I cannot say enough good about this place. Between the hospitable boarding, to the vet services,…read moreand the absolute genuine care for the well being of our pets, they can do no wrong. I want to give a shout out especially to Dr. Maimone, who is the primary caregiver for our beloved Lab "Dixie" aka "Dixiecup".
A little history, Dixie is an American Black Lab who turned 9 this past summer. She is a 9 year old puppy! She's got a spice for life and having fun like no other dog I've ever owned, and she is absolutely the sweetest dog you could ever meet. In October 2022 she got dealt a raw hand, and she was diagnosed with grade two, Subcutaneous MAST Cell Tumor Disease (which is an aggressive form of doggie cancer). Dr. Maimone was the one who performed the surgery to remove some tumors that showed up and had them tested. Dixie had an incision that was about 20 inches long due to multiple tumors being found and removed. Our options were limited, we could do chemo or radiation at the tune of $35-45,000. With no guarantee of success. So we made the decision to keep Dixie as comfortable as possible with palliative care, and once it started to affect her quality of life then we would have to make that dreaded choice to let her go. Dixie was given a prognosis of 3-6 months life span with this disease. We were absolutely heartbroken.
Dr. Maimone explained that the MAST Cell is a histamine releasing cell, and that Dixies body was over reacting to said histamine, which was causing the tumors to form. She recommended that we try a benedryl and steroid regimin to try and counteract the histamines being released. We agreed to this treatment to try and give Dixie the comfort she deserved, and to be able to enjoy the time she had left with us.
At three months we went in for a checkup and Dr. Maimone said she was pleased with Dixies condition. 6 months came, and Dr. Maimone said she was no longer seeing any progression of the cancer. Then at 9 months, Dr. Maimone said "I think her cancer is in remission". At 1 year, Dr Maimone did another checkup with complete blood work etc, and told that Dixie now had a clean bill of health, and that there werr no signs of her cancer whatsoever!
Today, at 15 months, Dixie was out back chasing squirrels and playing with her ball like nothing was ever wrong with her.
I cannot thank Dr. Maimone enough for her care and love of animals, especially Dixie. By her hunch on the treatment plan, she has truly given Dixie a miracle. And we are truly thankful and humbled by her genuine care.
Thank you again Dr. Maimone! Because of you, Dixie bear the odds and KICKED CANCERS ASS! We are forever in your debt.