Mr. Otis

Meet Mr. Otis the 10 year old Boston Terrier.

In October of 2017, Otis went to the vet to have a loose tooth pulled.  My buddy Steve dropped him off planning on a routine procedure, waiting for a phone call to pick him up.  Unfortunately, Steve got a phone call similar to mine several months ago.  Otis did have a loose tooth.  But it wasn’t from decay or just old age.  He had a tumor deep in his mouth almost in his throat.  The vet couldn’t see it until he was intubated.  There was no way his family could have known.  Their vet did what he could by removing a part that blocked his airway and esophagus.  He sent it to a lab and had to share the grim news with Steve and Jamie.

Otis was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  They said it was aggressive and inoperable.  Having just gone through this with Mister Molson only months ago, I felt their pain.  Steve and Jamie did everything right as dog parents with routine, diet, supplements and vitamins, and plenty of love.  They lost their other Boston Terrier named Brindle only a year ago.  Cancer is tearing another family apart.

For weeks they did everything they could to keep him happy and comfortable.  He quickly declined and eventually couldn’t eat and had bleeding from his mouth several times a day.  On October 24, 2017 they had to show that last act of love and help Mister Otis go in piece.

Steve, Jamie, and Otis supported the Mr. Molson Project and were involved in several of the bucket list adventures. Look closely and you can see Otis towering over the crowd at the wedding.

As dog owners, we know we will likely outlive our pets.  We know that one day we will have to say goodbye.  It hurts even more when they are younger like Otis.

Cancer Sucks!  We have lost countless animals and people to a disease that we have barely made progress on fighting.  While we have treatments, we still do not have a cure.  I believe this is a fight worth fighting.  The stories of dogs like Otis and Molson tear our hearts out because dogs are innocent and don’t understand what is happening to them.  But we do.  We have no excuse for standing still and accepting it as hopeless.  We can do something.  We can make fighting cancer a priority.  We can raise awareness.  We can march.  We can donate.  We can find a cure.

To help, visit http://www.wearethecure.org/friends/mistermolson