Fighting Breast Cancer

I once saw a show on Animal Planet where they featured dogs whose sense of smell was so sensitive, that they could actually smell cancer growing in their owner’s bodies.  One particular man had a dog who kept licking a certain part of his head over and over.  The man made an appointment with his doctor and had a brain MRI.  It turned out that he had a large tumor growing in that exact spot and it was dangerously close to killing him.  The dog had saved his life. 

I have two dogs, Autumn and Farley; they do not possess such cancer detecting capabilities.

The oldest dog, Autumn, has been my constant companion for the past ten years.  And by constant companion, I mean that she ignores me for most of the day unless she wants to be walked or fed or is demanding a treat.  She is half Chow / half Labrador and she is gorgeous and absolutely odor free.  In fact, I will go so far as to say that she is odor absorbant.  She was once sprayed in the face by a skunk.  I didn’t have any special “skunk-out” shampoo, but it turned out I didn’t need any.  The next day the skunk odor had completely vanished. 

With respect to her mix, it’s amazing how she carries the personality traits of both breeds.  She can be an intimidating guard dog one minute; a sweet bundle of playful emotions the next.  She is extremely stubborn and bull-headed but that is rarely a problem because long ago, she and I came to an understanding:  I wouldn’t try to dominate her and in return she would adopt a code of behaviorial rules that just so happened to coincide with what I expect of her.  I tell people that I have the most well behaved dog, but secretly we both know the truth.

Then there is Farley.  I adopted him 3 years ago.  I always describe Farley as ‘confused’ because his breeding is debatable.  And, when I first got him, he looked kind of cross-eyed.  The Arizona Animal Welfare League (where I adopted Farley) said that he may have a little Pit bull in him.  Pit bulls are notorious for being very aggressive with other dogs.  Certainly not this sweet animal!  He could never hurt a fly!  However, I started to believe the “half pit bull theory” when Farley tried to attack my friend’s 6-month-old Lab puppy.  I was completely convinced when he tried to take on two 80 lb. Golden Retrivers at the same time.  The funny thing is that Farley is the sweetest, most cuddlely, 50-pound, wanna-be lap dog you’ve ever met.  He loves children (especially babies) and he even adores strangers, but most of all he loves Autumn.  Actually, I would say that he worships Autumn.  (There is a picture of Farley below with our good friend Kristy’s gorgeous baby, Olivia.  She looks like a model for Gerber.)

Despite my dog’s inablility to alert me of my cancer, they have been an extreme comfort.  Farley lays in bed with me with his head on my pillow just staring at me with sympathetic brown eyes.  Autumn makes a few daily appearances at my bedside.  She smacks the bed with her paw to alert me to move over from the side of the bed.  I roll towards the middle so that she can jump up and sleep in my spot.  (This is her way of showing affection…I think.)  

The dogs sandwich me and I continue to try to rest.

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