Milo
Milo is a very special pet to my husband and I. He was my husband’s first ever pet that he got while we were dating. Before he got Milo, I already had a lab, Milo’s sister, Riley, who is 10 now, and always joked with Adam about getting a dog but never really thought he would. But then, he actually got a puppy!! Milo was born on Valentine's Day and became Adam’s best bud. Milo has been with us through a lot of life milestones; when we got engaged, got married and moved into our first house. He is a huge part of our family and he and his sister have been like our first children. He is a very sweet and gentle dog and wouldn’t hurt a fly. A little over two years ago, we noticed two small lumps under his jaw while he was getting his nightly pets while watching TV. We took him into our vet immediately, where they ran some tests. I was at work when Adam called me and gave me the dreaded news that no pet owner wants to hear; cancer. Dr. Stillie is an amazing vet and Milo loves him so much; it was very hard news for him to tell us as he has known Milo since he was puppy. We were referred to an oncologist and Milo started his first round of chemotherapy soon after. The oncology department fell in love with Milo and said he is always the sweetest dog during all his chemo visits. He has gone through two rounds of chemotherapy protocols (with a 7 month remission following the first round and 10 month following the second) making our journey with him through cancer over two years long so far. We are thankful for every day we get with him, and he has taught us how to live in the present moment and not take any time with our pets for granted.
We heard about the Dogslife organization from our oncologist after his cancer had returned a third time. Over the four years we have been married, we have been through two ACL surgeries for our other lab in addition to the two rounds of cancer treatments for Milo - all with no pet insurance. We thankfully have great dog grandparents who have helped us along the way but unfortunately, we just couldn’t afford to pay for a third round of chemotherapy this time. Our oncologist recommended we look up Dogslife and consider applying for a grant. After going home and looking at their website, I could not believe there was an organization that helps dogs in North Texas who have cancer. After applying online for their grant, a small sliver of hope appeared that he might get a third chance to fight his cancer. When we received the call that he was accepted for a grant I was brought to tears. It is a comforting thought that there are other people out there that love dogs as much as my husband and I love our pets. This grant means so much to us because it is giving us more quality time with our sweet Milo. Milo loves us unconditionally so the fact we were able to find a way to continue his fight against the awful disease is our way of trying to give Milo back some of all he has giving us. Milo makes everyone he comes in contact with fall in love with him (his oncology team called him their “therapy dog” last time I took him in because he is so sweet to them. The world needs more of Milo in it, and it is so unfair to us that he was given this disease to fight. This grant means more time with the sweetest dog we have ever had - so sweet even though he was dealt one of the worst hands of cards any dog could get. We are extremely thankful for receiving this grant and excited to be a connected to such an awesome organization! Milo is a cancer warrior and this grant will help him continue to fight.
- Adam & Bethany Toth (January 2023)