Saturday, January 10, 2015

The Cone of Shame

So just a few days ago, you got your Benny fix and today, I was all set to introduce you to some of our sweet deer who have been coming around since winter has settled in.

But no. Benny had other plans.

He's such an attention hog!

No, not really. Here's what happened.

On and off, over the past few weeks, Benny has had a rather goopy eye. Some mornings, he would be in need of a warm, wet washcloth in order to clean him up. There was no redness. No swelling. And no pain. We didn't think too much about it. We figured he might have scratched it on something... like a cat's paw.

On Wednesday afternoon, Frank happened to notice a big dark glob in his eye. I thought it was some dried crusty bits which sometimes form in the corners but it was rather large for that. I tried to wipe it away but soon realized that it was fixed to his lower eyelid. And it didn't look right. It seemingly appeared out of nowhere but Frank figured that it had probably been growing behind his lower lid and flipped up once it became large enough.

Benny left eye
This image was taken in low light, without flash from across the room, earlier that same day. It was before we had noticed but if had I taken a good look at this photo, I might have seen it sitting there in his left eye.

A quick call to the vet got me an appointment for the following morning.

The clinic is an hour from our place. Once she had a good look at Benny's eye, she advised me that she felt she should remove the growth right that day. She concurred with what Frank had surmised, which helped to absolve us of guilt for not noticing sooner. She had other appointments to attend to and wouldn't be able to perform the surgery for a few hours.

Enter Carol Anne!

My dear friend spends most of her time in near(ish)by Peterborough. I had time to kill and Carol Anne helped me fill it. We met for lunch at a diner about fifteen minutes away from the veterinary clinic and about a half hour from Carol Anne's significant others place. The time went quickly as it always does when we're together and before I knew it, I was getting a text from the clinic advising me that all went well and that I could come get our Benny.

What the doctor thought was a deep-rooted tumour, was in fact two. The large visible one and a smaller one underneath it. She felt that the small one was benign but could not feel certain about the larger one so she sent them off for analysis. We'll know more about that in about a week. Hopefully it was also benign and if not, the next best thing would be to know that she got it all. That's the information we're waiting for.

In the meantime, Benny has very fine, dissolvable stitches in his lower lid and it must be kept well protected until his follow up visit in about ten days.

Yup, that's right. The boy has to wear...

cone of shame2
The Cone of Shame.

Poor Benny. He keeps crunching up against things and scooping up snow with the cone when he tries to sniff out a good place to pee. It took him a few jolts before he figured out that he had to hold his head up to go upstairs. He's doing a lot better with it but it's pathetic to see him try to scratch his ears through the plastic. If one of us hears him tapping on the cone, we'll help him out by scratching the area he's after. The funny thing is that he thinks he's having the affect on his itch and just keeps on scratching the cone.

Anyway, he's a little trooper and I only feel mildly guilty for using him and his condition for my Photoshop (and Illustrator) entertainment.

benny-top-hat
He's a real little gentleman about it all.

Of course these ideas have all be blatantly stolen from fun photo shoots already out there in various Googled images. Most were far more creative than this. They actually built props for their pets rather than take the easy digital route. But I suspect that Benny wouldn't have sat still long enough for that, anyway.

cone-of-shame1
J-R-Tini, anyone?



pixar benny
Ah yes, he really ought to be in pictures.

Please keep our boy in your best thoughts? I'll update you on his results shortly after I hear.

57 comments:

DJan said...

Oh, poor Benny! I sure do hope it's benign, because he's MY favorite pooch, too! What fun you had at his expense. Poor little guy, having to wear the Cone of Shame. :-)

joeh said...

Poor Benny!

I'm putting out some good thoughts for the little guy.

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

ah,sweet Benny

My Molly has one on her lid too...it grows back and needs to be removed again every 8 mos or so

Betsy Brock said...

Oh Benny! What a sweetie! Glad you got it all taken care of and hope the test results are all just fine. Dogs are so much better about those cones than cats. I can't even imagine..haha...

Terra said...

