Author: Archie the Zuchon

On Friday 13th March, when I was brushing Archie, I discovered a lump on his scrotum. At first I thought that he’d been bitten in the garden, because the lump looked like a blister. As we’re with Waggel for pet insurance, unless it’s an emergency you have to go through a kind of triage before you take your pet to the vets, so we had a remote consultation later that day. The vet said it was hard to say what the lump was, but to continue to monitor it and if it was still there the following Monday, to make an appointment for Archie to see his regular vet.

The lump didn’t go away, so a few days later my husband and I took Archie to see a vet. She took a sample from the lump and said lumps are common in dogs, and that it could be benign, but she was concerned because of where the lump was.

I tried not to think too much about the lump until a week later when the test results came back. The results indicated that Archie had a high grade Mast Cell Tumour. When I got the call, I was in total shock and I don’t think I’d processed the news 24 hours later, when I got a call from the animal hospital Archie had been referred to, the Small Animal Teaching Hospital (part of The University of Liverpool) in Neston. It didn’t seem real, that Archie had an aggressive tumour for which he’d needed to be referred to a specialist animal hospital.

The earliest they could see Archie was in six weeks time. There followed what seemed like the longest wait ever. Throughout that time, my husband and I tried our best to remain positive, but at times it was hard to keep the worst case scenario thoughts at bay.

For a while I resisted looking up mast cell tumours on the internet, but when I eventually succumbed, I wished I hadn’t. High grade tumours don’t have a good prognosis.

Archie’s 10 and in good health – apart from the lump he had no other symptoms. My husband Simon and I were in shock. We hope for many more years with Archie.

We chose not to tell many people and it was the right decision, because of the few people that we did tell, some regaled us with stories of dogs who’d died of cancer. I was grateful to the people who told us positive stories. I didn’t want to focus on anything other than Archie having the lump removed and being cancer free.

Eventually it was time for the initial consultation. We went to the hospital on 27th April 2026. Whilst we were waiting to go in we saw lots of people coming and going, dogs and cats. Some people were leaving without their pet, carrying their collar and lead. I thought ‘that must be hard’, and it was very hard when it was our turn.

The vet we saw was all for removing the lump and taking it from there and his attitude made us feel more positive. We left Archie at the hospital for a few hours in order for him to have a scan and an ultrasound and some other tests. We went to a nearby garden centre, which we found to be a haven for us whilst we awaited news of Archie. This garden centre (Gordale Garden & Home Centre in Neston) has some woodland where you can watch ducks, geese, and peahens, as well as other garden birds. We sat on a bench watching the peahens for a while. It was soothing. Whilst we were there we got the call to say we could collect Archie.

Archie was brought out on a lead. I think I was surprised to see him up and walking, but then he hadn’t had the full anaesthesia. He didn’t recognise me and Simon though, as he was still under the influence of whatever drug he’d been given to sedate him. We were told we’d get the results of the tests in the next day or so. Archie was as quiet as a mouse in the car (unheard of). When we got home he had something to eat (he was fasted from the night before), then had a nap. He was soon up again though, indicating he wanted to go outside. I let him out and then watched as he just sat on the grass shivering. He still wasn’t with it, so I went and scooped him up and brought him back inside, wrapping him in a blanket. Later that evening he seemed more himself, and he was back to normal the following morning.

The vet rang the following day: it was good news. They couldn’t see any evidence that the cancer had spread (thank God!). They recommended that as well as removing the lump, they’d also attempt to remove a lymph node which was slightly enlarged. Archie was put forward for surgery and later that week I was given a date – 8th May.

The plan was to take Archie for a consultation on 7th May with the surgeon who would operate on him, bring him home, then take him back the following morning for surgery. Although it meant extra travel, I didn’t want Archie spending any longer at the hospital than he had to.

On the day of the consultation with the surgeon, all the risks were explained to us, which was sobering. Daisy, the surgeon, explained that as well as removing the lump she would ideally take a 3cm margin round the lump, but she might not be able to take as much as that due to the position the lump was in. Because Archie was neutered when he was younger, there was less skin to work with.

Daisy went on to talk about her plan to remove the lymph node which was causing concern because it was slightly enlarged, but cautioned it may be too small to remove.

It was explained to us that for various reasons it would be better to leave Archie with them. It was awful leaving him because he started crying (he didn’t do that when he was taken off for a scan during the first appointment). It upset me, as did leaving carrying his collar and lead. A member of staff we passed in the corridor could see I was upset and said Archie would be well looked after. It helped a bit. Both me and Simon were worried we’d seen Archie for the last time, as all surgery poses a risk. We didn’t voice this to each other at the time, but it was what we were both thinking.

