Pet Cancer Survivors – Shelby’s Story

In 1999 Julie Weaver got a puppy for Christmas. The next day, Julie tried calling the puppy different names and the one she responded to was Shelby—you could say the mixed-breed puppy picked the name herself!

Several years ago, Shelby developed a lump on her rear. A needle aspiration of the lump came back clean, but in February 2010, Julie noticed another lump on Shelby’s stomach. This lump had bruising around it, so Julie took Shelby to the veterinarian to have it examined. Because Shelby had been groomed a couple of days earlier, the veterinarian thought the lump was probably the result of Shelby getting clipped by the groomer. Just to be sure, Julie asked the veterinarian to remove both lumps during Shelby’s teeth cleaning. The lumps were biopsied and the bad news was discovered. One came back as being lymphoma and the other a mast cell tumor. The news devastated Julie and she cried for days afterwards.

A friend of Julie’s suggested she take Shelby to the Veterinary Referral Center of Colorado (VRCC) for treatment and a week later shemet with an oncologist at VRCC. That same day Shelby began chemotherapy. Shelby’s pet insurance policy included a cancer rider, which gave Julie the freedom to “do everything she could to help Shelby”.

Shelby handled the treatment better than Julie expected, and after the first treatment she went into 50 percent remission. On August 13, 2010, she finished her chemotherapy and is now cancer free! Shelby recently celebrated her 11th birthday on October 13.

“I can’t thank VPI enough.” Julie said. “They have been great to work with! Every time I have called over the years, they always make me feel like they really care about us. I feel like they are friends.”

When asked what she would say to other pet owners in a similar situation, Julie responded that even though it is expensive, treating cancer in dogs can be successful. And while having pet insurance helped her with the financial aspect, each person needs to what is best for them and their pets. Also she suggests working with an oncologist to find alternative options if the first few treatments are not successful. But most importantly she says, “Don’t give up!!!”