Your dog is a cutie, even wearing the dreaded cone, and I hope the surgery results will show he is cured.

Anonymous said...

Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

Dianne said...

Love you Benny
You wear a cone like nobody else

Anonymous said...

Ah, poor Benny. I'm so glad y'all were quick to get him to the vet. Praying both are benign!

Brian Miller said...

awww...poor benny...not a fun thing to wear, i am sure....but, i hope he is good as new soon...

Cloudia said...

don't tell Benny, but these photos provided crescendos of laughter!




ALOHA from Honolulu
ComfortSpiral
<3

June said...

I do hope the news, when it arrives, is reassuring. Gee, that must have been uncomfortable while it was hidden down inside . . . dogs are so disdainful about mere discomfort. So good you could get it removed so soon.
Give the little guy a gratuitous ear rub from me, please.

ADRIAN said...

I wish him a speedy recovery. A nightmare are those cones.

waldlaeufer68 Frank Scholtyssek said...

Hey, if he knew that you make him famous, he would certainly bring out a smile;-)) grĂ¼sse frank

Andy said...

Good luck with this one. Dogs are truly more than pets. The quickly become family members.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

OH the little sweetie, sheesh....

Theresa said...

Well fingers (and many paws), crossed here for Benny for benign news! We know all about the heartbreak of cone wear....:) But isn't it deliciously fun once in a while. Robin wore one for the better part of two months as a pup with his toe of woe. Let's hope the Eye of Benny is just a blip in an otherwise long and charmed life.

Tabor said...

The good thing is that you found it and symptoms started not too long ago. Hoping it all is good news sooner rather than later. That cone of shame has been worn by many lesser than Benny!

Out on the prairie said...

I am hoping he doesn't develop a grudge and try to place this on one of the other animals or you. Repair fast dude, you are needed for keeping everything in order.

Jenn Jilks said...

I know you'll take good care of your sweetie, Benny. You are in our thoughts, too.
I hope Sady's tumour is slow growing. Benign or not, it's going to block her nasal passage even more. We'll see how that goes. Sort of takes my mind off of hubby's prostate cancer, similarly slow growing. CT Scans @ 3 mos. at this point. He won't need a cone, though!!!
Love the photo work.

Hilary said...

Poor bunny!
oh, I meant Benny!!!
:)

Linda said...

Hope Benny is on his way to a full recovery.

messymimi said...

Sweet Benny! Hope he heals up as fast as he runs!

TexWisGirl said...

the pixar made me lol! awww, poor cute benny! glad you got him in right away! fingers crossed on good results!

Bob Bushell said...

He is unique, please, send him my love.

Red said...

For a hyper little guylike Benny it must be hard to deal with the cone. I hope everything turns out right.

ellen abbott said...

oh poor Benny. the indignity of it all. hopefully the vet got it all and both are benign.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Poor pup, it's hard to maneuver with the cone of shame catching on so much. Hope the Vet got it all and that the report is all clear. xoxo Oma Linda

Anonymous said...

I hope he can get the cone off soon and go back to just being crazy Benny. Looking forward to good news.

Shammickite said...

Poor old Benny, tell him TessaDog sends her best woofs for a speedy de-coning. I remember our Sheba the Siberian husky from many years ago walking down the street wearing a cone of shame, she wouldn't look any of her doggy friends in the eye if she met them, just looked away and pretended she wasn't there.

Tammie Lee said...

oh, i am so glad you noticed something with his eye and have it taken care of. sending healing vibes and good wishes!

Friko said...

Oh dear, I do hope it all goes well and there is no cancer. Poor little boy, I bet he’s cursing his cone. Dogs just don’t like the things and who can blame them.

Best of luck, old boy.

William Kendall said...

Poor Ben. I hope all works out in his favour.

A Cuban In London said...

Hey, Benny, mate, my thoughts are with you! :-) Keep strong, my dear canine.

Greetings from London.

stephen Hayes said...

Poor Benny. I hope he comes through this okay. He's lucky to have such an attentive owner.

