May 9, 2012

Basil Had His Wart Removed



About a year ago my Boston terrier Basil developed a wart on his forehead right between his eyes. I took him to the vet because at first I didn’t know what it was and thought it could be a tumor. Dog’s get cancer and growths just like people.

The vet said it was just a wart and nothing to worry about so we left it alone. Problem was, it kept growing and he would bump it and make it bleed, not a lot but just enough to make it look sore.

So I decided to have the vet take it off so it wouldn’t bother him anymore. My oldest son will be pleased because he says, “it’s ugly.” It isn’t pretty but it didn’t bother me near as much as it bothered my son.

They had to put Basil under anesthetic to remove the wart and since he’s so old I didn’t want to put him in any danger but it became a problem so yesterday morning Mr. Warty Head went in for minor surgery.

We’ll have to stop calling him Warty Head or Warty Headed Dog now but since he can’t hear he won’t know the difference if we forget and use those old pet names.

We’ve made jokes about him trying to turn into a unicorn since it’s right in the middle of his forehead and getting bigger. You can make jokes about dogs and they don’t care, they love you anyway.

He will be thirteen May 30, which is coming up pretty soon. Humans have work done when they get older so I guess he’s no different. He never looks in the mirror and doesn’t really care how he looks; smell is all he cares about. Actually, he can stink quite a bit and not mind that either.

We have a big backyard so taking him for walks was never an issue but he’s less active and has been putting on some weight. Neutering him last year probably didn’t help that matter any. He no longer marks his territory (why bother?) and all he has to live for is food. He has arthritis and it probably hurts to lift his leg.

He takes glucosamine chondroitin every morning for joint pain, which helps but you reach an age where you have ailments and there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it. The reason for this last bit of ramble is to tell you I’ve started taking him for walks at the park.

The first time we went he wasn’t thrilled especially since I didn’t let him go where he wanted so he walked a few yards, turned around and went back to stand by the car. “I’m ready to go home.”

I took him back the second day and he did better. I let him go where he wanted which at first confused him. He's used to me tugging on the leash telling him where to go. We walked about ¾ of a mile and then I could tell he was wearing out and took him back to the car.

When he was younger he could jump right into the car which isn’t really a car, it’s an SUV, not a large SUV at least not by Oklahoma standards but still a bit high off the ground for an old Boston Terrier to jump into.



Here he is with his wart.

 




Here he is without his wart. He has stitches but you may not be able to tell with my sorry picture taking. I couldn't get a good one without the possessed eyes either but hopefully you get the idea. 





He won't win any beauty contests but I love him anyway.