06/08/2026
Dobby’s blue corn taco era 🌮💙
Last month, Dobby had surgery to remove a pigmented lump on the back of his neck. We’d first noticed the lump last fall and did a cytology, where they take a sample of cells to test for malignancy. The test said it was benign and we breathed a sigh of relief.
Earlier this year, we noticed the lump getting bigger. Turns out the cytology was actually inconclusive 🤦🏻♀️ given that the lump was growing the vet recommended we remove it and send it for testing.
The initial pathology said it was a skin tumor, but it was unclear whether it was benign or malignant so we opted for additional testing.
Overall, the pathologist thinks it’s a benign melanocytoma rather than malignant melanoma (skin cancer). The good news is the surgery “cured” the issue and fully removed the lump with clean margins, and it’s good we removed it when we did before it had a chance to evolve into a more aggressive or dangerous cancer. Testing showed it hadn’t spread to his blood and had a mitotic count of 0, meaning the pathologist didn’t observe any tumor cells actively dividing.
Dobby’s recovered fully from the surgery and his hair is finally growing back where they shaved it for the procedure. We appreciate everyone who checked in during surgery and recovery 🥰 make sure to check your doggos for any mysterious bumps and lumps and to get them checked out 💛
