To Pam Grant concerning Red Dog -
 
        Red Dog sounds a lot like Oscar (who recently passed at 8.5).  At the
age of 8, there are a lot of other things that could be going on inside Red Dog
that makes him less of a candidate for surgery.
 
>  He eats well, moves slowly and sleeps alot, but his
>movements are normal and he enjoys being frisky when played with by people.
>What do you think Bruce?  Should I leave him alone or have his spleen
removed?
 
        This is a togh questions - I suppose I would err on the side of leaving
it in, as he is 8.  Had he been 2 or 3, then I'd say by all means take it out.
But at 8, you run a pretty good risk of not coming out after anesthesia.  If he
eats and sleeps, and plays with people, at that age, that's great.  You very
well may take it out, and then when he does wake up, you won't get any more
activity from him.
[Posted in FML issue 1157]