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Toby's Tale
"ABANDONED, FOR SURE." A quiet, mellow, small Australian shepherd mix dog, probably "dumped" as he needed medical care. Unfortunately, not an uncommon incident at Valley Veterinary Clinic.
This sick and lonely canine was found in the hills and brought into the Clinic needing help. Toby (named by his new owners) was suffering from a large degenerating cancerous growth on his rump, probably hormonally driven as Toby had not been neutered.
Dr. Novy donated the clinic and his time for surgical intervention on Toby's behalf. A small portion of the tumor adhering to the colon was deemed inoperable, but the tumor's growth has been minimal since surgery, due to Toby's neutering at the time of the tumor surgery.
The Non-Profit's Benevolent Fund has funded Toby's further care. The last biopsies reveal low-grade neoplastic growth with only a slight chance of spreading. Further treatment is being provided as needed, and Toby's lameness is being treated with acupuncture.
Toby's case grabbed the emotions of everyone at the Clinic - they knew that he would be hard to place because of the cancer, but they could not conceive of taking such a gentle friend to Animal Regulation, no doubt headed for euthanasia.
With the assurance that the Benevolent Fund would pay for future surgeries, the adoption process was eased. Toby was happily adopted by Joan and Jim Hise, joining their animal family of three other dogs, three birds, and six horses.
Toby settled in immediately, locating a perfect sleeping spot on a couch in Joan's office. Joan immediately fitted Toby with collar and name tag, which allowed his return when he wandered off into the neighborhood - but he has learned his lesson. Now he will not even go out of the gate - he has found his true home and love.
UPDATE! Our Benevolent Fund continues to care for Toby, who needed a further surgery in the summer to remove additional tumor growth. There is no sign of the growth returning, and his adopters report Toby is very "spunky," loving his life with his dog, bird and horse friends. His favorite time of the day is horse feeding time when he enthusiastically joins Joan. Why the excitement? He knows his feeding is next. Good luck, Toby!
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