and even has a new little pug brother named Maxwell Preston! We are thrilled that Tula is doing so well, and hope to keep her around for a long time to come.