"You're Not Sick, You're Just Fat!"

Bailey's been limping for a few weeks now. She hasn't seemed to be in any pain, but, once the limp hit two weeks, I figured it was time to take a trip to the vet. On top of that, in feeling her leg to see if I could notice any spot she didn't want me to touch, I found a lump. That scared me a bit. So, off to Elk Creek Animal Hospital we went.

In typical Bailey fashion, she was nuts for the entire visit. I know it's her breed and all, but, good Lord. She pants, she jumps, she's just horribly obnoxious. The vet tech gave her a treat and she coughed it right back up. All over the room. Nice. My graceful, dainty girl.

Well, come to find out, "The Lady" doesn't have Cancer (my scary thought when I found the lump), she doesn't even have arthritis in her front hips. Nope, she's just too fat. She's gained FIFTEEN POUNDS since her appointment in January. She's ten pounds over the weight for a healthy Lab. She's had no recent changes in diet, no nothing. She's just gaining weight. She limps on her front paws because all of the extra weight has settled in her neck, and shoulders. We had to buy her a new collar last week, so we knew she'd gained SOME weight, but not this much. And the lump? Yeah, it's just fatty tissue. Hahaha. So, now she's on diet food and her limp should stop when she loses a few pounds.

So here I am, thinking we're going to have to start her on some kind of arthritis meds or something. Nope, she's just a little bit hefty. Poor thing....I guess we should BOTH go on a diet.