Rudy's Stelfonta Journey (2026)

10/05/2024

I’m sad to let you know that Rudy died on 3 April 2024 aged 13 years and 9 months.

In late December ‘23 we spotted a sore on her abdomen which initially everyone thought was just a scab. Unfortunately it spread and ultimately our vet believed it was epitheliotropic lymphoma, a relatively rare form of skin cancer. We opted not to have evasive biopsies, so the diagnosis was based on elimination of other issues plus the way she presented.

For 3 months large doses of steroids kept her quality of life really good. She was her normal self, with no side effects bar an increased appetite. We opted not to try chemo due to her age and the limited prognosis. The cancer was spreading across her skin but we were able to prevent any infections and she had no clinical signs of illness. The photo below was taken 10 days before we lost her. She was running on the beach.

Easter weekend she appeared more tired than usual. We were due to see the vet on the Wednesday (we’d been having weekly appointments). On the Tuesday she came for a walk where she enjoyed a good roll, ran over to say hello to a random man she liked the look off, and ate plenty of treats. She ate her meals and greeted my husband when he came home, as usual. However, I felt something was a bit off and I knew we didn’t have much time left. My husband and I agreed we would speak to our vet the next day, but in all likelihood would contact one of the home euthanasia vets and make an appointment for a few days later as we didn’t want her to deteriorate. We knew things were close but it didn’t appear immediate.

That night I slept downstairs as I had done for much of the proceeding weeks, just in case she needed anything (she never did, but…). She was sleeping in the hallway amongst a pile of her cuddly toys. I laid next to her for some time talking to her as I did most nights, telling her how wonderful she was, how much we loved her and how thankful we were for having her in our lives. That night though for some reason I told her about all the dogs we knew who would ‘look after her’ when the time came, and that she wasn’t to worry. I named all the dogs. Personally I don’t believe in heaven/ rainbow bridge or a traditional afterlife BUT it felt right letting her know she’d be ok and that other dogs were ‘waiting’, including her beloved brother Memphis.

Eventually I went to lay on the sofa because the floor was too incomfortable. I spent a long time scrolling through very old photos and videos of her, and then I fell asleep. At some point during the night I heard her come in and get on her oldest bed (she had 4 to chose from). I heard her get comfy and I called out ‘good girl’ to her. I fell asleep again.

The next morning when I woke I assumed for some moments that she was deeply asleep in her bed. She looked normal, comfy. She had been sleeping deeper over the past months so initially I wasn’t concerned. Then I realised she wasn’t moving, called my husband and he came in and confirmed she had gently passed away. Even in that immediate moment we were smiling through our tears, because it was such a gentle, amazing end for this wonderful girl. Our plans had always been for her to die at home, but as it was, there was no stranger there as part of the process, she went on her own terms. My husband and I had a few hours with her before she could go to the undertakers. My Mum came around to say goodbye. The other 2 dogs could come in and see/ smell her so they knew. It was as perfect as any goodbye could ever hope to be and more than I could ever have hoped for. A final gift she gave US!

There have been so many tears in the weeks since but they are always followed by a smile at a happy or fun memory because we have SO many of those. We miss her every day and walks are especially hard because she is everywhere in all the varied walks we do. On each walk I leave a treat for her. That was the highlight of the walk for her and I’m not ready to give that up. Having the other 2 dogs is a comfort and means we have to ‘get on’.

It’s so hard to put into words what this girl meant to me. She changed my life. She came to us as a key point in my husband and mine’s relationship and we became a little family of 3. It’s hard for us to remember a time before her. She led to a whole career change for me, which in turn led to me making some good friends and learning lots. She was an amazing, big character- very funny, clever, cheeky but kind, SO very kind to all living creatures. Clear minded but gentle.

So goodbye my gorgeous, gorgeous Rudy. You will always be in my heart and I cannot thank you enough for staying with us for so many years and bringing us so much happiness and love. We were so lucky to have had all that extra time with you following your other medical issues.

I thank all the vets who have looked after Rudy over the years. Their knowledge, skills, care and compassion enabled us to have so much extra time with her. I also thank the insurance companies who meant we never had to make tough decisions.

Thank YOU for being part of her journey. I hope she has helped some of you. Please hug your dogs lots, tell them regularly how amazing they are and how much you love them. Stay positive when they are facing illness, Rudy’s life shows you CAN often live a long and brilliant life even after tough diagnosis.

X###xx

28/07/2023

Hello everyone.

Today Rudy turns 13!!! She is still thriving, and thoroughly enjoying her life. She makes us laugh so much and bring us so much joy. Our world remains a very happy place with her still in it.

For all of you going through treatment with your dog, or facing it, try to stay positive. Hopefully you have many happy years ahead of you together with your dog ###

25/07/2022

So I thought it would be good to update you on Rudy as this Thursday she turns 12!!

We honestly never believed she would reach this age. Between her mobility issues, her MCTs, her heart murmur and a REALLY nasty bout of colitis a couple of months ago, she really has been little short of a miracle. The video was taken last month and shows that the vast majority of days, she is still living a very happy life.

She currently has a little lump on her head that could be a skin tag or could be a MCT, but we have taken the decision not to have it removed. It’s too small to FNA, and it’s not growing, so we have opted to just let it be.

So Thursday will be celebrated with cake and a romp with her birth brothe, and her brother-from-another-mother. And we will offer up an ocean of gratitude for the years we have shared with this amazing dog, and hope that we have a bit longer still.

So please, if you are currently struggling with a diagnosis, try to retain hope. I know how hard it is, but when I look back on how much time I have spent sad and upset about a diagnosis Rudy’s had, I wish I could have been more positive & optimistic, and not wasted our time together.

