Histiocytoma: Aka- Button Tumor in Dogs

histiocytoma on the side of Muddy’s abdomen. July, 25, 2013

 

Muddy, the lab is a clown. If you are “dog tired” of the camera person just stick out your tongue.

Muddy loves sticks. No inclination to fetch- anything!

Muddy resting in the gravel driveway.

About a month ago I discovered a small round odd looking growth on the side of my labrador retriever, Muddy. A very odd looking growth that is approximately an inch in diameter.

I feared for the worse possible news but my veterinarian diagnosed the growth as a histiocytoma also known as a button tumor. He declared no immediate removal and instructed me to give Benadryl 50mg twice daily for 2 months. The tumor is considered benign but he also said that it should be removed if it does not go away or shrink from the antihistamine. He said that this type of tumor sometimes responds to an antihistamine since the tumor is believed to arise from from type of histamine reaction in the body.

I’ll have it removed after I finish the Benadryl in about a month. I have not seen any change in the size so far and thus I don’t think I will be home free without having to shell out some money. I might add that Muddy weighs around 90 pounds and part of the cost of surgery is figured in according to the weight of an animal. It will not be cheap.

Dog breeds (most often affected) by this type of tumor include Dachshund, Shetland Sheep Dog, Great Dane, Labrador Retriever, Boxer, Staffordshire Terrier, and the Cocker Spaniel.

Of note there is a malignant tumor that resembles the button tumor. Do not take this info here as the last word. If you notice any growth on your cat or dog DO NOT HESITATE TO GET YOUR PET TO THE VET FOR PROPER DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT.

I have posted a pic of the tumor along with a few photos of my boy. Muddy was found five years ago by me on a cold and wet January night in the parking lot of the hospital where I worked for not quite 35 years. Muddy is a wonderful watch dog and is very smart. He just does not care a lot for water and has never shown an inclination to retrieve. He does like to play with sticks that he finds in the yard.

Post and photographs
~yvonne~

Please do not reblog without permission

Butterflies In My Yard: Spring, Summer, Fall

These are all butterfly species that I have recorded in my yard over the past two years. In 2011 there were more Monarchs and Queens and in 2013 the numbers of all species were down. I am a bit alarmed as are many other individuals who are concerned with conservation and preservation of all things in nature- not just butterflies.

Birds have declined in numbers as well and scientists, naturalists and, conservationists are scrambling about in an effort to determine what needs to be done to stave off the loss of any species. “Frankly” from my little ole perspective- there is not much to do except curb pollution, wide spread use of pesticides, herbicides and, human population. And now speaking “earnestly” I don’t see much hope unless laws are passed for limiting human reproduction to stem the tide of habitat loss. More people equates to more vehicles, more homes and loss of natural resources. Last but not least the use of pesticides and herbicides has probably wrecked the most havoc by killing off bees, butterflies and, birds.

If you are one that must use either one of these killers then do not entice butterflies or bees to your yard. One can learn to garden and grow crops without the use of a herbicide or pesticide. I know, for I’ve been growing all manner of fruits, vegetables and, yes, I have even had a nice lawn when my husband believed a yard was not complete without St Augustine grass. Organic gardening  reaps many benefits not only for humans but it  proves beneficial for the bees, butterflies and, birds.

Sachem skipper? nectaring on Mexican plum (Photo 3/18/2014)

Sachem skipper? nectaring on Mexican plum (photo 3/18/2014)

Gulf Fritillary, nectaring on Mexican Butterfly Weed, July, 2013

Giant Swalowtail. Mexican Butterfly Weed Spet. 4, 2013

Giant Swallowtail, Skyflower Sept. 4, 2013

Variegated Fritillary, Skyflower Sept. , 2013

Variegated Fritillary, nectaring on zinnia Sept, 4, 2013

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, early migrant- nectaring on Skyflower August 31,2013

Sleepy Orange, nectaring on Skyflower, Oct, 2012

Monarch on Frostweed, Sept. 26, 2011

American Snout, nectaring on Frostweed, October, 2011

Painted Lady, nectaring on Skyflower (duranta)

