That's where we come in. So you're going to be able to notice if your dog is limping and therefore not acting themselves. But there can also be subtle changes that we may be able to find on blood work or a physical exam that may indicate an underlying medical issue as a cause of a behavioral problem. Some things that we think about, any kind of pain - whether it's joint pain, stomach pain, or any sort of discomfort - can cause behavioral changes. And that can range from anything from lethargy to anxiety to aggression. So it can be a range of things that can happen. Certainly, neurologic conditions could cause behavior changes. And there is some thought that abnormal thyroid levels may play a role in behavioral issues. I think the jury's still out on that in a lot of ways. But it's always worth evaluating.

Absolutely not. We see cancers and cure them - or at least treat them and put them in remission - all the time. And we're here to help guide the clients, give them the best information, and work with them to get the best prognosis for their dog.

It depends on the location of the cancer, so let's say I find a lump on your dog or your cat. I'm going to either do a punch biopsy or a needle biopsy to hopefully get cells that tell me what type of cancer it is. Depending on what the diagnosis is from a pathologist, it will help me determine what the next plan is going to be.

We’re also going to take X-rays quite often to check the chest and look for Mets and look in the abdomen to make sure nothing is going on there.

So it depends on the cancer. They all have a little bit of different behavior. If we find enlarged lymph nodes, we're going to see if this is lymphoma. And then we're going to look for where that is and what type of lymphoma it is to determine what type of chemotherapies we're going to recommend. On top of the type of cancer, we want to know that cancer’s general behavior, whether it's one that metastasizes or it's just localized cancer, and then we just go from there.

Oh, for sure. We do many cancer surgeries, removing tumors, and that sometimes in and of itself can be curative. Although they can be major surgeries, they can be completely curative. Or we do cancer surgeries. And then may refer for additional things like radiation or oncology, depending on what the owner's wishes are.

I don't know the cure rate specifically, honestly. There are some cancers that we can cure as soon as we surgically remove them. We can put some dogs in remission, and then we find the remission just keeps going on and on, like lymphomas. And there are some dogs that we can buy them a quality one to two years. And, for many owners, it's worthwhile to go ahead and treat that.

I don't know that I have a number for you for the cure rate, but there are many dogs that we indeed can help have a high quality of life for a more extended time. And that's what we're here for.