"Bao has a lump."

Four little words, and the world turns upside down.

Ginny (Bao's groomer) found it on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, we were at the veternarian's office. They did a biopsy, and we should get the report by Monday.

Bao is his cheerful, loving self. He goes for his walks, eats his food, plays with his toys. His nose is cold and moist. He hasn't lost any weight. He certainly isn't acting sick. Hopefully, we've caught it early.

If it hadn't been for Ginny, I wouldn't have even noticed it. Then again, not many of us routinely lift our dog's tail and peer up his rear end! Although maybe, we ought to. These kinds of tumors are apparently rather common.

I keep telling myself, Bao is going to be fine.

But I'm scared.

If anyone knows of a story like this that had a happy ending, I'd really like to hear it.