Despite having almost no ears (someone cropped his ears too short before we adopted him), Hugo’s ears get really dirty. And although he had no interest in letting me take a photo of his icky ears, I can assure you that they are pretty gross. Here’s the best photo I could get:

Hugo's Dirty Ear

So when Spot Organics sent us their Organic Ear Cleaning Pads, we were pretty excited! The organic pads are thick pads treated with organic aloe vera, lavender and witch hazel hydrosols, organic apple cider vinegar, and pure essential oils of lavender, naouli, and bergamot. They smelled clean and fresh – no alcohol smell like some cleaning pads.

Spot Organics Ear Cleaning Pads

I started by cleaning the inside of Hugo’s ear, gently wiping working my way to the external ear (or what’s left of it.) The wipes were pretty gross and did a good job of cleaning out any loose dirt, wax and stray hairs. I used a clean pad for each ear. Hugo sat patiently and was phased at all by the pads. He really enjoyed having his ears rubbed while they were secretly being cleaned as well. Here’s how well the pad worked:

Ear Cleaning Pad - After

We really loved the fact that the ear cleaning pads were natural and had a pleasing smell. Hugo loved the process of having his ears cleaned. We would highly recommend Spot Organic Dog Ear Cleaning Pads!

As some of you know, our dog Hugo was diagnosed with a Mast Cell Tumor back in April. Since his initial diagnosis and surgery, the MCT returned. He has been on chemo since September with three more treatments to go and is doing well. We had a scare a few weeks ago when his liver count increased pretty significantly.

Worried that the cancer was within a vital system or an internal tumor had surfaced, we took him in for an ultrasound and a liver aspiration. Although the treatment wasn’t cheap, we were happy to find out that he had a slight gall bladder infection and that was likely causing the elevation. No tumors or systematic anomalies were found. Now, he is on antibiotics for the infection and his liver count is slowly decreasing. As a 6-year-old, 120lb. mastiff, he is doing pretty darn good and we hope that once the chemo is over we won’t have to deal with the “c” word again!

by Beth J. Bates

When we bought the new house, it came with a bidet in the master bedroom. We’ve never owned a bidet and would never have installed one, so for about eight months it sat sad, lonely and unused. Then I had an epiphany. Hugo drinks a lot and I was constantly filling his dog bowl. And he had often been caught drinking out of the toilet (yucky and unsanitary). What if we just filled up the bidet and let him drink out of that? It’s not like we were using it.

So, one night I filled it up…low and behold, Hugo loved it!

Hugo loves his bidet.

Hugo likes to be discreet about his fancy water bowl.

It’s easy to clean, easy to fill and easy for him to get to. I’m glad that we could put this thing to use!

by Beth J. Bates

We had a little scare last week. The vet has asked us to keep an eye on the area around Hugo’s suture for any returning tumors. Within a couple of days of the surgery, a mass had started to form just below the suture line, so I immediately freaked out and thought it was cancer. We took him to the vet just to be safe (he needed to have his anal glands expressed anyway) and it was only a buildup of fluid under the wound. So we are putting a warm compress on the area twice a day to help alleviate the liquid.

Hugo is scheduled to have his sutures removed tomorrow and we will chat with the vet a little more on follow-up treatment. So far, he is acting like his old self. Our fingers are crossed that this is the last battle with MCT.

Well, we got a call from the vet today and the news is not what we had hoped. The tumor was graded a low 2 which means that is likely that it has spread and that it will reoccur back quickly. We will be watching him for more tumors while his body heals from the surgery. If more MCT occurs, we’ll need to look into either prednisone or radiation for the cancer. We have a vet appointment for early next week to have his sutures removed, so we’ll talk with the vet more then.

I hate waiting and am in general a very impatient person. We should get news this week on the pathology of the tumor that was reomoved from Hugo. In the meantime, he is running around and being his rambuncious self. We are doing our best to keep him “quiet”. He wants so deperately to play with other dogs, but he has to wait until the stitches come out next week. More to come once we have more news.

Hugo Post-Surgery

Hugo had his mass removed today. We dropped him off at the vet at 8:30AM this morning. His surgery was scheduled at 2PM, but the vet had an opening so it was actually completed this morning. I just picked him up and he’s pretty dopey, but doing well. He has a huge incision on his belly. When the mass is removed, they have to cut 2-3cm in each direction to ensure that they cut out all of the cancerous cells. So now he looks a little like Frankenstein.

We should have the pathology back in about five days so we know what the course of action will be. The sutures come out in ten days. We have to keep him indoors and somewhat “quiet” (yeah right) for 7-10 days.

So, my next 7-10 days will be spent keeping the other dogs away from him and trying to keep him “sedate”. I’ll keep you updated on his progress and prognosis. Many thanks to everyone who has given their support. Hugo certainly appreciates it.

Hugo - So Misunderstood

Hugo, Willy’s mastiff brother, got to take a field trip to a large pet-friendly retailer show in Dulles, VA. It seemed like a good idea…until we got there.

We should have been tipped off when we couldn’t find a place to park that this was a bad idea.

To make a long story short…we didn’t even make it into the show. There were SO many people and dogs that it was just too much for Hugo (and me for that matter). Hugo likes to bark at every dog he sees and wants to play. The problem? Hugo is 130lbs and not all dogs want to play with him. And because he is a mastiff, many times his “play” is mistaken for aggressiveness. Which was the case here.

It really bothered me that people walked by and said “Look at the mean dog”. Or parents would tell their kids to stay away from Hugo because he was a “bad dog”.  What do they know about my dog? It was like someone insulting your child. Don’t get me wrong. There were a few GREAT folks who said hello to Hugo and asked about him. Truth is, although he is huge – he is a big baby. His brother George can be 130lbs of crankiness, but Hugo is a lazy, affectionate couch potato.

The moral of my story. Hugo and I will only be hanging out with cool people who understand that not all big dogs are bad and can appreciate Hugo for who he is.