Searching For Answers
Since the day she sniffed her stomach, she’s been acting strangely. Why is she hiding under the table? Is she avoiding her?
Gently, she called her over. She watched as Sierra reluctantly got up and walked towards her. She bent down to greet her, but then she growled, yelped, and backed away. Now, Stephanie knew something was wrong. What did her dog know that she didn’t?
First Time
Mom-of-four, Stephanie Herfel first noticed the pain when she and her family moved from California to Wisconsin. At first, she thought it was just indigestion, but then things got a lot worse.
After stopping off to get some lunch on their way to their new home, Stephanie began to feel a dull but persistent pain in her stomach.
Warning Signs
She thought back to the burger and fries she ate for lunch and wished she opted for a salad. Her stomach was getting bloated and agitated a lot recently.
She took some digestive tablets and continued about her day, completely unaware of her misdiagnosis. Luckily for her, someone else knew exactly what was happening to her.
Sierra
Sierra, Stephanie’s family dog was a beautiful Siberian husky. She was two-years-old when they adopted her from the shelter after she had been turned in by her previous family.
Sierra was a very active dog, who needed a lot of attention and space to run around and explore. Her previous family couldn’t give her that, and that’s where Stephanie stepped in.
Unbreakable Bond
Sierra was shy at the beginning so Stephanie worked hard to get her to relax and open up around them. This made them form an incredible bond.
Sierra learnt to trust Stephanie fast, just as Stephanie learnt to trust her right back. It was a relationship that would serve them both for years to come. That was until something went wrong.
Shooting Pain
It was a month after the move, Sierra and Stephanie were sitting on the couch when Sierra suddenly got up, sniffed Stephanie’s stomach, and started barking at her.
Then, she sniffed Stephanie’s stomach again and ran away from the couch. Just as Stephanie confusedly watched Sierra hide under the table, she got a severe shooting pain in her stomach.
Not Indigestion
With the kids away and her husband at work, she hugged herself on the couch, the pain was intense. It was a familiar pain but much stronger. She could no longer convince herself this was just indigestion.
The next day, she arrived at the doctor's office and explained her symptoms. But what the doctor had to say shocked her.
All Clear
After taking blood tests and scans, the results were clear. The doctor told her there was nothing physically wrong with her and that perhaps it’s just indigestion after all.
Confused, Stephanie went home. She looked at her extended bloated belly, “This can’t just be indigestion?”, she thought. So she booked another doctor’s appointment for a second opinion.
Google Doctor
Her appointment was in two days, which gave her enough time to do something she really shouldn’t have done; google her symptoms online.
She typed in her symptoms, everything from her abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, loss of appetite, to her headaches and lower back pain. Her imagination ran wild as google diagnosed her with ten different conditions. Then she saw something from the corner of her eye.
‘Stomach Pain, Dog Acting Strangely’
Sierra was hiding under the table again. In fact, Stephanie had noticed that since the day she acted strangely before she got that immense pain, she’s been avoiding her.
Stephanie called her over. She reluctantly walked towards her, but then, smelt her stomach again, barked, and backed away. Now, Stephanie knew Sierra knew something she didn’t. With google at hand, she typed, ‘Stomach pain, dog acting strangely’.
Results
It was the morning of her appointment. She was sitting in the doctor's office waiting for him to return with scans. This time, she demanded to scan and test for everything. She wanted to confirm what she had read on google that night. What her dog was trying to tell her.
The doctor walked in and showed Stephanie the scans.
Early Detection
“Great news,” he said. “We’ve detected this very early so please keep that in mind when I tell you what I’m about to say next”.
“I have cancer, don’t I?”, Stephanie quipped. “Yes, you have stage 1 ovarian cancer”. “You’re very lucky for it to have been caught so early. This increasing the effectiveness of treatment incredibly”. But how did she know?
A Dog’s Nose
After Stephanie had typed in her symptoms and how strange her dog was acting, she was shown numerous articles and studies about our dog’s abilities to smell cancer.
Usually, dogs had to be trained for this but some dogs, like Sierra, had an innate ability to smell cancers and sense that it was bad news. Her actions were completely natural but also showed high intelligence.
Viral Story
Stephanie told her doctor about Sierra and shortly after decided to post about it all online. An outpour of support flooded in for both Stephanie and Sierra and the doctors were also astonished - but not surprised!
Dogs have shown their talents in the medical field time and time again, and luckily for Stephanie, she received that first hand by her dog who saved her life through an early diagnosis.
Animal's Credit
Stephanie’s aware of the possibility of her cancer coming back but she remains positive and inspired to keep on fighting alongside her beloved and heroic pooch.
“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 credits that they are pretty smart.”