Lily and her lump and bump diagram.
What do you think your dog would do if she had opposable thumbs? Open the treats jar? Get into the refrigerator? Watch Lassie and Rin Tin Tin reruns on Pay-Per-View? Play “Zombie Dog” on your computer while you’re at work? Turn on the stove and cook a juicy steak? Well, that last one is a given.
Lucky for us, our furry friends don’t have opposable thumbs so they can’t call Omaha Steaks and order a side of beef, or subscribe to Sirloin-of-the-Month Club.
Lucky for us too, we DO have opposable thumbs so we can not only check our furry friends every month for lumps and bumps, but also draw where the they are on a diagram and take it to the vet with our pups when they go for a check-up. This especially helps vets if your dog has long fur or a dark coat and the lumps are hard to find.
A little white out on darker fur will help the vet spot a lump or bump.
Here, Lily is ready to see her vet. She has a drawing of where her lumps are located, a detailed description of what they look like, how long they’ve been there, whether or not she’s chewing on them, etc. Her lumps are also marked with white out on her fur so that her vet can easily see them. (A black non-toxic marker works well on light-coated dogs.) She’s planning on getting an A+ for preparedness from her vet… and a clean bill of health.
Below is a drawing you can use to show your vet if you find lumps or bumps on your dog. Just right click on the drawing, then “save image as,” and download the file to your own computer. Easy as that!
Lily says, “You’re welcome.”
Mark any lumps, bumps, lesions or other suspicious growths on the chart for easy reference.
