FREETOWN, P.E.I. — When Kolby Perry noticed her seven-year-old St. Bernard, Georgia, had a limp, she initially thought there was no reason to fret.
Georgia had been playing with Perry’s other dog, Jasper. Perry was convinced that’s what had caused the injury.
“Her brother Jasper is 175 pounds, Georgia is 117 pounds,” explained Perry. “They get roughhousing outside all the time, so it’s not uncommon for her to get a little hurt and for her to limp a day or two.”
A few days went by, and Georgia’s limp persisted. Perry realized she couldn’t ignore the dog’s pain.
After a trip to the vet, Perry was told the limp could be caused by several things; likely, it was a fracture or a torn ligament.
While she waited, the veterinarian ran some tests. An x-ray determined bone cancer.
“It was straight out of nowhere,” Perry said. “So it was a slap in the face.”
With a diagnosis confirmed, Georgia was referred to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown to see if the cancer had spread – it hadn’t, but that news gave little reason for optimism.
“There was a lot of crying happening for a while,” said Perry. “Because of the kind of cancer that she has, there’s not much of a light at the end of the tunnel for her.”
If Georgia was to get treatment, Perry needed to act fast.
Osteosarcoma spreads quickly. Once there’s evidence the cancer spreads to the chest, the dog becomes a less-ideal candidate for amputation.
Without secondary treatment like chemotherapy, even after amputation, the Veterinary Partner website said the median survival time for this type of cancer is three to five months.
For Georgia, Perry said she was told six to 12 – less if the cancer was untreatable.
“In that few weeks to a couple of months, she would be in so much pain,” said Perry. “She’s not in pain now that I know of, but she would eventually be in so much pain that we would probably have to euthanize her before the cancer could even take over her body.”
Not giving up
For Perry, doing everything she could for her four-legged family member was never in question.
Perry had wanted to get a St. Bernard ever since she saw the 1992 film, Beethoven. When she saw a Kijiji post advertising a litter of them seven years ago, she couldn’t contain her excitement and ran outside to tell her husband, Adam, what she found.
When Georgia was eight weeks old, she became the newest member of the family.
“She’s the perfect family dog,” said Perry. “When we got Georgia, she was the dog that you envisioned growing up with your children.”
Georgia’s an active dog. Perry’s husband is frequently outside playing with both her and Jasper.
“That’s why we have to amputate,” said Perry. If they don’t, there’s a higher risk of her leg breaking while playing.
Georgia also used to be a volunteer therapy dog with St. John’s Ambulance. She, along with Georgia and her husband, would spend time with Somerset Manor residents.
“It’s a sad environment,” said Perry. “But at the same time, Georgia brought so much happiness to so many of them in there.”
After Georgia was diagnosed, two veterinarians told Perry that Georgia was a good candidate for amputation. Chemotherapy was also an option for her, but Perry decided against it. But giving up on chemotherapy didn’t mean giving up on Georgia.
In search of other options, and so she wouldn’t have to handle her dog’s diagnosis alone, Perry joined a canine bone cancer support group on Facebook.
In that group, Perry found all kinds of personal stories, from heartbreak to success. The good stories were the ones that stuck with her.
She made posts of her own in search of hearing other peoples’ experiences with amputation and chemotherapy. One of those posts led to a message from a fellow member, giving her a name and a number to call – Graeme McRae, president of immunobiology company NovaVive.
Hesitant, Perry picked up the phone. She explained Georgia’s condition, and McRae told her about a clinical trial that uses immunotherapy to help treat cancer.
“It was overwhelming,” said Perry. “It was a lot of information to take in, but at the same time, it gives us some hope in the outcome for her.”
Georgia is one of two Canadian dogs in this trial, and the only one on the Island.
The drug in the trial is called immunocidin. According to McRae, it works by “turning on” the immune system in a way that makes it specifically targets cancer cells without affecting normal cells.
“It works like chemotherapy, without all the side effects of chemotherapy,” said McRae.
Treatment for canine cancer, she said, is most effective if detected early – much like it is for people.
“In the first studies we did, we had dogs that were really not destined to do well,” he said. “We ended up with a 50 per cent survival of three years, which is extraordinary for that disease.
The fight against cancer
On Feb. 11, Georgia went to New Brunswick for her amputation.
On Friday, Georgia went to AVC for her first round of immunocidin. McRae said one side effect of the drug is a high temperature, which is no more than the immune system response.
Georgia will continue her immunocidin treatments for the next 15 weeks.
“It’s not an ideal situation, but we’re going to try to do what we can to make her life as comfortable as we can while she’s with us,” said Perry. “Because she’s such a good dog.”
Kristin Gardiner is the Journal Pioneer's rural reporter.