Owned and loved by Marcelle King
Santa (affectionately known as the dog from hell) is a 13 year old
Schipperke - we bought him as a pet for my daughter when she was 8 years
old. We showed/bred Tervueren and Schipps seemed the ideal little breed to
go with them. There is some talk of the Groenendael descending from the
Schipperke, after all they are both Belgian breeds and black. They are
hardy, healthy and easy coat maintenance. 'Santa' it turned out had eyes
only for me. This was brought home as a tough lesson when friends (two
different incidents) let him off lead while walking him - but he ran away
and made for home. Once crossing a main road and causing the cars to
screech to a halt, and another time with different friends he made for the
freeway! They just managed to rugby tackle him to the ground before he was
history.
He has been fed on the BARF (bone & raw food) diet for 6 years. He has no
dog food, no inoculations (only as a puppy), no wormers and no flea preps.
He lives in the house, has filtered Willard Water to drink, is exercised
(off lead) for at least 2 hours a day and so on. Therefore it was
devastating news to discover a growth on his gum we had removed was a
fibrosarcoma - the worst oral cancer!
It was removed using cryosurgery and a dyotherm scalpel. We decided not to
opt for jaw removal or chemotherapy, in view of the fact that he stressed
out so badly after the lump removal. He has suffered separation anxiety
ever since, if I leave him alone he barks continuously (he did this at the
vet and they asked me to pick him up pronto as he was having a canine
karaoke in the recovery unit)!
The vet hoped he'd got all the cancer out, but we were all worried when it
started to turn red and bleed again. He is on Eissac Tea caps, cats claw,
shark cartilage, aloe vera, selenium ACE and a homeopathic remedy. The good
news is that the wound has stopped bleeding, has become a pale pink and
looks good. Only time will tell, but for now we just pray that we have
licked the problem.
Although he still got cancer regardless of his healthy lifestyle it may
interest you to know that the vet thought him just 2 years old!! His teeth
are spotless and his coat is like a mirror! Maybe his immune system will be
strong and able to fight the cancer.
(This page was last updated August 20, 2000)