nipple discharge

Question
I have a 13 year old beagle mix who is generally in good health for her age.  However, I have recently noticed that two of her nipples are considerably larger than the rest.  When I looked closer, I noticed a clear/bloody discharge coming from them.  There is also a small lump under one of them, but not the other.  She does not appear to be bothered by it at all.  She still has a great appetite, plays with my other dog and can get around just fine.  She also does not appear to mind when I examine her belly!  I have been researching the subject, because I am convinced she has cancer because of her age, but no article on cancer mentioned a discharge.  What do you think?

Answer
Hi Susan!  It sounds as though your little beagle girl has developed a Mammary Tumor, and if she is not spayed, I can say I would be almost 100% that this is what is ailing her.  This is less common in spayed dogs.  This sounds exactly like the classic symptoms of a Mammary Tumor.  They sometimes can be benign, but most often malignant.  It would be best to have her examined by your veterinarian as soon as possible.  The sooner this is diagnosed, the more successful recovery will be.  Your veterinarian will have to completely remove the lump that you have noticed.  If caught at an early stage, as you seem to have just found it, the cancer most definately should be able to be completely removed, if this is in fact malignant.  Even if your veterinarian performs a fine needle aspiration (where a fine needle is penetrated into the lump to extract cells which are then studied to determine if they are cancer cells), and it is believed to be a benign tumor, it would be best to just have the lump removed right away, as non cancerous cells in lumps, can most definately turn cancerous over time.  Because the lump will then be "normal" for her, it won't be scrutinized as much as it should be, causing the cancer cells to have time to metastisize.
Generally, Mammary Tumors are not a death sentence.  Like I have said, the tumor can usually be removed, and successfully, all cancer cells with it.  
Hang in there and PLEASE keep me posted!
Sending millions of puppy kisses to that little beagle girl!
Hilary