Odin The Great
Hi! It’s Mandie, I’m here to tell you about our oldest dog and his battle against cancer. Odin is a six-year-old Harlequin Great Dane in Kennesaw, GA. Some of his favorite things are head boops, snuggles on the sofa and zoomies with his Dane sister Freya. He also loves hanging out on the patio at Keegans Irish Pub, especially when football is on. Odin also loves rides in the Jeep, his grandma (Joyce) and the P-A-R-K, which we have to spell out in case he accidentally hears us say it.
At the beginning of October, we noticed Odin limping. His front right leg began to swell and was warm to the touch. Thinking arthritis was the culprit, we took him to the vet for a quick checkup and doggy anti-inflammatory prescription. That was the day everything changed.
Our amazing vet Kirk, at Kennesaw Mountain, did x-rays to check for a break and found a 3cm x 4cm tumor in his bone. Ultimately this means there is most likely a deadly cancer in the tumor. The least likely scenario is a very serious bone infection which would require extensive surgeries and time we just don’t have to waste. We took him to the specialist at Blue Pearl for a bone biopsy which came back a-typical spindle cell proliferation. The oncologist concluded, it's Cancer.
After watching our boy limp for a few weeks, we have made the hard decision to amputate his leg. This ultimately will eliminate his pain and give him a better quality of life once he heals. We will get full biopsy results after the amputation and continue treatment from there. Some instances include chemo and others include trial vaccination series from Yale. He is still full of life and wants to play, eat and give head boops. We refuse to give up on our boy.
As things in life never come with an instruction manual, we were caught completely off-guard by this diagnosis and we are entirely heartbroken that our boy has to go through this. Great Danes have been known as the heartbreak breed, for their high probability of wobblers, heart conditions and unfortunately cancer, however, nobody expects it to happen at the young age of six. Asking for help has never been something easy for me but I know that our friends and family, the Dane community, the rescue community and our Instagram family will be there to support us on this journey.
As an avid rescue supporter and foster mom, from one dog-pawrent to another, I’m asking for your donation to help ease the cost of Odin’s treatment. In the event that we raise more than is needed for treatment, prescriptions and supplies, we promise to donate the rest to our favorite rescues: Rising Above Great Dane Rescue, Battle for the Bully and Southern Style Great Dane Rescue.
Odin is more than just a dog, he’s my heart dog. My first Great Dane, he’s been by my side through the best times and the hardest times. Every day I come home from work he meets me with a fluff&tuff toy, the excitement spilling from his precious caramel eyes, tail wagging, ears perked. Every morning he lays his big head on my arm as a gentle wake up call. We won’t give up on you Odin. Thank you for reading his story.
