Sierra

Kathy Lachel

My husband and I originally got her as a birthday gift for our son. She was a red fox Labrador our son named Sierra. Though he was in his twenties, living at home and going to school, we decided that he needed something to get his mind off school and his studies. Our son taught Sierra the basics-sit, heel, stay and down. My husband was an upland bird hunter and he trained Sierra to retrieve birds and the newspaper every day, which made her the envy of the neighborhood. She did OK as a hunting dog but was more typical of a lab. She loved being around people, chasing butterflies and balls, swimming in anything wet, riding in the car, rolling in the grass, romping in the snow or sitting on my lap, all 80 pounds of her. When my son moved into an apartment where he couldn’t have a dog, she became my four legged shadow.

We used to take the dogs we had to Alaska with us to fish. We were fly fishermen and Sierra would ride in the boat with us. When we put in to fish, we were concerned about bears or worried she might accidentally get hooked by a back-cast, so, we would tie her to an oar on shore. One day, she took the oar in her mouth and brought it to me while we were fishing. It was quite a sight!

When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, Sierra was the one to quiet my nerves or sit on my lap and lick my tears. When he passed away she was my savior. If she hadn’t been there I would have fallen apart. Then, a few months after my husband passed, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was in the midst of selling my husband’s company, I had 4 dogs and I had cancer…it was a terrible time. It was during my six months of chemotherapy for cancer that Sierra was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the nose.

She had had some bloody mucus coming from her nose, so I took her to my regular vet. They did some tests and said it was probably cancer and advised me to take her the Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University. After her tests at CSU, they confirmed the diagnosis. It was a day I will never forget! The folks at CSU couldn’t have been more caring, supportive and compassionate. In no time, everybody at the Animal Cancer Center knew Sierra and they always looked forward to taking care of my girl. They made her feel comfortable and never afraid of going for her treatments. She was always excited to get out of the car to go in. She just loved everybody at the Cancer Center and everybody loved her.

When I was treated for my cancer, I went to a large cancer research/treatment center. Everyone there was very kind but you were a number none the less. They are making progress in the battle against human cancer and realize they need those numbers as proof of their progress, but I didn’t like the impression they left on me. The Animal Cancer Center treats their patients like family. They know the owner, they know the dog and they know how to care for them. They treat patients as if they were their own pets, whether it was the reception or billing office staff, student, pharmacist, oncologist, radiation therapist, surgeon, or someone at the Argus Institute.

Sierra’s treatment was radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The radiation therapy benefited her in the beginning and the chemotherapy made her life easier. Her quality of life was good throughout the nearly two years we enjoyed together.

Sierra was my shadow and my savior. She helped me to not only be a breast cancer survivor but a life survivor. She’s now my 4 legged guardian angel.

In the words of humorist Will Rogers, “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went,” for I know that my husband, family, friends, animals and all the other animal lovers and their beloved pets are there as well.

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