Sage

By Diane Whetsel

August 4, 2010

I got Sage as a puppy from England in late 1999 with big dreams for her to become a search and rescue dog. As a former K-9 corrections officer and FEMA disaster K-9 trainer, I have trained several service dogs but Sage is special – partly because she is my own dog. I started her training, slowly, at the tender age of 16 weeks and she proved to be a star student. Her training was always positive and motivational and as a result, she loves what she does. I think that is the reason why she is so good at her job.

She was 2 years old and fully certified when we got the call to report to the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. She found the remains of that terrorist and the remains of other passengers from American Airlines Flight 77. Since that time we have traveled the world together in search and rescue (live recovery) or search and recovery (remain recovery) missions. Those missions include many searches in the western US near our home base of New Mexico, Aruba searching for Natalie Holloway in 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, and a 6 month tour in Iraq looking for missing soldiers in 2007-2008. She has quite the resume!

In Early Sept. 2008, an AKC representative, Ron Rella called to tell me that Sage had been selected as the recipient of the ACE award for Search and Rescue (SAR) for 2009. The award, the highest given to a SAR dog, would be given at the Eukanuba National Championships in Long Beach, CA on December 6, 2009. We couldn't wait to go!

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Only a week later I learned Sage had a tumor deep down between her lung lobes and next to her heart. The news was devastating to all that knew Sage. Even my vet sounded like he was crying as he told me the news over the phone. Sage has participated in a post 9/11 canine health study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and primarily funded by the AKC. Service dogs who worked at the attack sites on 9/11 have annual bloodwork and check x-rays and the information is compiled at University of Pennsylvania to monitor the health of these dogs. Her previous tests had always been "all clear" and I expected her 2009 exam to be the same because she had no signs that anything was wrong. Only this time, the routine tests revealed a tumor in her chest. After speaking to my primary vet, Dr. Walker and the study Coordinator at U of Penn, Dr. Otto, it was determined that she would be referred to Dr. Kelly, a veterinary medical oncologist in Santa Fe, MN who did more tests to determine the type of cancer and if it had spread. After this work-up all the vets involved at the time agreed Sage deserved the best that veterinary medicine could offer therefore she was referred to the CSU Animal Cancer Center (ACC). Only three weeks before her big moment for the ACE Award in Long Beach, we found ourselves sitting in the Animal Cancer Center waiting room in Ft. Collins CO.

On that Monday, we met with Dr. Janet Lori, a medical oncologist, who conducted the initial physical exam and has coordinated all of her care at the ACC. Dr. Lori and Dr. Goh were wonderful, walking us through each step and keeping us informed. CSU had just installed the first PET/CT scanner in a veterinary hospital and Sage would be one of the first cases to have advanced imaging of this type. The PET scan (positron emission tomography), as I understood it, would be the most sensitive test to make sure the tumor near her heart was the only one. The scan revealed the mass next to her heart was likely a thymoma, which is relatively easily treatable with surgery. The bad news as was the scan revealed another potential mass in her right lung that was probably another type of cancer. Surgery was clearly the answer for treatment – the question was what type of procedure and if we should try to get both tumors out at the same time.

The hospital at CSU is an incredible facility and Sage had a team of surgical and medical oncologists and radiologists offering their best suggestions but the decision was ultimately mine. While the team, especially her surgeon, Dr. Goh, did their best to educate us about our options, it was still a brutal decision trying to decide what would be best for Sage. In the end, we elected for an intercostal thoracotomy in which Dr. Goh and her team would open up Sage's chest to remove both the thymoma near her heart and her right cranial lung lobe containing the second mass. We thought it offered Sage the best chance – that was why we came to the Animal Cancer Center after all!

The surgery went well and she came through it without a hitch. Before leaving for the long 12-hour drive home, we had one last check up at the Animal Cancer Center. She was deemed ready to go home and given permission to travel. Sage had become quite the canine celebrity at the cancer center and all of the surgical and medical team came together for pictures before her discharge.

Now the biggest challenge was to keep this typically active Border Collie calm and quiet for a few weeks so she could heal from major surgery! A four foot square exercise pen set up in the midst of the action in the living room proved to be the answer. After the first week she settled into her new more sedentary lifestyle. I constantly explained to her that this was not forever and that soon she would be back to chasing her coveted Frisbee again.

