A Miracle for Merlin

Hello! My name is Kathleen and this is my dog Merlin! He is a 6 year old yellow lab who is often dubbed as “Miracle Merlin” due to his story of beating cancer at such a young age. As a 6 month old he was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Mast cell. After a few rounds of Palladia (a pill designed to treat this type of cancer) he was cancer free, and remained for the next 5 years.

Until this past December when I noticed that it looked like cancer had come back on his nose. My veterinarian confirmed it and we started Palladia back up again. It’s been over a month and the tumor on his nose has gotten bigger so we are preparing to take the next step. It will either be surgery or chemotherapy most likely.

To add to poor Merlin’s plate, this Wednesday, February 7th I brought him in for vomiting to my primary vet and it was discovered that he has a tumor in his stomach that was confirmed on X-Ray and ultrasound. Thankfully it looks like it is not cancerous and therefore not connected to the cancer in his nose (we were worried that the cancer had spread but luckily it doesn’t look like it has)

The tumor is very large and is starting to press uncomfortably on his other organs. As I write this on Thursday, February 8th he is having it removed by an amazing team at Guardian Veterinary Specialists in Brewster, NY.

The diagnostics tests that found the tumor came to just under 2,000 dollars and the surgery at Guardian is estimated to be 10,000-13,000 dollars. In addition after he recovers we will have to address the cancer in his nose which will add up to at least another 5,000-10,000 dollars.

Merlin means the world to me and my family. We can’t imagine a world without him.

Any donation is greatly appreciated toward his treatment and recovery, thank you!

Sincerely,

Kathleen + Merlin