Yesterday, Monty had his CT scan at the CSU cancer center.

We arrived at 7:15am and he was taken back for the day soon after.  It was a pretty nerve-raking day for me, since Monty had to be put under for the scan and I have terrible anxiety with anesthesia.  Monty was a champ, though, and he did great, although was a little dopey still when I picked him up.  I met with the oncology surgeon around 4pm when I came to get Monty and learned what they saw.  It turns out the cancer has been attacking Monty’s jaw bone (we originally didn’t think it was) and the entire front of his mouth is infected.  Luckily, the tumor does not go past his canine teeth, so our surgery plan that was discussed on Monday is the same:  they will remove the lower jaw bone to just behind the canine teeth (so Monty will be losing his canines, which is a bummer, but necessary).  The surgeon was very confident that this surgery would completely remove the tumor and Monty would be back on track to having a the lifespan he deserves.

I talked a while with the vet and surgeon about Monty’s quality of life after this surgery, since it seems to me to be a major change.  They both said that while Monty may look a little different, it won’t affect his ability to play/eat/chew/etc in any way.

The big day is scheduled for Thursday, March 16.  I will be taking Monty to the cancer center that morning, and they will hold him overnight after the 1.5 hour surgery to ensure everything is okay and Monty’s comfort level/pain management.  My plan is to work from home that Friday, March 17 so I can be available to pick him up when he’s ready and then be with him the rest of the day/into the weekend.

Please send your love, healing thoughts, positive vibes, whatever you have to send for Monty to have a successful and as painless as possible surgery next Thursday.

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Ryan has lovingly set up a donation page for Monty’s surgery.  If you would like to support Mr. Montague, please consider making an investment in his future as a derper dog (due to the inevitable tongue hanging out situation that we will have post-surgery).  Thank you ❤