San Diego Humane Society’s medical team will celebrate the one-year cancer-free anniversary of a dog named Phoenix at the Pilar & Chuck Bahde Center for Shelter Medicine from 1-2 p.m. on Friday, April 1. The “pawty” for Phoenix will include a cake, hats, applause, and, of course, lots of hugs and kisses for the star patient.
Phoenix arrived Nov. 5, 2020 as a stray. The sweet dog was malnourished, flea-infested and had missing fur. The veterinary team at San Diego Humane Society diagnosed Phoenix with TVT (Transmissible Venereal Tumor), a malignant cancerous tumor.
After 13 rounds of chemotherapy left two cancerous masses remaining, the team turned to oncologist Dr. Colleen Tansey from VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, who graciously offered to commute to San Diego on her days off to provide electrochemotherapy for Phoenix.
Through expert medical care and collaboration, Phoenix was declared cancer-free in April 2021. He was later adopted by San Diego Humane Society veterinary assistant Colette Troughton.
