[alaskayorkie]

I just got back from the emergency vet. It's looking like Jack's going to have surgery tomorrow. He started yelping periodically this morning in pain. No appetite. Difficulty pooping and peeing. He seems to go through this every 4-6 months, but this is the first time I've noticed the pain.

He has a perineal hernia that my vet has known about for some time. He hasn't wanted to do surgery because it didn't seem to be causing him any discomfort. And surgery on a 12-year-old dog is always risky. But the risk of doing nothing is that his bladder could slip into the opening and kill him.

When I've brought Jack into the vet for the appetite and other problems before, he's always said that it was unrelated to the hernia.

The emergency vet disagreed. She put some dye through a catheter and took X-rays and discovered the big lump near his butt is his bladder. And there seems to be some intestines in that area too. Poor guy has been battling this for a year and my vet hasn't suggested treating it.

He's going to be examined by a board certified surgeon tonight, but all indications are that they will do the surgery tomorrow. It's a procedure that's done in stages, so he'll have surgeries on two different days.

Wish Jack luck. He's the toughest dog I've ever known, and if any dog can come out of this it will be him.

Here he is just yesterday.