BATON ROUGE — Less than eight weeks before kickoff, Mike’s going under the knife. At 11:45 a.m. Thursday morning, LSU’s live Bengal Tiger mascot, Mike V, was taken to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine to undergo three procedures including the removal of a benign tumor on his abdominal wall.
“The procedure will only last about an hour or an hour and a half, but it depends on what we find in there,” Mike’s veterinarian, Dr. David Baker of the LSU Vet School, said. “We may keep him (overnight) at the barn at the Vet School. He has to be awake enough to walk out of his trailer and into his cage before we can move him.”
Mike, who has been LSU’s mascot since April 30, 1990, will have the tangerine-sized tumor removed by Dr. Baker along with Dr. Gordon Pirie, a veterinarian at the Baton Rouge Zoo.
The 10-year-old tiger will also have a root canal performed on his right upper canine tooth by Dr. Alfred Stevens and Dr. Kem Singletary.
The third procedure, a X-ray of his hips and back used to check for arthritic symptoms, was performed on Mike three years ago and showed his bones in perfect shape, Dr. Baker said.
The X-rays will be taken again at this time to ensure that Mike is free from this condition that is common to the Bengal Tigers.
Anesthesiologist Dr. Glenn Pettifer will prepare Mike for surgery sometime after noon Thursday.
The surgery will take place on the first floor of the Vet School in the Large Animal Surgical Room.
Mike V will be 11 years old on October 18.
LSU’s live mascot was named for Athletic Trainer Chellis “Mike” Chambers, who served LSU when the first live mascot was purchased in 1936.