fridays with asa: an outing to my vet

hello furry friends!
i apologize for the delay of my post today.  you see, my mom and i had several errands to run this morning, and then we proceeded to met up with my dad this afternoon before arriving at my vet's for my annual wellness exam.  visiting the vet is not one of my favorite past times, and i like to have my mom and my dad with me for moral support.  at any rate, we arrived at my vet's office, signed in, and made ourselves comfortable in the waiting room.

i find it important to distract myself whilst i wait for my name to be called.  this aids me in not becoming too anxious.  first, i decided to examine the fish pond.

after a satisfactory inspection of the pond, i positioned myself at the front door where i could peruse the parking lot for new visitors and invading squirrels.  i was pleased to make the acquaintance of two ladies and a male boxer.  however, i was not in the slightest pleased to make the acquaintance of the three squirrels just beyond the front door.

shortly thereafter, the vet tech summoned me to my room.  a brief stop at the scale revealed that i, asa, was of proper size and stature.  (a true lady never reveals her weight.)  i then relegated myself to the examination table, not without a few longing glances at the ground below me.

my amicable vet lady arrived a few minutes later.  after a most unpleasant prodding in my nether regions, it was determined that my temperature was normal.  i was unable to have a fecal exam because i was, and i quote, "empty back there".  i have to admit, this gave me a slight chuckle.  my heart, ears, teeth, and joints were in fine form.  a quick prick to my front right leg allowed for a collection of blood to check for those dastardly heart worms.  fortunately, i was heart worm negative.  next, i was administered a vaccination against the parvo virus, followed by a nasal spray to protect against bordetella.
my mom took the opportunity to show my vet two masses on my skin that she had just noticed on wednesday evening.  the first one is pea-sized and is at the top of my front right leg, where my leg transitions into my arm pit.  the second one is a bit larger (nickle-sized) and is on my thigh on my right back leg.  allow me to segue for a moment and explain to you that i, asa, have a propensity for developing skin tags, cysts, and the like.  i have had a few benign masses removed in the past.  as a result, my mom and dad weren't too concerned about them, but just to be safe, my vet did a fine needle aspiration on the largest mass on my thigh.  (the other mass was too small to needle biopsy.)  well, unfortunately, when my vet looked at my specimen under the microscope, she spotted a mast cell...just one...but still, a mast cell...mingled with a bunch of other benign cells.  needless to say, my vet and my parents were concerned.  as a result, i have been scheduled to have surgery this coming tuesday, may 11th.  i will have both the mass on my thigh and the smaller mass on my front right leg removed (just in case).
now, i am a strong woman, and i know that i am going to be just fine, but please, would you offer some encouragement and kind words to my mom?  she loves me and my brother booker so very much.  she won't admit it to me, but i can tell that she is really worried.  all this evening i have been giving her reassuring kisses that i will indeed be alright, but i know she would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.  i am thanking you in advance for your thoughtfulness.
now if i could just discover some kind of alternative to that blasted collar i am going to be subjected to wearing.  sigh.
good day!