Update September 27, 2012 - Dante went home today!

Update September 25, 2012 - Dante made it through the night! If he can make it through the first 72 hours his chances are excellent. Dante is a fighter and we are happy to have so many people pulling for him!

Update September 24, 2012 - Dante's surgery was today. His lung looked very bad, but the vet was able to remove all of the damaged tissue. He isn't out of the woods yet, but his chances are very good!

Update September 19, 2012 - We received the biopsy results today. Dante does have cancer, but the vet isn't sure if it has spread. Dante will have a C/T scan to determine exactly where the tumor is before surgery. We are proceeding with the surgery in hopes the cancer has not spread. If the cancer is localized the vet gave Dante an excellent chance of full recovery!

We received some heartbreaking news about Dante, our so called APAWS Ambassador. He has a tumor on his lung. We will find out Tuesday if it’s malignant or not. Either way, he will require surgery to remove it. It's compromising his lung function and he's not getting enough oxygen. Yesterday, after getting out of the truck for work with his foster mom (who is planning on adopting him), he started coughing and then fell over on his side. She immediately rushed him to Sherwood South and they began a series of X-rays and CT scans to diagnose the problem. It was then confirmed that he indeed has a tumor. It seems that they’ll need to perform surgery to remove at least 2, maybe 3, of his lung lobes on one side. This of course will be an involved surgery and very expensive, even with rescue rates.

For those of you that have attended any of the APAWS adoption days in the last few months, you have probably seen Dante. It’s actually quite hard to miss him with his large stature and big, goofy smile. He is a standard poodle who was dumped by a heartless breeder at the shelter here in Baton Rouge. When he was rescued by his foster mom, he had a fever of 104 degrees and was coughing and extremely dehydrated. At the time, the vets thought he had a serious respiratory infection. He has been on every antibiotic possible and his chronic cough has persisted. He had X-rays done earlier in the week and it was initially believed he had a diaphragmatic hernia. We were waiting to meet with the doctors at Sherwood South to review the X-rays when he had his fall. From the day he was rescued, he’s shown nothing but love and gratitude to anyone and everyone he’s come into contact with. He shares a very special bond with his foster mom and goes to work with her everyday. He is also at EVERY APAWS adoption event. He is such a testament to how loving, grateful, and amazing rescue animals can be. In his time with us, he has become a certified therapy dog and he and his foster mom visit with cancer patients at Mary Bird Perkins. When he came into our rescue, we knew that he was special and now we can’t imagine being without him. Please help us save Dante. If you would like to donate to Dante's vet care please do so here. His foster mom has vowed to do whatever it takes to save him but we’d like to help her with at least some of the costs. Any amount would be greatly appreciated; no matter how small. If you can’t donate, we understand. Instead please share the amazing dog’s story and say a little prayer for him. This is very dear to our hearts as Dante's foster mom, one of our regular volunteers, was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2008, had a mastectomy, and began chemo in March of 2009. She beat cancer and now it’s Dante’s turn to beat it as well!

Dante and his foster mom, Kelly	Dante having fun at adoption day	Dante ready to go do therapy work