We left feeling very subdued. I hated the thought of Archie being in strange place, for no reason really, as he wasn’t having surgery that day. The main reason I agreed to leave him there though was because they said it would enable the anaesthetist to spend more time with him on the morning of the surgery, than if we were to take Archie in at 8am. They also said he would start to get used to his surroundings, so it wouldn’t be so much of a shock for him on the day of the surgery.

We were supposed to get a call that evening, to let us know how Archie was doing. We didn’t and I couldn’t ring the hospital as you’re asked not to ring during the evenings in order to keep the line free for emergencies. This made me feel even worse and I cried for the first time since we found out Archie had a tumour. I felt helpless, as I couldn’t do anything for him.

The following morning, Friday, 8th May, we received a text at 9am saying Archie had had a settled night and was now being prepped for surgery. That made me feel a little better, getting some news of him, but obviously both me and Simon were on edge until we received the call at around midday to say Archie had come through the surgery and was already coming round. The surgery was a success in that the lump had been removed, as well as the lymph node. Daisy couldn’t remove as much skin as she’d have liked to, so the lump was being tested for the grade, as well as to see whether the cancer had spread to the outer edges.

Only one incision had had to be made. Daisy told us she’d stitched the wound as dissolvable stitches wouldn’t have been up to the job of keeping the wound intact. Regarding the lack of an update the previous day she told us that a member of her team had tried to call us, but couldn’t get through for some reason. I don’t know what happened there (it added to the stress, us not getting that update), but moving on, we did receive another update later that same day just to say Archie was doing well, was eating and moving around, so I went to bed feeling much less anxious that night. We are beyond grateful to Daisy for her skill.

We received a call the next morning to say that they were happy with Archie’s progress and that we could take him home later that day. When we went to pick Archie up, he was really bright and happy to see us. He was wearing a cone, and most of his bottom half had been shaved. We soon realised what a hard task it was going to be keeping him quiet for two weeks. We removed the cone for the car journey home, but when we tried to put it back on him when we arrived home, he went a bit crazy and ran away from us, jumping on the bed. When I tried to catch him he jumped off the bed and ran and hid under it. I winced, in fact I winced every time he jumped, because though we crated him at times, and picked him up to put him on the sofa and vice-versa, there were times when he was just too quick for us. Fortunately those stitches did a brilliant job because the wound remained intact.

Archie was subdued during his recovery period. He wasn’t allowed to go for walks – he didn’t like that. We couldn’t play fetch with him. He was obviously uncomfortable and I’m not surprised having seen the length of the scar, which went from his scrotum all the way to his bottom. He had a poorly tummy as well, which we think was due to some of the pain medication he was on. He hated the cone, but thankfully I found some pants for him to wear, which meant he couldn’t reach the wound. The pants were especially great for night-time when we couldn’t watch him. If he’d had to wear the cone none of us would have slept.

I missed our cheeky little boy. Thankfully we had some sunshine during his recovery period and we were able to spend time in the garden, which he loves. We started to see flashes of the Archie we know and love, a waggy tail here, a lick there, a little roly poly there ( I worried about his wound when he did that, but oh, it was lovely to see ).

Archie continued to eat throughout, so that was a good sign. He had puzzle toys, which kept him mentally stimulated. He had plenty of chews too. About a week after we brought him home we began taking him for short walks along the lane where we live. We never went far, but just 5 minutes on the lane seemed to cheer Archie up. Yes, we were breaking the rules, but Archie was constantly scratching at the gate to go into the lane. If it had been wet we wouldn’t have gone, because we couldn’t risk the wound getting dirty – we couldn’t shower him for that matter.

We booked an appointment with our usual vet to have Archie’s stitches removed 11 days after the operation. This was within the recommended timescale and Archie’s wound was looking really healthy. We were advised to give him some anti-anxiety medication prior to the appointment, to ensure Archie was relaxed and so he hopefully he wouldn’t need a sedative. Well, that was fun, getting Archie to take the tablets.

Actually before I tell you about that, the day before Archie was due to have the stitches removed, I noticed that the scab had come off part of the wound, towards the top end and I thought the skin looked a little sore. I sent a photo to our vet and was advised to bring Archie in anyway for the wound to be checked and to give him the medication as planned.

