Brazilian Stray Dog Wanders into Clinic Alone for Help; Veterinarian Finds Cancerous Tumor
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As every pet owner knows, it can sometimes be hard to tell when our furry or feathered friends are feeling under the weather. While there are several ways to get a general idea of your pet's overall mood, detecting specific issues can be more problematic.
Through evolution, most animals have developed methods for masking pain or hiding discomfort and dogs and cats are especially good at appearing as if nothing is wrong, even when they're sick. At one time or another, just about every pet owner has had the same thought: "it would be nice if they could just tell me when something is wrong!"
Well, it would appear that at least one doggo in the city of Juazeiro do Norte in Brazil took that thought to heart! Last week, vets at the Vet VIP clinic in the northeast Brazil town were surprised by the sight of a stray dog, cautiously nosing his way into the clinic door. The thin, black pooch had a slight limp and appeared timid, but quietly sat down next to the wall, near the front desk.
Vets decided to bring the nervous but otherwise friendly dog into an exam room to check out the limp and discovered an ingrown nail, which was the source of his discomfort. However, an examination of the rest of the pupper's body revealed a tumor on his groin—one that proved to be cancerous.
The clinic took it upon themselves to administer the doggo's chemotherapy treatments, which seem to be going well.
"He no longer has any bleeding and shows no signs of being in pain," Veterinarian Dayse Silva said in an interview with Brazilian online portal G1. "He reacted well to the first chemotherapy session and we will evaluate each new procedure to find out how many he will need."
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Of course, even when done with the best of intentions, procedures like chemotherapy aren't free for clinics. In the case of our Brazilian boi, the clinic's expenses ran up to about 4,000 BRL (a little over $700 USD). Happily, the clinic set up a crowdsourced fundraiser to cover the costs of the dog's chemo and medicine—a goal that was quickly met on the first day. Along the way, the clinic also reports that there have been dozens of inquiries about adopting the doggo once he is well enough to leave the clinic. Happy endings are the BEST endings!