Pearl Crescent, nectaring on native Aster, late Spring

src=”https://petspeopleandlife.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/372.jpg?w=500″ alt=”American Snout, nectaring on Frostweed, October, 2011″ width=”500″ height=”437″ class=”size-large wp-image-5127″ /> American Snout, nectaring on Frostweed, October, 2011[/caption]

Monarch, nectaring on Frostweed, October, 2011

Monarch, nectaring on Mexican Butterfly Weed, July, 2012

Giant Swallowtail nectaring on Mexican Butterfly Weed, August, 2013

Giant Swallowtail resting on a tomato leaf. A lucky shot for me. Wish that is has been a flower.

Ceraunus Blue nectaring on Lantana, June, 2012

Northern Cloudywing, nectaring on Scabiosa July, 2013

Fiery Skipper, nectaring on lantana June. 2012

src=”https://petspeopleandlife.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/069.jpg?w=500″ alt=”Gulf Fritillary, nectaring on Lantana, July, 2013″ width=”500″ height=”447″ class=”size-large wp-image-5208″ /> Gulf Fritillary, nectaring on Lantana, July, 2013[/caption]

Queen, male- nectaring on Mexican Butterfly Weed, Summer, 2013

Bordered Patch nectaring on Frostweed, Fall, 2012

Texan Crescent resting briefly on some leaves. June, 2012

Eastern Tailed-blue nectaring on fall blooming native Wedalia November 14, 2012

Black Swallowtail caterpillar feeding on dill

Black Swallowtail female laying eggs on diil which is a host plant. The dill comes up “volunteer” in one of the garden areas that I made for the butterflies.

Cloudleess sulphur- not sure of this one Nectaring in Salvia Greggii in March.

Red Admiral obtaining moisture from the rocky soil

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Oak Hairsteak nectaring on African Blue Basil, Summer

Question Mark, sipping water from a mud puddle in the backyard, late spring

Tawny Emperor.I found this one in a pile of leaves one cool morning in October. I almost killed it by accident. I put it on a log to get warm so that it could fly to a nearby nectar source.

Pearl Crescent on native Aster. Summer.

Viceroy, fall.Resting on on the twigs of a tree. Looks similiar to Monarch. A faded butterfly here.

Hackberry Emperor, on the chimney bricks.

Northern Cloudywing down in the leaves in November, 2012

Common Buckeye nectaring on fall blooming Frostweed.

Bordred Patch is quite pretty but like a faded rose this one is bedraggled and faded.

I was going to write and or work on one or more posts but decided to get this long dispaly of butterfly photos out of the way. There are more posts in draft form but I can’t get really motivated although I feel that these will make pretty decent posts. They’ve sat over in the holding pen in a state of torpor. I’m afraid that most are now sick since the poor things have been dormant for so long. I hope to rescue those soon by giving them a bit of oxygen to breathe some life into those torpid and puny posts. 🙂 I’ve been in a state of torpor mysel for months, and I’m just now beginning to have enough energy to see what sort of damage I can do on WP.

The butterfly pictures are decent and some or not. Some of them are not good but again they are part of a record from my little habitat. Some of the butterflies are faded in the fall and are not at their prettiest. One or two I can not positively identify. I simply could not get a good view of all the markings. But I put a name on them and if these are not correct then someone I hope will put the proper name of the “flutterby” in a comment.

Bloggers that I follow who are extremely good nature and landscape photographers :
Andrew Hardacre: http://ajh57.wordpress.com/
Just Rod: http://reflectionsinpuddles.com/or
Steve Gingold: http://sggphoto.wordpress.com/.
Say It With a Camera http://mikehardisty.wordpress.com/

Most of these photos were not easy to come by. I had to do lots of stalking and creeping about and then stand or crouch like a statue. Such unattractive stances for a woman!

