Raleigh

This is the story of our wonderful Standard Poodle, Raleigh. I'll make it short.

We adopted Raleigh when he was 7. He had been a show dog. We really don't understand how he ever came to be in a situation where he was looking for home, but it was a true blessing for us. We just took him in and loved him. Raleigh became in integral part of our lives. Perhaps it was because he was adopted and really appreciated having a family, but a day never went by that he didn't let us know how much he loved us. We did our best to return his affection. He was a good boy.

For the first 5 years, he was a very healthy and athletic dog. He loved chasing the bunnies in our backyard, and he frequently caught them. But when he turned 12, we noticed a change. He became lethargic, and then we noticed the lumps in his neck. Still, Raleigh was a good boy.

Our primary care vets suggested that we take Raleigh to be seen at the University of Minnesota Medical Care Center where he was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma. He was immediately enrolled in the Licking Lymphoma study and received treatment for his illness. Within days he responded, although the treatment continued for a few more months. The result was that Raleigh went into remission for an entire year.... a year that we will cherish forever. And the whole time, he continued to be a good boy. Unfortunately, Raleigh eventually came out of remission, but that was inevitable... we were expecting it. There is no way to really prepare for something like that. But even when he was in hospice during the final weeks, Raleigh was still a good boy.

All I can say is that the wonderful staff and doctors at the University of Minnesota Medical Care Center gave us another year with our beloved Raleigh, and for that we are so very grateful.

Oh, maybe I forgot to mention..... Raleigh was a very good boy. :-)

Julie and Karl