Hello all:
I want to give all of our new friends an update on my boy, Scupper. As you know, he was diagnosed with a squamous cell tumor on his jaw about a month ago. My wife and I agonized over what to do: removal of a portion of his jaw, cryosurgery, or perhaps nothing but tlc. In the end, our vet was straightforward and told us that the surgery would be curative, and any other option would most likely mean 6-8 months of life for Scup. So, Scup went in for his major surgery last Wednesday. We were terrified about what we were doing to our beloved boy, and how life would be for him afterwards.
Well, he had his surgery on wed. afternoon after cat scans, xrays and blood tests showed that he was cancer free everywhere except his lower left jaw. Thankfully, these tumors tend to be very locally invasive. Well, I thought that he would be in the hospital until fri or sat. But lo and behold, our vet called me on thurs afternoon and told us that Scup was already eating and drinking, and that he was responding remarkably. That night, he was home.
I cannot believe how well everything has gone thus far. You can barely tell that he even had surgery. Despite some of the warnings we received about facial deformities following surgery, he has only a slight concavity on his left jawline. Pain is definitely manageable; in fact, I don't believe it is even an issue anymore. Eating is not difficult, but we are still working on drinking - that is going to take some practice! He is drooling ALOT, but who cares? He is happy as heck to be home, and most importantly, he picked up his tennis ball the other day!
Now a shameless plug. We had the surgery done at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. I cannot overstate how impressed I was with the whole experience. Scupper has had a miraculous comeback thanks to all the wonderful folks at Angell. They supported us every step of the way, explained everything to us whenever we had questions, and are still following up with us on a daily basis to see how Scup is doing. This is a major procedure, and I do not think I would have my neighborhood vet perform it. However, based on my experience at Angell, I would highly recommend the surgery to anyone who faces the same dire situation that we faced with Scup.
Thank you all for holding my hand through this ordeal. This story had a happy ending!

That is wonderful news to get first thing in the morning! Give your boy a hug from us pls!

Wonderful news about your boy! So very considerate of you to post an update! May he continue to do well and here's to you both sharing many more years together!

Thanks for the good news. Bless you and Scupper!

I am SOOOOOOOO happy to hear this great news. Maybe it's time for a Newfie bib!! Please keep us posted on Scupper's progress.

So happy to read your boy is doing great!

So happy to hear your boy is doing well. I agree...it was very considerate to let us know how he made out. Isn't Scupper lucky to have such a family. I love his name...how did you pick it? What color is Scupper? Just trying to get a picture of him in my mind.

Your update brought tears of joy to my eyes!!! I'm so happy to hear about the happy ending to Scupper's surgery.

Hooray for him and for you!!

God Bless you all!

Scupper got his name because he is such a good boat dog. He is a good ol' English
lab with a nice round head, and he's light yellow.

See Steve...great things happen when you follow your heart! I'm so happy to hear that the "Scupper Pupper" is doing so well! You're right about Angell, they do great work! Hugs for Scupper!

What a great outcome! After the day I had at work, this is what I needed to hear. Way to go, Scup!

What a wonderful update to hear that Scupper did so well after his surgery. Thankyou for giving us a followup, I'm sure many of us have been wondering how he was doing.
He sounds like he's already decided he's made a full recovery!!!

Super good news on Scupper!

So Happy for Scupper's outcome with his surgery. Sounds like a little miracle here? Hope he continues to be the wonderful happy boy he is, free of pain and be with you for many more years to come. Wishing you the Best Scupper.

Thank you everyone. I took him to the beach last night for the first time following his surgery. I was a bit nervous to put his "new and improved" jaw to the ultimate Labrador test. I didn't know if he would be able to fetch the tennis ball out of the water. Well, no problem! A seamless retrieve on the very first try, then a proud roll in the sand.

Way to go Scupper! Steve I'm happy for both of you. I can see you grinning from my many miles away. We're smiling with you.

Wonderful news! So happy for you and your boy.