Sam hadn't been himself for a while (listless, uninterested in geese or his toys, occasional barfing) so we took him to the vet. All he could determine is that he has an enlarged spleen - which could be removed for about $3K if we wanted, but may or may not be the issue. Passed on that, took home some meds and waited two weeks.
He got worse. The only thing that had changed was that the lump on his shoulder (previously diagnosed as a benign fat lump, typical for older dogs) had developed a scab on it. Back to the vet.
Turns out that fat lump was infected and once they shaved around it we could see that it had actually grown quite large and had turned a nasty red.
Vet cleaned it out and sent us home with antibiotics. Sam had to wear tee shirts for a while as it took a while to heal. He didn't seem to mind and I rather like the look. I think he will be wearing more tee shirts in the future - possibly seasonal or holiday themed.
The antibiotics worked. He's back to his old self and the area is nearly completely healed!
Yahoo!
-------------------------------- Life is short. Play with your dog.