Morris Animal Foundation

Chaser sometimes shuffled along like an old lady dog, but mention ‘the C word’ (cookie) and she magically transformed into a spry puppy. Of course, you’d have to holler “cookie” or she wouldn’t hear you. Her hearing wasn’t so great. Still, for a 14-year old Brittany, the old girl was more than holding her own.

There was absolutely no compelling reason to visit the veterinarian anytime soon, except I had been preaching the gospel of twice annual vet visits in my print columns, on my radio shows and on TV appearances. So, I oughta practice what I preached. Still, I wasn’t worried about anything being wrong with Chaser. After all, if anyone should pick up on subtle signs of illness in pets – it’s me. Right? While I’m not a veterinarian, for many years now I’ve written and broadcast about veterinary medicine, giving me just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

A few days before my scheduled vet visit, I noticed a growth on Chaser’s back end.

I had a bad feeling about this, which our veterinarian Dr. Sheldon Rubin confirmed, identifying the growth as mast cell cancer.

Of all the words in the dictionary – cancer may be the one we least want to hear. Rubin, renowned for his skills as a surgeon, assured me, “We caught this early, and that could save your dog’s life.”

Still, I couldn’t help but picture what all pet owners do at these times. A little movie played in my head – all while my eyes welled with tears. The mini-documentary of Chaser’s life began with my wife Robin and me rescuing her when she was about seven months old. Unfortunately, poor Chaser was afraid of everything - strange people, other dogs, even fire hydrants. Whenever she was in public she looked so pitiful that even Chicago’s finest questioned us, thinking she was a stolen or abused dog.

I recalled Chaser’s separation anxiety. Whenever I closed the door of my bathroom to do my business, she did her business on the other side. She also piddled whenever we left the house.

As veterinary behaviorist Dr. Nicholas Dodman once said separation anxiety dogs “love too much.” I don’t know that a dog can literally love us too much, but clearly Chaser and I were connected as I never had been before with a pet.

My wife became a desperate dog housewife. One time when we left the house, she blew up a picture of me, draped an old worn t-shirt around it, and played a recording of my voice. She figured if Chaser could see, smell and hear me – she wouldn’t be so upset by my departure. It didn’t work. This creative approach pre-dated the use of anti-anxiety medications in pets and veterinary behaviorists, who today could offer help.

I hung in there – and over time Chaser underwent a Pygmalion transformation into my fair confident canine.

Can you believe, I thought about all of this while Rubin simply added, “I’ll do the surgery in a few days.”

He did. Due to the location of the tumor (which was removed and further analyzed), and Chaser’s advanced age, there was no advantage of continued treatment (such as chemotherapy or radiation). Veterinary oncologist Dr. Barbara Kitchell at Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, East Lansing said, “If Chaser can make it a year (without recurrence after surgery), you’ll probably be in the clear.”

By golly she did. You can beat cancer. Sure, she did have a few bad days immediately following the surgery, but it didn’t take long for her to bounce back. There was no fountain of youth. Over time, I wished they had made walkers and hearing aid for dogs. However, on her own, she learned when our younger dog, named Lucy, barked, there must be a reason – so she we would too. More important, whenever our other pup headed in the direction of the kitchen, she realized it was worthwhile to follow. And if you hollered that ‘C word’ (cookie) loud enough, a year plus after the surgery, she’d still compete in the run down the hallway to the cookie jar.

Rubin said that if I had waited more than six more months (for her annual check up, as opposed to going in for a bi-annual exam) - the cancer would have been too wide spread for a surgical option or the tumor would have grown in size too large to be operable.

Kitchell was blunt: “You simply wouldn’t have Chaser anymore if you hadn’t made that six month appointment.”

The American Veterinary Medical Association and Ft. Dodge Animal Health (pharmaceutical/vaccine manufacturer for pets) are supporting a campaign to encourage twice annual routine wellness exams for all pets. Learn more at http://www.npwm.com/home.htm.

Approximately a year and a half after the surgery, I woke up one morning, and Chaser just didn’t seem right. She also had some difficulty breathing.

After X-Raying her lungs, Rubin suggested she had bronchitis, and prescribed a bronchodilator and antibiotic. She improved. But about two weeks later, Chaser spontaneously turned down a meal. When that happened, we new something was very wrong. This time, the X-Ray showed her lungs were filled with cancer. This cancer, not likely in any way related to her earlier mast cell cancer. We euthanized her less than 24 hours later, as her condition quickly declined.

A piece of my heart will always be missing.

For a dog Chaser’s size, one canine year for us is about as equivalent to six or eight “dog years.” When a person is diagnosed with cancer, and with minimally invasive surgery as the only treatment – who wouldn’t turn down another six to eight quality years? She lived for more than a year after the surgery – not bad. We’re grateful for every moment we had with Chaser. And, to be honest, I suppose we took too many of those moments for granted.

It’s likely in just the time it’s taken to reader this story, another dog has just died of cancer. We can’t allow all these deaths to be in vain. To honor all these dogs – each with a stories of their own…How can we possibly not do everything in our power to support the Morris Animal Foundation initiative to Cure Canine Cancer? How great it would be if Lucy (our other dog), who is now 12 and Ethel, our puppy, are never diagnosed with that C word. It’s possible – and we can help make it happen.