Bella, a 4-year-old female pit bull terrier mix, was diagnosed with an infiltrative lipoma in her right shoulder area in early 2025. Owners Paul and Kristy Lewis took her to two surgeons to discuss removal of the lipoma, a benign tumor of fatty tissue. Infiltrative lipomas can invade into local structures including the surrounding muscles. On Bella, the tumor was infiltrating the muscle down to the humerus bone and was continuing to grow. This made complete surgical excision nearly impossible.
By the time Wednesday, a now 9-year-old female German Shepherd mix, was rescued by Steve Napolitano in 2021, she had already been placed in a kill shelter and rejected by two families, only to be diagnosed with cancer after finally finding happiness in a safe home.
After seeing multiple specialists about the oral malignant melanoma diagnosed in her right jaw, Wednesday ultimately landed at the Oncology Service at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital in early 2025.
Two years ago, Kidogo, a 13-year-old male Dachshund, was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease. Kidogo, whose name means “small” in Swahili, is the beloved pet and cherished member of the Balatti family. Despite his tiny stature, he has an enormous personality, and his family would do anything to help him.
Snickerdoodle, a 5-year-old chocolate English Labrador retriever, was diagnosed by her primary veterinarian with a mammary carcinoma following a litter in 2024. She underwent surgery with that veterinarian for mammary mass removal and a spay procedure. The histopathology report noted that the tumor was malignant, but there were no signs of metastasis at that time.
She was referred to the Medical Oncology Service at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) for further evaluation and potential follow-up treatment.
Darla, an 11-year-old Newfoundland/Labrador mix, underwent oral surgery at UC Davis to remove a canine acanthomatous ameloblastoma, a benign tumor affecting her lower jawbone.
Diamond, a 12-year-old pit bull terrier, receives ongoing cancer treatments at UC Davis thanks to support from Petco Love. Diamond was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer that formed a mast cell tumor in her right cheek with metastatic disease to her mandibular lymph nodes. She has undergone seven rounds of palliative radiation treatments to reduce the size of the tumor and improve her quality of life. The radiation treatments delay the tumor from becoming larger and more uncomfortable.
Scruffy, an 11-year-old male Australian shepherd mix, was successfully treated with radiation therapy at the UC Davis veterinary hospital for his nasal mass.
Jerico, an 8-year-old female Siberian husky, underwent successful surgery to remove a cancerous tumor, followed by 14 rounds of radiation therapy treatments.
Dixie, an 8-year-old Dachshund/Chihuahua mix, is currently undergoing chemotherapy every 2-3 weeks, along with other medications and has responded well.
