If you missed my interview with Julie Forbes on Wednesday, March 13 from 2-3 pm, you have another chance to listen this Sunday, March 17 from 1-2 pm.  The show will be rebroadcast and you can hear it on 1150 AM.  It is also available as a free iTunes “Pawdcast.”  Listen and let me know what you think.

Julie and I had a great conversation, and focused mainly on my inspiration for writing this book — Porter and Jasper — as well as how you go about getting to a cancer diagnosis.  I stressed the importance of knowing your dog from head to toe, and having a good baseline of health for your pup.  I massage and pet my dogs daily, going over every inch of their bodies to check for anything new or abnormal.  I also observe their eating, drinking and elimination habits.  When anything seems awry, I call our veterinarian and determine if I need to bring them in for an appointment or not.

I also talked about the importance of listening to your instincts, and told a few stories where lab results returned false negatives and lumps were misdiagnosed as cysts and not tumors.  If your gut instinct tells you it is something serious, get another lab test done but at another facility or get a second opinion from another veterinarian.  Remember that while medicine is a science, there is also an art to it.  Every practitioner has varied experience and expertise, and it’s okay to question diagnoses or procedures.  You are the guardian of your dog, after all.  Their welfare is in your hands.  So trust yourself and do the best that you can with the information you have at hand.  When you have new or additional information, you might make a different decision.  But you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it.  Take it one day at a time.