W PH EE CR IE A LS C PI E E T N C CE A N M CE EE R T S I SH SO UP EE S
14 golden years for this truly remarkable Golden Retriever BY LIZ NAHON, DVM
After Wrigley’s initial diagnosis, she underwent surgery to amputate her affected leg and began a strict regimen of chemotherapy. Then Dawn and Steve set out to do everything they could to boost Wrigley’s immune system after her surgery. “We talked to our veterinarians and did a great deal of research and there was a huge emphasis on diet. We immediately put Wrigley on an all-natural diet and she’s been on that diet ever since,” Dawn says. Once healed from her surgery, Wrigley became a registered therapy dog. For 12 years now, she has been lifting the spirits of those who are living through the battle Wrigley once fought herself. “Being a therapy dog has been just as rewarding for Wrigley as it has been for the patients she visits. She has thrived on three legs and it has never hindered her in any way,” Dawn says. “She’s able to give patients that bolster of strength and energy from knowing that if Wrigley could do it, they can, too.” Although the odds were against her, Wrigley overcame the health challenges she faced. Sadly, though, cancer is the leading cause of death in dogs over the age of 2, which means that for every success story, many more stories don’t end as well. Through our Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, Morris Animal Foundation hopes to change the course of veterinary medicine and to create a better and brighter future for dogs like Wrigley.
Dawn Kaufmann and her husband, Steve, never imagined the path their lives would take the day they adopted Wrigley, their now 14-year-old Golden Retriever. Dawn shares, “Wrigley definitely chose us. She sat down, right on top of my husband’s foot and looked into our eyes, and that was it. She was ours.” Just shy of Wrigley’s second birthday, Dawn noticed she had developed a limp. What was initially thought to be a harmless soft-tissue injury was later confirmed to be a devastating diagnosis of osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer that has a high likelihood of spread (metastasis) to other organs. To make matters worse, around the time of Wrigley’s diagnosis, Dawn’s mother and grandmother were both diagnosed with terminal cancers. “My world had been flipped upside down. I went from losing one person in my life, to losing another and then we had this puppy who was suddenly facing the fight of her life,” Dawn says. “But for some reason, Wrigley’s cancer diagnosis was something we felt we had a sliver of control over, and Steve and I decided to give her that fighting chance.”
“I feel very strongly in the work that Morris Animal Foundation does,” Dawn says. “When cancer struck my own fur baby, even though the odds were not in her favor for survival, the money I had contributed was going to help fund ongoing research into canine cancers. When I learned of the lifetime study for Golden Retrievers, I was so very excited. Wrigley wasn’t a candidate, but I hope that in the future, we will have a better understanding of why cancer is so prevalent and maybe someday we will be able to prevent, if not stop, certain cancers all together.” Twelve wonderful years after her surgery, Wrigley has truly defied the odds. The average survival for dogs with osteosarcoma treated with surgery and chemotherapy is about 12 months. Having celebrated her 14th birthday in January, Wrigley has certainly surpassed that statistic. “Getting to come home every day to that beautiful face is the best feeling,” Dawn says. “She’s an amazing dog and I feel so lucky that we were chosen to be her humans… our wish is for her to live forever… my hope is that we have been able to honor her and give her the best life she could possibly have.” ✢
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