Rescued Dog Rescues Owner

I hear about stories all the time where the dog will alert their owner to cancer or another illness or even threats out on the street.  Each time I hear one I am just as amazed as the first time.  A dog's nose is really an amazing and powerful thing and the story below illustrates that perfectly.

Dogster had this beautiful story in their blog yesterday and I had to share it with all of you.  For all of you with rescue dogs it may warm your heart a little extra...

A mammogram — the gold standard in breast cancer detection — failed to detect Lisa Hulber’s malignant tumor. But Effie, her rescued hound mix, did. The dog whose life Hulber saved helped save hers after she sniffed her to the point where she decided to get double-checked.

This time, doctors found Hulber’s tumor, and did an excisional biopsy. But Effie was ahead of them again. She started sniffing around and apparently detected the only lymph node that had the cancer. Hulber underwent a double mastectomy and 20 weeks of chemotherapy, and will soon start radiation.

“It’s hard to go through cancer and stuff like that,” the Michigan resident said. “I’m not a ‘woe is me’ kind of person and knowing what she did for me, that gift, that’s what makes me cry.”

Hulber thinks Effie got her “medical” training on the family’s kitten, who died of cancer. The dog may have associated the similar scent, and it’s easy to make the leap that Effie was trying to tell her rescuer that something was amiss.

I can't say it enough, a dog's nose is an amazing and powerful thing! This is such an impressive thing that Effie did!

Now that Effie found the cancer and her rescuer is on her way to recovery, her real work will begin, to be the comfort and companion Hulber needs.  Pay attention to your dog, you never know what they are really trying to tell you.