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Maggie’s Amazing Tail

I would first like to start this by saying “thank you” to all who have been in our lives regarding Maggie for the past 11 years, because without all of you there be no story to tell.

It all started because I wanted a sister for my other dog Samantha, who was also very special to me and is now in doggie heaven…On with the story...           

Maggie has always been a very special pup from the day I adopted her from the shelter. She was 1 of 9 pups and was the most outgoing of the litter to say the least, she as a 3 pound ball of poop, all black, but a few whiter spots behind her paws and on her chest.

To speed tings up a bit I will get to her 1^st birthday and the day Maggie had to be brought into the animal hospital because she had quite a bit of blood in her stool. Our vet at the time said she probably had colitis. He gave us medication and we took her home… We knew there was something wrong with her, she was loosing weight and had no appetite. We kept asking if she could have cancer… She had problems like this for the past 3-4 months.. He always had the same answer.. She was too young to have “cancer”.

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 Those of us who have furry children know when something is wrong, and something was very wrong. She was an 85 pound dog down to 35 pounds and loosing weight fast. We took her to another vet in Tinton Falls and they diagnosed her with ”interceception” and they also felt she could not have cancer… She was too young. So she had the surgery for the interceception and on the day we picked her up from the hospital we were just getting ready to leave and the vet called us back and said “your dog has lymphoma and has 3 weeks to live”. Our hearts sank and we thought our world had stopped…She was our “baby”…..What to Do?.....We needed to do research, and quick, to find out what to do. We always loved “animal planet” and the vets at Alameda East in Colorado. We called them and they wanted Maggies papers faxed to them… Never expecting to hear from them again, the next day, early in the morning we received a call with what would be a life changing phone call for our little “Maggie”.. It was Dr. Santen, the oncologist at Alameda East… We were very excited to hear from him, let alone to tell us what to do. The exact words I heard, in between crying, were if anyone can save her it would be Dr. Fred at Red Bank Vet…

Now skipping back a bit, I truly believe everything in life happens for a reason. Maggie, being diagnosed with cancer made me slow down, smell the roses and appreciate life a lot more. It made me look at the clouds in the sky, smell the fresh air and enjoy life to the fullest because we do not know what tomorrow would bring.. Now back to the story… So after the amazing phone call.. I got right on the phone with Red Bank Vet and made an appointment for Maggie. They said I would have to wait to see Dr. Fred.. But I explained she had no time to wait and we needed help fast… Well, this man named Bill was awesome and he got us right in.. The next day.. We took Maggie and met Dr. Fred, the man that was bigger than life and would give Maggie her life back. He was the most wonderful person I ever met… He was very honest with us, almost too honest, but he had to tell us the truth, even if we didn’t want to hear it. She was dying, who knew what would happen next.. We started chemo on the first day of summer, June 21, 1999. It was tough on the second round of chemo… she  crashed and we almost lost her.  Still at 35 pounds and quite frail, she was admitted for a couple of days and bounced back like a pro. We would go every week for the first 6 months for chemo, then every other week for the next 3 years. We thought at the time that we had beat it and she stopped the chemo…but then a horrid day in September when an ultrasound was done and we found she had TCC. Transitional Cell Carcinoma.. which at that time was a death sentence for her. Once again faced with another dilemma we spoke to Dr. Fred and his wonderful wife Kim. That would be another story unto itself. She has always been there when we needed an angel to guide us. We asked “what to do”? Dr. Fred said there is a Dr. Cerf at Ridgewood Vet who came up with laser surgery for bladder cancer in dogs  and that we should speak with him.

 So off we go to Ridgewood Vet, not knowing what to expect. But we figured if Dr. Fred says he’s the man to see we’ll go there. We made the appointment and took Maggie.. and yes.. there is another amazing man in Maggies future. He told us that the surgery is fairly new and it did not look too promising, but we felt we should go through with it.. the chance of survival was slim, but a chance we knew we had to take… most dogs don’t last too long… but not our pup. It will be five years this September since she’s had the surgery… she acts like a puppy and enjoys her life with her furry brother and sister… Maggie has come a long way.. she was given 3 weeks when diagnosed with lymphoma,.. it is now 10 years, and almost 5 years since being diagnosed with TCC.. given only 4 months to live.. Maggie is a survivor….. I also have to add that I have the most wonderful mother who is Maggies new mommy. Maggie chose her and thank God she did. The love my mother gives her and along with the most wonderful doctors is the reason she is here. They gave her back her life and no one will ever understand how gratefulwe are. We thank Red Band Vet and all the techs there.. To Dr. Cerf.. we thank you from the bottom of our hearts… there is not a day that goes by that you are not thought of or your names are not mentioned, and my family will be forever grateful to all of you.

As I always say, life is a gift and a gift it truly is… so never give up and just go forward.. take that chance.. it may pay off. Maggie is till doing very well and still continues with her chemo, now once a month.. She still is my mothers “sunshine” and sings “you are my sunshine” to her when she is getting the chemo.

Thank goodness for all of our angels… we are truly blessed to know you all.. and Maggie thanks you too!!!!

   Maggie, Judy and Debbie