Support Riley's Fight Against Thyroid Carcinoma

Hi everyone - Victoria & Michael here. In the past month and a half we have been dealing with some of the most difficult news we’ve experienced - our 12-year-old dog, Riley, has been diagnosed with Thyroid Carcinoma. He has a cranial mediastinal mass that was found during pre-anesthetic x-rays for upcoming dental work. This mass is sitting on top of his heart and right under his sternum.

Diagnosis has been confirmed via x-ray, bloodwork, ultrasound, CT scan and biopsy. It’s been a hard month for Riley dealing with all the tests but he’s been strong throughout and shows little to no symptoms of his diagnosis as of now.

After all of the testing, Riley’s been cleared to have surgery for the mass removal since it's still small (2.2 x 2.8 cm), has no evidence of metastasis, and is not invading surrounding lung/heart tissue or any major veins or arteries. It's the primary tumor, for which we are thankful for at the very least. Due to the results, we are desperate to have his surgery as soon as possible for the best possible prognosis and recovery for Riley.

Prior to this discovery, Riley was completely healthy and just needed some dental work. We had a routine check-up in October 2023 that showed he was in normal/excellent health. In just 5 months that all changed for us and we are still trying to wrap our heads around this all. Even throughout this whole process, Riley's continued to be strong, lively, and cheerful as ever which has made it even harder for us all to comprehend what is happening within him.

He's been the love of my life for the past 12.5 years. Every major move and decision I've made in my life, he has been by my side and experienced it all with me. He's truly my light in this world and I can't say goodbye to him yet. With this surgery there's a high chance that this will be curative and allow him to live his life out the way it should be - I am positive this is not the way his story is meant to end.

Riley has the most emotional intelligence of any living being that I have ever met. He wears all of his emotions deep in his eyes - you can always tell if he's happy, sad, scared, annoyed, excited, etc. It's one of my favorite things about him. All he wants is to be loved and accepted by the people and animals he meets - it's one of the many traits that people fall in love with when they meet him. He's the sweetest soul and I am so lucky I get to be his favorite human. I've always said this to people but Riley's biggest fear is not being with us, all he wants is to just be with us.

Thank you so much for listening to Riley's story. Just keeping him in your thoughts is already very much appreciated. If you are able to , we would appreciate any and all donations to help us start the surgery as soon as possible to allow for the best prognosis and recovery for Riley. The expenses will be used to cover his surgery and recovery process which will required 1-3 days of hospitalization.

Thank you all in advance who do donate to Riley’s treatment and recovery - we truly love and appreciate you all.

With love,

Victoria, Michael & Riley (aka Riles Davis, RD, Boomba, Boombito, little one, sweet pumpkin pie, and many more)