Our holy pets, dogs are our best friends and they are capable of more than just being our loyal friends. This story goes as a Wisconsin woman adopted a Siberian Husky, while thinking that she is just adopting a pup to accompany him that belonged to her son earlier. While living with the husky she realized that this dog has a special talent that was a lifesaving one.
The Pain Begins
Stephanie Herfel felt certain tormenting in her abdomen in 2013 since she moved to Wisconsin from California with her husband. Initially, it was just like an ordinary pain for eating junk food so she did not care much about it.
Seeing A Doctor
She thought it will pass on soon but it never did. On the contrary, the discomfort from pain got worse and painful. When the pain became very intense she decided to see a specialist.
The Symptoms of Cyst
By the the fall of 2103 it was became intolerable and she was admitted to the emergency unit. It was there that she could speak to the doctor about her abdomen pain in detail. She also told the doctor that it is getting bad to worse every now and then and something was absolutely wrong.
The Tests And Beyond That…
Stephanie Herfel / Facebook
The doctor, on the other hand, disregarded her fears by telling her about the ovarian cyst overgrowth and it should disappear in the matter of months. She was prescribed narcotic pain relievers and sent home after casual medication.
The Doctor Knows Best
Herfel and her family trusted the hospital team completely, and there was no point to argue with them when it was all about ovarian cyst. But when she reached home she initiated the issue again with her Siberian huskry named Sierra.
Strange Behavior of Beloved Husky Sierra
According Mrs. Herfel Sierra was adopted by her from his son who was leaving for duty overseas so he could not keep her with him when she was just 9 months old. The mother, Herfel had adopted the husky. She became very protective of Mrs. Herfel since she too had no other family. Since Sierra’s adoption,the dog had grown a very cordial relationship with Herfel and she would stay by her side all the time. Everything was going great but she noticed that since she has returned from the hospital the pup has started acting weirdly. He began to worry noticing the obvious change in Sierra’s behavior.
A Spiritual Scent Picker
There was something else that Herfel noticed and it was absolutely not normal regarding the pup, Sierra had started sniffing Herfel’s abdomen ever since she was back from the hospital that Sierra had done never done before. “She put her nose on my lower belly and sniffed so intently that I thought I spilled something on my clothes,” Herfel told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Fear
“She did it a second and then a third time,” Herfel explained. What Sierra did next, however, scared Herfel even more. “After the third time, Sierra went and hid. I mean hid!” Sierra ran away and hid herself in the closet at home. And when Herfel went to find her, she saw that the dog had curled up tight in a ball and would not move.
The Possibility of The Second Opinion
“To see her become so afraid was spooky in its own right,” said Herfel, who decided to make an appointment with her gynecologist to get a second opinion. This time, her doctor did some test and ordered some blood work to see what was causing her pain.
The Unexpected Results
A few weeks later, Herfel concluded that why Sierra had acted so weird being around her few weeks ago. “So I made an appointment with a gynecologist,” she explained. “And in a few weeks and some blood work with an ultrasound, on 11-11-13 I was sitting in the gynecology oncologist room in shock that I had cancer.”
The Diagnosis And Beyond
In November 2013, she was told by the doctor that she was suffering from a severe stage 3C ovarian cancer, that was a very serious situation that having an overly ovarian cyst that is quite common these days and that she was told before not worry. Herfel, who had also served in the US Marine Corps 1984-88, went into a complete hysterectomy for removing spleen completely.
The Good News
She had to undergo chemotherapy till April 2014 to cure against the severe disease. After that she was informed by the doctors that she had defeated the cancer successfully. But there was also a warning attached with it to keep herself diagnosed and checked well as it can return at some point. But the chances were negligible.
The Inevitable Risk Of Return
By the Herfel, had come to know that more than 70 percent of the ovarian cancers return after sometime or at some stage and the chances are even more for those who have been diagnosed with cancer at a very sever stage like hers.
The Relapse of it
Since she had been diagnosed on the very last stage of ovarian cancer it was very likely to return. Herfel counted on her small chances and hoped for the best. It was in 2015, that she learned that the doctors was absolutely right about her condition.
An Ounce of Omen
By this time she had come to know that the dreading cancer is back but after Sierra had started to act weirdly even before Herfel went to the doctors. She immediately visited a doctor since Sierra had started sniffing her lower belly. The more tests were run. She believed Sierra’s concern and weird behavior towards her once again was right. The cancer had returned.
The Busy Routine Life
Herfel, who had been a grant writer, had successfully battled the cancer because she could come to the doctors the right time and it was the second time. She went back living a healthy normal life. Herfel had almost forgotten about the disease and she was completely on her daily extremely busy routine when Sierra had started acting strange yet once again and it was in 2016.
The Battle Continues
One day Herfel noticed that Sierra was sniffing her abdomen yet once again and doing the strange tricks. This time she was obviously sure and immediately saw the doctor. The doctors confirmed what Sierra had already sniffed and known. The cancer was back. It was found in her pelvic area. Herfel’s treatment began for the third time.
A Word For Sierra The Husky’s Talent
“It’s almost like the dog knows something is going on and is scared. The dog didn’t want to be near her,” Ashley Wagner, the executive director of the Wisconsin Ovarian Cancer Alliance, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about Sierra’s impressive talent.
A Lifesaving Dog
Herfel had to fight severely yet again for the third time and at 52-year-old as is now she is declared cancer-free. “I owe my life to that dog. She’s really been a godsend to me. She has never been wrong,” Herfel said. According to her oncologist, David Kushner, some breeds of dogs are capable of an incredible talent to accurately smell cancer.
The Positive Note
Herfel believes that the disease could come back yet again but she is a very optimistic person. “There are things that are coming out new every day. That’s how I live my life. I’m going to do the best thing I can do at the time until the next best thing comes along,” she said. “I just feel like my story can let people think about their animals and think, ‘Wow, my animal did this when I got diagnosed.’ Just to give the animals credit that they are pretty smart.”