November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month

by | Nov 25, 2020 | Blog

Over 12 million cats and dogs are diagnosed with cancer every year and millions of pet owners are faced with difficult decisions surrounding their cancer treatment.

Please read this inspirational story of one of our patients, Stanlee, who survived Osteosarcoma.

Stanlee is the guardian and pack leader of 6 wonderful pups who all follow and adore him. He loves to eat anything and everything he can. He really loves going to get coffee in the morning with his momma (Valerie) it’s become his morning routine and god forbid if you stay from it, he has a meltdown Stan loves his coffee runs with his momma. He is a huge cuddle bug and loves to lay as close as humanly possible to you. He is one of the most loyal and caring dogs I have ever owned (which is a lot of dogs).

How We Came to Know About His Cancer.

Back in December 2019 on my birthday the 15th. I was home for the week as I would normally be traveling for work. Mr. Stan decided to rip the door off of his kennel and escape because Dad was home. He attempted to jump the gate we have to his room and he must have landed badly because Stan broke his wrist.

Stan, not caring about his wrist because dad was home running up the stairs anyway. I knew it was broken as Stan has never yelped from an injury and he did when he landed. I immediately picked him up and put him in the car to see the amazing Dr. K. This is when Stan and Dr. K first met. Dr. K did a wonderful job of treating our little monster.

Stanlee made a full recovery and around April 2020 Stan was limping again and appeared to be in pain. We thought maybe he re-broke or just aggravated his wrist again. So we brought him in to see Dr. K where they used various imaging technology to discover that Stanlee has Osteosarcoma and we needed to amputate the leg completely if he was to survive. Dr. K made room for the emergent surgery and we removed Stanlee’s leg.

The amount of relief he had was astonishing. He went back to being our crazy monster of a dog albeit with only three legs now. I don’t think Stan even knows he is missing a leg because he is just as active and crazy as he was with 4 legs. Although I will say it is a little funny watching him try to dig a hole or paw at a treat he wants. Yes, Stan can still “give paw”/shake though he does not like to he will for the right treat.

Thanks to the amputation and care provided by Sumner Vet and Dr. K, Stan has finished his subsequent chemo treatments and is on track to living a fully normal and healthy life.

It has been roughly 7 months since Stanlee was diagnosed with cancer. As we know with Osteosarcoma, the life expectancy of a pup is only 3-6 months and up to 1 year with Chemo.

I do not see Mr. Stan slowing down as we approach that 1-year mark and I fully expect Stan will live on for a few more years before he gets to chase all the cats and eat all the brisket he can.

My own personal advice for an owner whose pup has cancer is, never lose hope especially with a dog. They can and will surprise you. Keep loving that pup because all they have is you.