Last week I had to take Charlie in for surgery to remove a lump (tumor) in his anal glands, and this was actually his second time going through the same procedure. In this vlog I walk you through the whole process—from his first exam with the surgeon, to the stressful drop-off (yes, I still get emotional every single time), and then the first several days of recovery at home. Since Charlie is already on chemo, I also talk about how the surgeon and our oncologist needed to coordinate timing around anesthesia, and how we were trying to be smart about extra add-ons and costs. After surgery, the doctor said everything went really well and they kept the incision as small as possible this time. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it: days 1–5 were rough. Between incontinence, super soft stools, and trying to keep the incision clean (in a spot that’s basically impossible), it was a full-on poop storm. I share what I did to manage accidents (pads, gloves, wipes, towels, cone breaks when I could supervise), why I chose to bring him home instead of intensive care, and what I’m watching for so I can bring him back to the vet “just to be safe.” As hard as it is, I truly believe it’s worth it to extend his life and keep his quality of life as high as possible.