There were two lots of medication, some were a capsule which I could pull apart and sprinkle the contents in Archie’s wet food. I couldn’t do that with the second lot, but managed to hide them in his wet food and he ate it all. So far so good. But the following morning I was only able to give him a small amount of food, in case he would eventually need to be sedated. It all depended on the anti-anxiety medication calming him enough. I only managed to get him to eat half the medication that morning. I even tried hand feeding him, with the tablet mixed in with wet food, but no, he wasn’t having any of it.

So Archie arrived at the vets hyper as usual. The vet said his wound was healing nicely but needed a few more days. Another appointment was booked, when we’d have to repeat the medication saga. We were also prescribed an oral sedative for Archie (one we could only pick up on the morning of the appointment).

On the same day I received a call from SATH. It was mixed news. If it was a Mast Cell Tumour as first thought, it had all been removed and was low grade. But there was some confusion around the test results. It could now be lymphoma. The lump was going to be re-tested. At that point I didn’t know how serious lymphoma was, but a quick internet search told me it wasn’t good news. So there was to be no celebrating, just more waiting and trying not to scare myself with thoughts of worst case scenario. I’d managed to remain fairly positive up to now, apart from the odd wobble, so I imagined the vet calling to say it was a Mast Cell Tumour.

Then it was time to take Archie to have the stitches out. I was dreading attempting to get him to take all the medication. The evening before, he ate all the tablets mixed in with his wet food as expected. For his breakfast the following morning I gave him a bit more food than last time, as the vet had said I could. The powder was mixed in with the food, but I knew there was no way Archie would eat the other tablet, even hidden in a ball of his wet food. Luckily, we now had some Royal Canin Pill Assist treats, inside which you can hide tablets. Archie was slightly suspicious of the treat at first, so my husband got down on the floor and tried to encourage Archie to eat it. Guess what? It worked! Hallelujah. Simon’s obviously got the magic touch.

The oral sedative was to be administered just before we took Archie to the vets. It took the two of us to apply it as it had to be squirted on his gums. I pretended I was going to brush his teeth, something he (just about) tolerates, and when I had raised his lip, my husband squirted the liquid into Archie’s mouth. It was over so quickly that Archie didn’t have a chance to avoid it. Job done.

Archie was so quiet in the car – he is never that quiet. His eyes were open but he was dopey. We had to carry him into the vets and he just lay on the table! The vet was able to take the stitches out quickly and we took Archie home where he was out of it for a few hours, but magically came round in time for his tea.

Two days later we got the call we wanted. The lump had been re-checked and it was a low grade Mast Cell Tumour! They were satisfied they’d got it all out along with extra margins, as well as the lymph node. As the lymph node showed signs of being cancerous, the vet advised us that Archie should have another scan in 3 months time.

We got the outcome we wanted. Archie is cancer free. We bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate, something we said earlier on in the journey we’d do.

Archie is remarkable. You wouldn’t know he’s been through all he has. Today it’s exactly 5 months since we found the lump and it’s just over 3 months since he had the surgery , and you can barely see the scar now. I’m pleased to report that he’s back to his usual cheeky self.

I’d like to end this post by saying it’s worth checking your pet regularly for lumps and if you find one, get it checked by a vet. I think I found the tumour early. I say this because Archie had a groom at the end of January and I feel sure our groomer would have mentioned the lump. Archie’s been going to her for years and we’ve often talked about his health. I found the lump on 13th March, so as I say, I think we caught it early. I had Archie on his back, and was brushing near his rear end, which can get matted. I saw this lump poking out from underneath his hair and thought, ‘That looks odd. What’s that?’ The rest as they say, is history.

I think it’s still sinking in, that the tumour has gone and Archie’s well. Simon and I hope for plenty more adventures with Archie. Speaking of which, something that kept me going whilst we were waiting for Archie to have surgery and then when he was recovering from the surgery, was the thought of a little holiday with Archie. We don’t normally take him away with us as he gets very stressed in the car, plus we were worried as to how he’d be in a hotel. But once we got the all clear we arranged to stay for one night in a pet friendly B&B in Llandudno. We normally venture further afield than this, but didn’t want the journey to be too long for Archie.

We all had a lovely time. Archie was a bit puzzled as to where he was, and he did bark once at some noise he heard outside, but otherwise he was quiet all night and very well-behaved. When I woke the next morning he gave me the biggest fuss ever. He gave my face a good wash! I don’t know where he thought I’d been. He’d been right beside me all night!

It is truly amazing what can be done for animals these days. I feel incredibly grateful that a team of people at the hospital, including Saj and Daisy, looked at Archie and felt surgery was viable for him, and for all the care they took of him. Ultimately, they have given us more time with Archie, for which we are extremely grateful.