Wonder Dog, Wonder Doc
I am Zack, aka Wonder Dog. I am 14 ½ years old, a senior citizen plus, if you measure in human years. I am a Cocker Spaniel, black and white, and love my Dad and Mom and they love me. They found out I had a tumor in my bladder and the discovery came with bad news about me not having long to live, which worried them a lot. My first vet sent me to Dr. Kelly. I had many problems when I met her. Besides the bladder tumor, I had a 1 ½ pound fatty tumor under my front leg, many sebaceous warts on my body, arthritis in my legs and paws, an ear infection that my parents did not know about—I was in a lot of pain and the pain medications were not working. I was very sick and slept all day and was not interested in much of anything.
Then came Wonder Doc, my friend Dr. Kelly. I’ll call her W.D. for short. W.D. looked me over real good and began working her magic. She told my parents that I was going to be fine and live out my life as naturally and as long as possible, but we needed to do a lot of work.
W.D. likes to work on the whole “Wonder Dog.” So she gave me lots of vitamins and minerals–changed my diet and began treating the whole me.
W.D. began by removing the tumor under my front leg, which made it easier for me to walk. W.D. then removed the unsightly warts from all over my body. I went from looking just handsome to downright good looking.
Treating my arthritis was next— I had two cruciate ligament surgeries, a hip replacement and years of arthritis treatment. W.D. started using a medication called Adequan and then Pentosan, normally used on horses, to help regrow the degenerated cartilage in my joints. After 4 months, I no longer limp and have been able to quit taking pain medication. My legs and paws are stronger—this was good because when my Dad took me to the tow yard and I could walk all over the place, sniffing everything, getting really dirty and having a great time.
W.D. gave me chemotherapy for my bladder tumor and it began to shrink. Because W.D. is so thorough, she discovered I also had an anal gland tumor (I had one of these when I was two years old, too.) W.D. knows a lot about tumors and put me in a study using Immunociden for my bladder tumor and my butt tumor. To make things more complicated, she also found a tumor in my lungs. But she has it all under control.
W.D. and her friends at the clinic are a good team. I used to shake all over when I went to the vet, but I like W.D.’s place. I like her voice. Her friends, Brian and Patrick and Megan are super—always there to answer my parent’s questions. We are best buddies. I became a new dog when I met Dr. Kelly, aka Wonder Doc.
They call me Wonder Dog because I have been through so much and am doing so well. I appreciate W.D. because she uses doses of therapy that keep my tumors under control and I get to enjoy my car rides every day. I wait for my Mom to come home at night so we can have fortune cookies together. I love my lunch, lying on the grass, playing with the laser light—and still like a good nap. Thanks to meeting Wonder Doc, I get to be Wonder Dog.