Duke

I rescued Duke from abusive owners who because of their drug and alcohol use neglected to take care of Duke's basic needs. They never had money for his food and fed him only every four or five days. He never had veterinary care, annual shots, dental care, or preventive care of any kind. He was flea infected had a tape worm and had several broken teeth. Once I had him with me, my veterinarian checked him thoroughly. His flea infestation was taken care of, he received medicine for the tapeworm and a UTI. He was started on Frontline and Heartgard and his neutering surgery was set for a week later. It was also advised that he see a veterinary oral surgeon. (Because my pets have been patients over the last twenty years, these services are on a bill that I pay oward every month.) Dr Bonnie Shope in Acton, MA removed 12 teeth in total. The bill for her services was paid $2,500. from donated money and $2,843. by Dr Shope herself. After going through the period of recovery Duke was like a young dog, always prancing and running. The years of horrible mouth pain was finally gone. Then one day I found a lump in his scrotum area. My regular vet checked it out and said to watch it for a few months. Well after 6 weeks I began finding blood spots on his blanket. Immediately I called her and was told to use warm compresses and given an appointment for over a week away. Not good enough. Not nearly soon enough. I was expecting to be seen right away. I contacted Dr Chris Martin in Salem and he saw Duke after hours in his Salem NH hospital. He examined Duke and scheduled a biopsy for the next morning. The results showed a stage 2 mast cell tumor and he referred Duke to N.E.V.O.G. in Waltham, MA. After all my big guy has been through now this too!