The trip to Long Beach came quickly. Sage was still on limited light duty but she was cleared to travel by plane. She loves to travel and it helps that she has cabin privileges when we fly. As a search and rescue dog she is classified as a service dog and the airlines don't require her to fly cargo like pet dogs. I was glad I could keep a close eye on her for this first big trip after her surgery.

On Dec 5, 2009, we arrived in Long Beach for what we thought would be a nice awards ceremony. Little did we know we were all to be wined and dined by the AKC in recognition of Sage and the other three ACE Award honorees' accomplishments! Sage was included in every single activity – she was the star! This included dinner at the Hyatt for the ACE winners, nice rooms, an award check for $1000, full access passes to the show and related events and meal tickets that proved to be four star banquets. Not too shabby, huh?

Of course we had a little work to do as well rehearsing for the awards ceremony, conducting interviews and photo sessions. Sage took it all in as if she knew that was all about her. Sage has always loved to be the center of attention and this was all right up her alley. The evening of the ACE awards ceremony friends from all over had come to watch Sage and celebrate with us. Unlike us humans who have to look just right for things like this, Sage could have cared less that she was sporting a surgical hair cut on national TV! Of course, everyone wanted to know why her chest was shaved and I was proud to tell them she had fantastic treatment at the CSU Animal Cancer Center. The presentation complete and the fan fair over with we returned to the "real world" out of the spotlight.

As I write this in July of 2010, Sage is doing very well and her prognosis looks good. She had repeat PET and CT scans at CSU in May 2010 and chest x-rays in June 2010 that show no evidence of her cancer. It should be noted that neither one of the two cancers that were found in Sage are common in dogs. While we can't prove it, I think they were probably the result of sniffing toxins during her service to our country. Because Sage has served in so many potentially toxic sites such as 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and in dump sites in Fallujah Iraq, we know she has had multiple exposures to environmental contaminants.

Since our experience at the CSU Animal Cancer Center Sage has gotten involved in some cancer related volunteer opportunities including visiting Camp Enchantment in the Monzano Mountains of New Mexico. It is a camp for children fighting cancer. The experience at the camp was magical. It was also happy and sad all at the same time. The kids are so resilient! You can see that for some of them that this was their last party. They will not be back next year. For others, there is hope that they may live a normal or near normal life after cancer. For all the kids and for Sage, unlike us adults, they were living in the moment and were enjoying each second of the non-stop activities.

Sage was a big hit with the kids. Camp was all about having fun and there were no disabilities at the camp only opportunities. The camp counselor made sure that every child was getting whatever they needed to have fun and participate in all of the activities. Sage was worn out by the end of the day. She had been non-stop playing, finding hidden children and doing demos. Sage had a blast with the kids and they with her! I hope we are invited back next year.

We wore our CSU ACC t-shirts at camp and lots of people asked if we worked at the university. We explained the ACC was where Sage was treated for her cancer. We told them about the wonderful facility, doctors and the work the researchers do there to benefit not only dogs but people with cancer. I think most people were surprised that there are so many cancer treatment options for animals today. I suppose educating people about these options and that there is hope after a cancer is one more job for us!

As survivors we stick together. Sage is a cancer survivor, and so am I. Sage from thymoma and broncho-alvealar carcinoma and me from breast cancer. I'm not sure I could have predicted how our lives would change from this experience for the better. We have a new outlook, have made many new friends and have some new jobs to do. Probably the top jobs are to educate others about the options that exist for veterinary cancer patients, to inspire others to have hope in spite of a cancer diagnosis and to help other service dogs get the veterinary care they need.

Sage has made many friends over the years. When she was diagnosed with cancer many people, some of whom I don't even know, wanted to contribute to the substantial cost of her care in recognition of her years of service. In fact, they were so generous we had quite a bit of money left over after her bills were paid. With the help of many wonderful people the decision was made to start a foundation called the "Sage Foundation For Dogs Who Serve" that will provide financial aid for veterinary care for working dogs. This foundation, created in her name will serve our canine heroes long after our Sage is gone. We have already made the first two grants – interestingly enough for two search and rescue dogs with cancer in northern Colorado.

In our own way this is our way to give back for the gift of life we have both been given. Sage is a service dog –
I know she would have it no other way!

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