Daisy was 5 years young when she developed Squamous Cell Carcinoma in her mouth. We sort of stumbled upon it when she needed her gum line contoured due to Gingival Hyperplasia. One thing led to another and Pandora ’s Box was opened. My husband and I had purchased pet insurance through VPI approximately 6 months prior. After much consideration, we felt that we wanted her to rescue her –yet again. You see, we rescued Daisy when she was 8 months old. We fell in love with her the moment we saw her. She was wiggly and happy –yet reserved. Daisy is white (everyone that sees her calls her Petey), she is not deaf or blind but rather a typical boxer who loves to be with her people. Her eyes exhibit loyalty and carefulness. She and Rosco (our other boxer) were meant for each other. They complement each other in too many ways then I can list.

When we first brought her home, she was a daddy’s girl. She followed my husband everywhere. I happened to know Daisy’s story because she was surrendered by a friend of the family in which she lived. Daisy’s was a gift from a husband to a very pregnant wife. The family member, a cousin, who surrendered her told the rescue that she was not welcomed in the home, often left in a crate or tied to a tree in the backyard. The cousin would often come to get her on hot days because she couldn’t stand to see such a young, docile puppy treated so poorly. After the wife had the baby, the cousin pleaded with the couple to let her have Daisy, knowing full well she would find her a fantastic home. And that, I can say, she did.

Daisy adjusted well to our home. Rosco taught her how to play like a puppy again and she would keep him in line too. I always knew (and still do) when Rosco was up to trouble because Daisy would be stuck to my leg doing her woo woo’s and telling on him. My husband and I took them both everywhere with us. She was gaining weight and we had finally treated the giardia in which she suffered. After two years, we also had a new addition. Daisy had a difficult time adjusting. When our son would cry she would run and hide. We would go get her and tell her it was okay and before long, she became our “nana.” She slept by his crib every night. She is definitely his “girl.”

So, when she was diagnosed with cancer –we were more than heart broken. She was so young and so very special to us and our family. She was the glue that kept us stuck together. She kind of completed us. The cancer spread very quickly. It ate away at her bottom jaw causing four of her teeth (including her canine tooth) to basically fall out of her mouth. It was truly awful and heart-breaking to watch. She rarely woo woo’ed any more, she didn’t run or get excited about going for a walk. Rosco kept his distance and she slept a lot (more than usual). The only chance she had was for us to put her through a mandebulectomy, which is the removal of most of her bottom jaw, or eventually euthanization. When we asked what would happen if we did nothing, the oncologist told us that eventually the cancer would eat away and crack her jaw in half. It would create so much pain that we would be looking at euthanization. This was a really tough decision –many tears were shed. My husband and I decided to rescue her and save her life again.

We met with a veterinary oncologist who laid out a plan for the surgery and told us he thought Daisy could beat the cancer if we did the surgery and that he’d follow up with us after the surgery. After doing much research, we knew that the margins would be close and we knew we needed to have an excellent surgeon, someone who was an expert in the field and had done this type of surgery before. When we went to drop Daisy’s off for the surgery, you can imagine our surprise when the surgeon told us that there was a good possibility that she would need chemotherapy afterwards or she would not live more than 3-6 months. Especially since this was not what the oncologist told us. We decided to go through with the surgery despite the warning.

She remained hospitalized for 3 full days. Everyone kept telling me to prepare myself for the worst of what she would look like. As you can see from the picture, and you can imagine my surprise – she looked much better than I thought.  Her tongue hung out but she was alive.

Now the decision was 3-6 months if we do nothing.  I cried, took care of her, and researched for the next week straight.  A friend reached out to me and gave me the name of a Holistic Veterinarian that she heard had a lot of success stories.  His name is Dr. Wen (Hampton Veterinarian, located on Long Island, NY).  I made an appointment for a consultation, immediately following the follow-up appointment with the surgeon.

Dr. Wen put Daisy on an herbal form of chemotherapy.  You know, herbal Chinese medicine/remedies.  It was in powder form.  He said that there is a 70% success rate that the cancer would not metastasize or return at all.  So, chest X-rays were done every 2-3 months.  And the results were … CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN … you can imagine how happy we were.

And Daisy was acting more and more like her old self. Playing again, running – it was so good to see.  My husband and I realized then – just how sick she really was.  She started doing things she hadn’t in almost a year.  It was amazing.

And now, it’s been a year. And (drum roll please) Daisy BEAT cancer – Naturally!  On top of this, I did not have to bring any of the terrible side effects of traditional chemotherapy to Daisy or my home (if you don’t know about the side effects of treating your dogs with chemotherapy- do a google search, it’s scary).

Since Daisy’s surgery, my home is virtually chemically free.  From laundry detergent to cleaners, I know that my family is safer and my boxers are too.  If you would like to learn how to make your home chemically free for your family and boxers, check out www.chemicallyfreeme.com.

If you have any questions about Daisy’s story or would like more information, please feel free to email me at [email protected]