Rita said...

Oh, Benny! I hope they were both benign and I have to apologize for being unable to stop the chuckling that bubbled up when you were describing his scooping snow, cutting off his wind pipe going up the stairs, and thinking he was scratching himself through the plastic cone of shame. Poor little guy! I'm glad he had those taken care of, though. Be waiting to hear the vet verdict.

Lisa Gordon said...

Oh, poor little fella!
I am glad he is doing well, and hopefully won't have to wear his collar much longer.

He is just adorable, Hilary!

Glo said...

Hi Hilary ~ I posted a comment but maybe it didn't come through because I had a photo linked...I expressed my best wishes for Benny's recovery and good news regarding the results of the biopsy ~ Loved your creative photo touches, and sent this which is what I thought of as soon as I saw the cone of shame:

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae351/les_0277/bennyconecopy.jpg

Glo said...

Hi Hilary ~ I posted a comment but maybe it didn't come through because I had a photo linked...I expressed my best wishes for Benny's recovery and good news regarding the results of the biopsy ~ Loved your creative photo touches, and sent this which is what I thought of as soon as I saw the cone of shame:

http://i987.photobucket.com/albums/ae351/les_0277/bennyconecopy.jpg

Anonymous said...

Oh no , poor Benny! Keeping you all in my thoughts.

Anvilcloud said...

I hope the results are good. I have a vague recollection of your vet being in Apsley, but the driving time seems a little off now.

Maggie May said...

Poor Benny. Let's just keep fingers crossed that this one is benign too. Scary to think these things can grow so fast though!
He takes a lovely photo even with the cone and the *extras*.
Maggie x

Indrani said...

Oh! Oh!
Hope he recovers fast!
Cute creations. :)

Gayle said...


Good healing thought being sent to our Bennster.

Gail Dixon said...

Poor Benny! I do hope the tumors are benign. He wears the cumbersome cone in a dignified way. Bless his little heart.

Crabby McSlacker said...

Oh no, so sorry to hear about the tumors, and hope hope hope they are benign.

And yet... you gotta love cone of shame pictures, and yours are great. And I'm glad he's properly trained you to do his scratching for him.

Keep us posted, for many of us vicarious internet sorts, Benny feels like OUR pet so we are most concerned.

Daryl said...

keeping digits crossed

btw .. we used soft cones for Rose and Jack when she had ringworm .. they come in sizes - s/m/l, and really are a lot less stressful for all concerned

Country Girl said...

Poor little thing, but good to hear the good news. And funny with the last few pics!!

yaya said...

Poor Benny...I sympathize since I'm still learning to navigate with a cane and other things that are suppose to help me heal..but no cone thank goodness! I'm keeping him in my prayers for a complete recovery and benign tumor results. Hang in there Benny!

Unknown said...

All my best thoughts are on their way. What a special dog he is! I'm confident that everything will work out just fine, Hilary! :)

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Benny is ADORABLE!!!! Sending lots of positive and healing thoughts his way :)

Eddie Bluelights said...

Poor little Benny.
Hope the results are ok and this thing can be put to bed.
He will miss his collar when it is not there ~ like a sore thumb no doubt . . :)

Cloudia said...

Benny Benny Benny





[and the jets]

photowannabe said...

Sure glad you caught the tumors when you did, but poor Benny...that cone is a real pain!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Poor Benny! The cone of shame is a minor inconvenience compared to the tumors. I am hopeful that he is completely back to himself soon. <3

Betty Manousos said...

oh, poor little benny!
sending good wishes and lots of positive thoughts his way.

(((hugs)))

Kat said...

Aww. Poor little Benny. Hoping for good results soon.
He does look super cute as a martini. ;)

Anita said...

Hi Hilary, I was surfing back through your posts because I've missed so many and found this one. I also found the one that says that Benny's tumors were benign. Yayyy!
I think I mentioned to you that my pup is sick and she is miserable. And so am I. I can't relax until she's well again.
This episode is teaching me a lot about how deeply we all feel for our fur babies.