I hand hold my 200mm zoom for just about all butterfly photographing. Yes, the pics would be a tad sharper if I had used a tripod but there is no time to set up a tripod. And I can not sit or stand out in the Texas heat waiting for a flutterby (Rod’s name for butterfly.) I’ve debated with my self whether to get a 300mm zoom which would enable me to get some bird pics as well. On the other hand I doubt that I can hand hold the 300mm since it is a heavier lens. But it would be a USM IS Canon and a far better lens than the kit lens that I now use.

Three butterfly photos had been lost in a maze of folders. I wanted to use the best one of the Texan Crescent. I had cut it and then pasted to a new folder. But when I renamed the folder that folder attached itself to some other place.

I emailed Val and she gave me directions http://artyoldbird.com directions on how to find the lost photos and I now have them in a properly named folder. Val is a good friend who is super smart. She is a Word Press and HTML expert who has given me a 100% correct answer to everything that I have asked. Astonishing memory and an incredible artist. Super funny too. At the moment her blog is there but is inactive till sometime in September.

I have not proofed this post as I should. Frankly I am sick of it for I worked hours and hours getting the pics in named folders. I’ve spent way too many hours trying to correct some of the picture insert mistakes. I’ve decided to leave well enough alone. So enough already. 🙂

Post and phoptographs: Original content property of Yvonne Daniel.
Please do not steal any photos from a little ole lady. These are not
excellent but at the same time some of them or not too bad either. 🙂

Please do not reblog my hard work. Thank you.

In The Garden: Lizard, Anole, Gecho of Central Texas

The male anole “blows out” his throat pouch as a means of attracting mates and to assert territory.

This little beauty was basking in the sun on the dead stem of a Frostweed plant that blooms in my yard in the fall.

The little anole perched on a wrought iron chair on the front patio which is surrounded by lots of vegetation.

The friendly green anole here is a yellowish-brown color. Color is affected by temp and sunlight. I like this color. I think he/she knows it’s cute. 🙂 Well not really but it’s posing nicely for me in this photo op. 🙂

An odd looking little creature that was introduced from Europe. Eats roaches/insects and is considered beneficial. This is the largest one that I’ve seen It was perched on cracked plastic garden pot- Outside of course. They thrive inside homes if it can escape the clutches of a cat.

Look closely or you will miss the lizard.
The Texas Spiny Lizard in this photo blends perfectly on this small decaying tree sapling.

This Green Anole changes color depending on temperature and sunlight. In this pic the anole is looking dapper in his brown suit.

I have not posted in a while so I’ve had a bit of a problem with the captions. Not sure why they did not show but it might be because I changed the photo sizes several times before inserting into the post.

Top three pics are of the Green Anole (anolis carolinensis)

The spoted one is a Mediterranean House Gecko (hemidaclylus turicus)

The Texas Spiny Lizard (sceloporous olivaceus) is the gray lizard perched on the decayed small tree that had grown into the chain link fence. He is so well camouflaged that he/she is almot invisible.

The last pic is of the Green Anole (anolis carolinensis) in his brown suit for the day.

A few photos here to give my viewers, readers, lurkers, and visitors a glimpse of some of the small creatures that I encounter, almost on a daily basis. I often get a fleeting glimpse of these beneficial little critters as I water my butterfly garden or walk about my yard. I generally try to have my camera nearby so that I can grab a pic here or there. These pictures are not so much here as they are there simply because I had to do some mad scrambling to capture these little beauties on film or rather digital mode.

All of these are beneficial for they eat small insects and I think they are just cute. I really feel entertained when I see one on a leaf or twig as they bask in the sun.

The anole dressed in his brown suit was almost like a pet. I saw him almost daily on the same spot of wood. I could see him watching me and he only moved when I needed to move the 2×4 that was his basking spot. After two months he had disappeared and I am pretty certain that he had been eaten by a predator such as a snake. I was sad when he no longer made an appearance but I knew that eventually he would meet his Waterloo. The literature says that an anole in the wild lives an average of two years but can live up to seven years in captivity.

Post and photographs: yvonne

Please do not reblog without permission.