Sandy the Beagle

Two years ago Sandy, my 10 year old Beagle began drinking excess amounts of water. Concerned, but not thinking it was life threatening, I brought her to my local vet. The doctor ran some blood tests. Then he told me it could be a sign of cancer.

I immediately took her to the AMC where they took x-rays and did some other tests. The doctor told me it could be thyroid cancer and that Sandy needed to have the operation soon. Having raised her from a puppy, I was distraught about the possibility of losing her and cried incessantly. She had the operation the day before her 10th birthday. It was thyroid cancer and thankfully, the surgery was a success! They removed the majority of her cancer and part of her thyroid. She recovered in the hospital for 3 days, where I visited her each day.

I was elated to bring her back home to NJ after her recovery.  Once home, I had to give her some liquid medicine.  Being exhausted from the whole ordeal, I misread the dosage and gave her 10 times too much, which could have killed her. I was hysterical. She wasn’t home more than a half hour and I had to race her back from NJ into the AMC, where they were waiting for her arrival. They immediately administered treatment for the overdose. The doctor was very kind to keep me abreast of her condition during the night as I was distraught and was unable to sleep. Thankfully, because they administered the treatment for the overdose immediately, Sandy made a full recovery.

A month or so later began her series of radiation treatments to treat the remaining cancer cells, which was a total of 17 days of radiation treatments. During her treatments she got pneumonia, and I had to rush her back into the AMC for treatment. With medicine she recovered from her pneumonia and finished all her radiation treatments.

It is now 2 years later and Sandy is still cancer free. She is the joy of my life. I am amazed how she bounces around like she’s still a puppy. She just turned 12 years old and I had a little birthday party to celebrate. The AMC saved her life and I will be forever grateful to all the doctors who treated her, for all their guidance, and for all their kindness throughout the whole ordeal. 

Thank you AMC!