A Special Thank You and a huge appreciation to Dr. Tom MacPhail and Dr. Debra Ulbrich at the Deland Animal Hospital. These two talented veterinarians go the extra mile. Their compassion and love for animals shine through. To pet owners who make their pet a real part of the family appreciate veterinarians who go that extra mile to save your loved one.
Deland Animal Hospital

They saved our boy, not once, not twice, not three times, but four times now since August 2005.

Taz came to our rescue December 2001. Taz was 7 years old at the time when his family surrenders him to us. Taz became the ambassador to the rescue, by educating the public just how gentle the breed, Rottweiler is. He enjoys visiting schools, nursing homes and most of all, Taz loves to be in the parades.

Taz enjoys life to the fullest and his greatest joy in life is to put a smile on one's face. He loves to greet and have a scratch from a stranger, plus he loves to dress-up.

With early detection, on August of 2005, after Taz had his dinner, we noticed some breeding from his mouth. We immediately took Taz to our veterinarians the next morning. Taz has a tumor the size of a marble hanging from his mouth and a biopsy was done. Waiting for the results was almost unbearable. We received the "call" from our veterinarian, the scary and heartbreaking news came back two days later. Your boy has cancer and it is a very aggressive cancer. That night while I lay down on the floor with Taz, I felt he would be fine. I had such confidence in our veterinarians that I knew this was not the end for Taz. The next day we went to speak with our veterinarians to see what options were available for Taz.

X-rays were taken to see if the cancer spread to Taz’s lungs. Tests were done on the Lymph Nodes. This was a very good sign, the cancer did not spread to the lungs or the Lymph Nodes. Due to this very aggressive cancer, Dr. Tom and Dr. Debbie felt laser surgery was the option best for Taz considering his age. This option proved to be the best decision for our boy, killing the cancer cells surrounding the area for a better chance of survival.

April of 2006, the oral cancer came back in the same location and upper roof of Taz’s mouth. Again, this was caught early and laser surgery was done again.

UPDATE -

On May 23, 2006, we took Taz in to Deland Animal Hospital as Taz started limping on his rear leg. Dr. Tom MacPhail had x-rays done on Taz's rear legs. It was discovered Taz had bone cancer in the left rear leg. This was a decision that required planning and what was best for Taz. In order for Taz to have a chance at life, his leg would have to be amputated. Dr. Tom gave us our option and did suggest going to a specialist. I personally asked Dr. Tom if he could do the surgery, he said yes he could. I explain that I only would trust him to do the surgery and I knew my boy was in the best hands possible.

I was asked why I wanted to surgery done. You see, if it was for my selfish reasons to keep Taz alive, it would not be fair to Taz. Taz himself had the will to live and that was something we had to do for him. Taz loves people and loves to visit schools and nursing homes. Dr. Tom did tell me he would do the surgery provided Taz would have a wheelchair to help him get around and Taz had to lose weight. We agreed to the conditions.

May 24, 2006, the surgery began to remove the left rear leg. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I knew Taz was in the best hands possible, but it was very hard to see the leg of your baby removed. I also knew if the leg was not removed, his chance of survival was grim.

The surgery was about 2 1/2 hours, it felt like 10 hours to me. Taz was removed from the surgery table and had woken 15 minutes after surgery. He opens his eyes to see both Walt and I there to comfort him. Taz was doing so well, we were able to take him home around 4:00 PM.

Taz is such a remarkable boy, who has gone through three surgeries and bounces right back to enjoy life. As soon as Taz came home, he wanted something to eat. I gave him a little water and food. He kept that down and an hour later he was given more food and water. Taz was on pain medication for about 4 days after the surgery.

We made the decision to treat Taz with Chemo. This was Taz's only chance to have more quality time to do what he needs to do here on earth. We though of treating him with natural supplements only, however his chances of survival would be a shorter period of time. Taz is on supplements as well as the chemo to give him a real chance at life.

On May 27th three days after his surgery, our dog club hard a picnic at our home. Taz was in the house and insisted that he come out to greet everyone. We made a bed outside, so Taz could feel a part of the picnic. After some time, I felt Taz needed to go back into the house where it was cooler. That was fine for Taz, however Taz had to stop and greet everyone before going in.

June 27, 2006

Dr. Tom MacPhail, Taz's hero and of course our hero as well. My deepest appreciation to everyone at the Deland Animal Hospital and Dr. Tom and Dr. Debbie especially.

Dr. Debra Ulbrich started Taz on his Adriamycin Chemo treatment May 31st and two weeks later Carboplatin. This process will continue until September. Taz has also been placed on B-12, B-complex, which helps keep the red blood cells up, CO Q-10, which protects the heart, Selenium, E and omegas to protect the organs. The blood test results have been great.

Taz has been doing really well with his chemo treatments. There have been no side effects and he is eating like a horse. Taz is on a special home cooked cancer diet that will help him greatly. We do not give him dog food. Taz is now walking on his own, eating well. We have provided a ramp for the van. If Taz thinks he is going for a ride, he is busting at the door to go and he needs no help getting around. Taz is also back to sleeping in bed, laying on the couch and all the normal things he did before surgery. Actually, Taz is more motivated now, then he has been in the last 5 years.

June 24th, we discovered a small tumor on Taz's nipple, so down to the vet's office we went. Taz had the tumor removed by laser and within 10 minutes, he was off the surgery table on his way home.

August 3rd, it is with a heavy and painful heart to let you all know, Taz went to the rainbow bridge early this morning. Taz is now with his love, Inga.

Taz came into our lives almost 5 years ago, actually our first surrendered Rottweiler and he did not come from a happy home. Taz became our ambassador to the rescue and no matter who Taz meet, he always put a smile on ones face and also educated the community about the breed, Rottweiler. Taz touched many hearts.

The one thing that stands out the most in my mind besides his devoted love for us and life was when Taz went to a nursing home in Debary. There was a man who had no spoken a word for a very long time. Walt took Taz over to the gentlemen. The staff explain the gentlemen does not speak nor has no reaction to anything. Taz placed his head in the gentlemen's lap for a while and as Taz was getting ready to leave, the gentlemen spoke for the first time in a long time and said, when is he coming back. It touched our hearts.

As many of you know, Taz loved his hats and loved to walk up and sit on your toes, so you could not move, you had to scratch him then...

Walt and I want to thank everyone for every thing you all have done to help Taz these last couple of months. Prayers, medical supplies, wheelchair, medications and most of all, love. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. I am attaching two of my favorite pictures of Taz. We will miss our boy deeply.

Early detection of the three types of cancer Taz has was caught early, this gave Taz the chance of survival. Please, check your animals daily, get to know their body and when something feels out of the ordinary or they start to limp, seek veterinarian help immediately. Insist on x-rays, bloodwork to confirm why the problem might be. Never settle for "it might be nothing" insist on test. You could save your pet's life with early detection.