​MONROE, NC……It looks like sweet Bubbles has been mighty busy since she crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Abused animals are everywhere but it seems like our sweet girl has been whispering in some dogs ears that they need to hold on because help is on the way. I am sure Hershey is one of those dogs. This incredible dog has to be one of the most gentle Souls you will ever meet. Labs are sweet and kind but Hershey is like an Angel with wings on this Earth.
We were contact a week ago by a fellow Rescuer that became aware of a dog in her neighborhood that needed medical care. One of the older children in the home came to see her about her dog. She said a bump started growing 6 months ago and was now huge and wanted to know if there was anything she could do. We were immediately contacted to get our opinion. After further discussion, I realized the Family that had Hershey had him living outside. He was in terrible shape, emaciated from either parasites or the tumor or both. He was loaded with fleas, etc. I could go on and on but will not. The Family only speaks Spanish so I was very clear that someone needed to explain to them the severity of the dogs health and that he would suffer if nothing was done. They offered to sign their dog over to us to see that he would be taken care of. It was also explained that he would not be coming back since Hershey could no longer live outside. The conditions he was living in were normal for them and they just did not understand the medical care that is required in this Country. I so appreciate they wanted Hershey to have a chance at a better life and know they loved him enough to see that he got it.
Hersey is a 6 year old beautiful chocolate Lab. We have already sent an aspirate off and have gotten preliminary results back. Hershey has a soft tissue carcinoma that has also metastasized to his lungs. Hershey is not showing any signs of lung distress at this time and is doing wonderful since we took him into our care. We know we will not be able to cure the cancer he has. Our objective is to do whatever we can to make whatever time he has left, incredible. We have spoken to the top Surgical Oncologists in the World. The one that did Bubbles surgery will be the one removing the tumor on Hershey's face. The scans we did indicate he has a salivary gland tumor. The surgery is very tricky because of the placement of the tumor and the fact it is pushing on his throat area. If we do nothing, Hershey will suffer a horrible death. If we put him to sleep now, he will never get to know the unconditional love that comes from doing whatever it takes to support a dogs quality of Life. Hershey is getting stronger every day. The stronger he gets, the better his chances are for having a good quality of Life after doing the surgery. Once the surgery is done, we will then decide the best course of action as far as his cancer goes. He will have to heal and build up his immune system before we will do any radiation or chemo. We cannot do a biopsy on the tumor because it is too vascular. That will have to be done during the procedure to remove the tumor to find out the exact cancer he has.
Dr. Nick Bacon will be coming back from London to do Hershey's surgery in Florida in one week. We are getting Hershey's immune system as strong as we can prior to doing the procedure. We are also showering our dear boy with as much love as any one animal could possibly imagine. If Hershey died tomorrow, he would know he was loved and cherished. If anything comes up over the next week during our tests that gives us the impression he would not survive surgery, the procedure will be put off. Right now, he is doing great. He is beginning to fill out, the parasites are almost gone and his bloodwork is almost normal. The only issue is the tumor pushing on his throat area that will have to be taken care of. Eventually he will not be able to breath or eat because of it. As good as our Winged Angel feels right now, his tumor is a ticking time bomb. Time is not on our side. it is now or never for this sweet dog.
Please, keep Hershey in your prayers that he is strong enough for the procedure that will buy him some much needed time. He deserves a Life filled with love and laughter where he can be a dog without the massive tumor on his neck. Remember Bubbles and how happy she was to finally be free of her tumor. She cherished every second of her freedom until the second she crossed over. Now is the time for Hershey to know that freedom.
