Ziggy Hemangiosarcoma Survivor
Ziggy’s family picked him out with the help of his fur sister at a rescue event one summer. He was the quiet, shy puppy who had just rolled in poop on the way to the event. Ziggy was the only one that Cookie went up to and showed any approval of, even if it was only one little sniff. She sat there wondering when she could go home while her pet parents got to meet Ziggy for the first time.
Ziggy loved getting the zoomies as all puppies do. After a while he worked his way into Cookie’s heart and they loved to wrestle and he loved to sit on the sofa. Correction, on Cookie’s head on the sofa. He was also fond of chasing squirrels and playing with all the toys.
One day as Ziggy played in the yard his Mom, Jessica, noticed a very slight limp. As he came to a stop he didn’t pick up his leg, but you could see he wasn’t weight bearing. She decided to watch and see if he had just hurt himself being a wild dog or if there was something really wrong. You see, they had raced to the vet one time after Cookie hurt her paw and by the time they got there, she was just fine. However, the limp didn’t disappear, so off to the vet they went. It was found that Ziggy had a tumor on his leg and there was a need to amputate.
Making the decision to amputate was a hard one, but through volunteering with the shelter and seeing such a happy tripawd dog who was there and how easily she got around, the decision was easier to live with. Once Ziggy became a tripawd and recovered he still was just a sweet and puppish as he ever was.
Through all of this with Ziggy, his Mom started keeping a journal for each of her dogs noting anything out of the ordinary. She has become an advocate for doing so, teaching others that sometimes the little things matter. It was the watching Ziggy like a hawk that caught the tells that he needed to be seen by his vet. The early detection of his leg tumor and of the spleen tumor is what gave his family more time post diagnosis.
When Jessica and her husband picked him up after a hospitalization for a blood transfusion, the nurse said that while she was thrilled that he got to come home, she was gonna miss him because he's so sweet. Jessica said “I don't know how much of it is his personality and how much of it is because of how many vet visits he's had at such a young age, but Ziggy is truly an astounding patient. He is very cooperative and laid back.” Ziggy was a young dog when he was diagnosed.
“One could argue that all dogs teach us this lesson – and it’s true. But Ziggy in particular had no concerns in the world. Whether it was after his amputation, a chemo treatment, a visit to the botanical garden, or the doggy ice cream shop, he was always happy.”- Jessica
Ziggy loved to ride in his stroller and take trips to the doggie ice cream store. He lived life to the fullest, not knowing that he would not reach an old age. He did reach three. His family joined the #PinkPawLove Walk and run in his honor in 2023. They told his story, they raised awareness and funding. They came back for the walk again in 2024 but this time they did the walk in his memory, his cancer had taken him from them.
Jessica continues to tell his story and let pet parents know the importance of early detection and being an advocate for your dog every step of the way, no matter what is going on in their life. I will leave you with her wisdom she gained from the experience:
“Beyond knowing about him, I'd say that attentiveness and trusting your gut is my best advice to pet parents. I'm very confident that the reason why we were blessed with 17 months (which is truly remarkable for this cancer) since his initial diagnosis is a combination of early detection and that the primary location was the bone.”
Together, We Are The Cure