McDonough, GA…….We were contacted at the beginning of the week about a six year old beautiful pit bull with a tumor the size of the one Bubbles had. We followed up on the information we were given and sent a lot of e-mails around to find out what we could do. We eventually were able to get the number for the Owner of the dog. I spoke to people that knew the owner and could verify all he had done to help his beloved pet named Roxie before I could proceed.
I first want to say right off the bat; this is NOT an abuse case. This is a very unfortunate case of someone reaching out to the community and vets in his area to get help for his dog and no one giving him the proper information to help him. The person that is Roxie's Guardian / Owner has had her since she was a baby. She has had excellent care during her Lifetime. Seven months ago, he noticed a golfball size lump on Roxie's neck. He took her to his vet and was given some pills. The mass got larger and larger. The individual reached out to six different vets and doctors to help his beloved dog over the next seven months. It was only after he was told it would be huge amounts of money and no guarantee that he reached out to a dear friend that he trusted to help him save his sweet Roxie.
I met the Owner and Roxie. I got the entire history of all she had been through and how she got to where she is now. For legal reasons that I explained to him, Roxie had to be signed over to us, or I could not authorize medical treatment. I also let him know; Roxie would be coming back to him.
On Wednesday morning, Roxie was signed over to us. I then met the Owner and picked up the sweetest pit bull you will ever meet. I knew the minute I put my hands on Roxie that he made the right decision. She had very little time left before the massive tumor on her head burst. It was shifting and changing right in from of your eyes. It was a soft tumor that is very different from Bubbles, but similar to Hershey's. It has pockets of dead blood all over that have been feeding the main tumor. I drove six hours to get Roxie to our first stop which was the Surgical Speciality Center in Charleston, SC. We immediately did bloodwork and x-rays to see if the cancer had spread. We didn't know what kind of cancer she had, but we knew she had cancer. The best news of all came two hours later when the Oncologists and I looked at her lung scans and saw two beautiful lungs with no cancer that were working beautifully. Her bloodwork came back and was close to perfect. I then called Bubbles Surgeon from London and begged for him to see her the next day and if possible to operate on Friday. I am happy to report he said yes, and our dear girl is on her way to Florida now. She has extensive Cat Scans scheduled for 3:30 today. Once the Surgical and Oncology team gets the scans they will then do more tests to determine what they are dealing with and what is the best course of action for sweet Roxie. The biggest problem is that the tumor crossed over Roxie's esophagus about two weeks ago. The surgery to remove the tumor and save critical organs is very complicated because of this. That is why the only person I trust to do such a complicated procedure is the same one we used for Bubbles, Dr. Nick Bacon. If anyone can save Roxie, it is Dr. Bacon. After the surgery, the Oncology Team will decide what the best course of action will be based on the kind of cancer she has. I thank my lucky stars every single day for the incredible team of Surgeons, Veterinarians, Vet. Techs and Specialists that I have been privileged to work with. I call them all my little Rock Stars. I am only as good as the Team I bring in to help me save an animal.
Roxie is going to need lots and lots of prayers for this to work. Every surgery has its risks, and Roxie's surgery is a lot more complicated than most. Pray and then donate as much or as little as you can. If you can't donate, then please forward to all of your animal loving friends and then PRAY. Roxie has a long road ahead but is strong and healthy or we would not be doing this.
