Diogi's Cancer Treatment

     Hello, meet Diogi; he is in need of everyone’s help! Diogi is not your typical pet. He and his owner, John, went through rigorous training to serve the citizens of Harford County, Maryland as a police canine. Diogi was born in the summer of 2014 and served as a police canine from 2016 through 2020. Diogi was named in honor of Deputy Matt Williams and Diogi of Polk Co FL Sheriffs Office who both tragically lost their lives in the line of duty in the hopes to keep their memory alive.

     John retired from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in the early fall of 2020 and Diogi transitioned into his new life as John’s pet. The pair hoped to "head off into the sunset" in retirement together. In the summer of 2021, as the two were getting ready to move to their new home, John started to notice some troubling symptoms Diogi was displaying. Diogi began to sneeze a good bit, which John attributed to dust disturbed by the move. Diogi would also occasionally leave behind spots of blood, but John could never determine from where or how.

John and Diogi moved to Tennessee at the end of June, upon arrival, the sneezing increased and John began to find blood coming out of his nose. A trip to the vet diagnosed as possible allergies and maybe a fungus that is native to Tennessee and can affect dogs. A complete round of antibiotics was then administered to Diogi.

     About a week or two after this consult, Diogi began bleeding profusely from the nose, almost always out of the left sinus, and his left eye began to tear up and weep. He began to have what John would describe as "asthma attacks" for a dog, which were quite frightening. Diogi would climb into John’s arms, wheezing uncontrollably and gasping for air, and there was nothing John could do to comfort Diogi during these attacks. A trip to an overnight emergency clinic after an extended session of wheezing resulted in the veterinarian advising the source of Diogi's attacks were either stemming from a fungus or cancer. This veterinarian did start him on a Chinese herbal supplement called yunnan baiyao which helped control his bleeding (greatly reduced the bleeding, but it never stopped) and then, in turn, helped with his breathing attacks.

     That afternoon Diogi went to the original veterinarian clinic, and saw another veterinarian (third to date for this problem). This veterinarian took a full set of x-rays of his head and chest; nothing evident was found from those scans. About a week after this consult, and yet, another round of antibiotics being prescribed, Diogi's breathing and bleeding issues still persisted. At one time he had a violent sneezing attack and sneezed blood all over John’s kitchen.

At this point in Diogi's story, a month had passed. Diogi had made minimal to no progress.

Frustrated with a lack of progress, John sought a second opinion at another vet clinic in the area. John was immediately referred by this clinic to consult with an advanced care veterinarian hospital down in Knoxville, a 90 minute drive away, and the closest town with facilities that can do advanced diagnostics.

     After Diogi's visit at the advanced care clinic in Knoxville, a CT scan was done of Diogi's head. As feared, a tumor was found in his left sinus, and it was blocking up a great portion of the sinus cavity, to include the tear ducts of his left eye and also causing the sinus cavity over the left eye to fill with fluid. A radiologist report / analysis of the tumor revealed it was a " large stage 3 nasal adenocarcinoma ". Without treatment, Diogi would likely have only two to three months to live and these tumors continue to grow and cause severe quality of life issues (already becoming evident) that necessitate euthanasia of the dog. However, these tumors are often treatable by radiation with an 80% success rate, greatly extending a dog’s life.

     Here is here we need your help. John is on a fixed income, and Diogi’s treatment plan is expensive between vet visits, blood work, scans, x-rays, prescription medications, and radiation treatments. Now that Diogi has his diagnosis and treatment plan, John is in need of help to cover these costs. With such a solid prognosis, Diogi has several years of quality life left after a successful treatment. John is hopeful that after the treatments are done, he and Diogi can return to their normal life together, and go exploring the trails of the mountains of Tennessee making memories with one another.

     I worked with John for several years, I couldn’t think of a person that is more deserving of everyone’s help. He is the type of person that would give you the shirt off his back and always paid it forward. So many people have already reached out to me wanting to know how they could help so I thought the best way to coordinate our efforts would be to set this page up. I have set a goal of $7,000 which would cover the cost of Diogi’s cancer treatment. Thank you for reading and generosity to help this hero out!