Hug your dog. Play a game. Feed them something yummy. Try not to cry about the future. Enjoy the now ###x

21/12/2021

Hi everyone. I just wanted to update you, one year on from finding the initial MCT that led to Rudy’s Stelfonta treatment in January.

Late summer, Rudy had 2 lumps surgically removed from the base of her tail. First was a malignant peri-anal tumour rather than a MCT, but clean margins and so far no recurrence. The second came up within weeks and looked very similar, but testing after removal confirmed it was the benign version thankfully.

Then earlier this month we found a small lump on her side, not that far from her spine. It was tiny, smaller than my little finger nail. It looked like her previous small MCTs and we all, including our lovely vets, suspected the worst.

However this morning I got the call from the vets and they said it’s BENIGN!!!! No MCT this time. Such wonderful news to get, this week of all weeks.

Rudy has some other medical issues, but at 11.5 years old she is still living her life to the full and bringing us so much joy!

We know things can change very quickly, so we are thankful for all the extra time we have with her, and extremely thankful to the skilled and caring vets at Bitterne Vets4Pets and Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists who have looked after her so well. I’d also send thanks to Bought By Many insurance who have taken so much of the financial stress out of this year.

I hope Rudy’s story over this past year offers you hope that a MCT diagnosis doesn’t have to be worst news. Sending all of you the most positive wishes for 2022 ###

29/04/2021

Hi. A quick update for those of you wondering how Rudy is doing. I have been very reluctant to post on here because somehow, irrationally, it feels like tempting fate. However, I’ll be brave and provide an update.

It’s been 15 weeks since Rudy’s treatment. To date there has been no recurrence of either of the 2 MCTs. The wounds have healed and her hair has grown back. The huge area on her torso that was shaved for her liver/ spleen biopsy has also almost grown back fully.

We obviously check her regularly. It is so hard to go looking for something you don’t want to find, but we know early diagnosis helps, so force ourselves to do it.

We have opted not to put her through another biopsy. Our thinking has been that if the cancer had spread and gone to liver and spleen, we would probably opt to not treat her. So we work on the basis that as long as she seems well, she is well and we cross any other bridge if it comes. The biopsy involves a general anaesthetic, so it’s not without its own risks.

Having said that, she had bloods done a few weeks ago and they showed healthy liver function and white & red blood cells, so her body doesn’t appear to be fighting anything. We will continue with regular blood tests.

This is a video taken this week. Rudy has just started new meds for her arthritis- Librela injections. She is off all other pain relief, doing well and as you can see- enjoying life!

If anything changes I will let you know. I’ve always wanted to be as honest as possible. For all of you going through tough times with your dogs, Rudy and I send our love xx

ps I am having problem seeing messages sent to me via this page- something to do with Facebook set up. Posting stuff in comments is the best way for me to see/ respond.

17/03/2021

Hi everyone. If you want to follow another dog just starting their Stelfonta treatment, have a look at Dixie's MCT Journey. Dixie the boxer’s guardian is kindly recording and sharing her progress. We all wish her well in her recovery xx

17/02/2021

And so our current journey reaches a happy destination.

Rudy saw Charlotte, the amazing oncologist at Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists this morning who was really pleased with the outcome so far.

Based on what she could see/ feel she decided there was no need to do a Fine Needle Aspiration test on the areas where the tumours had been. Such great news!

I’d love to be able to say, that’s it...we all lived happily ever after, but the truth is we need to continue monitoring the sites of the tumours as well as remaining vigilant for any new ones elsewhere. The recommendation is also that we repeat the biopsy of her liver and spleen in 2-3 months to check for any metastasis/ spread. In an ideal world that would then be repeated every 3 months for a year, however we need to weigh up the fact Rudy needs a GA every time she has a biopsy, plus realistically what we would even do treatment-wise if we found it had spread? Rudy is 10 and a half...her quality of life will ALWAYS be the driver for our decisions. At the moment my feeling is that we will check for any spread in 2 months time, but if she’s clear then, we will work on basis that as long as she appears fit and well, that’s good enough for us.

So in summary- Stelfonta appears to have done what is was supposed to do- it killed off two malignant tumours. Rudy experienced no side effects from the drug or any of the adjunct drugs. She healed quickly and after the first couple of days showed no discomfort or concern.

I’d have no hesitation using the drug again. It’s given us a FAR better chance of preventing spread of the cancer than surgery would have done on the awkward larger tumour, and also successfully killed the smaller one that was technically ‘too small’. It offers a real hope for dogs where surgery isn’t a good option for any reason. Price wise (a few people have asked, and I am happy to share but it’s all gone direct to our insurers so we don’t know the full costs yet) the oncologist says it’s cheaper than surgery at a referral vets but a bit more than if the surgery is done by your local vet.

What Stelfonta can’t do is guarantee what happens next, any more than surgery or any other cancer treatment can. However, as things stand, we have our darling, amazing, beautiful girl with us, and she is happy, fun and enjoying the world. For now, that is everything, and is more than we dared hope for in December.

Thank you all for your love, support and kindness over the past couple of months. It’s meant so much. For those of you going through tough times with your own dogs, we send you our most positive thoughts- we hope Rudy’s story offers you hope.

I will post again in a couple of months after the retesting, but for now... 😘

12/02/2021

The scab fell off the site of the large tumour yesterday so now the wound is officially healed!!! 29 days. Simply amazing.

We go to see the oncologist next Wednesday. Everything crossed.

Just sharing a short film of Rudy & Jig enjoying the chilly sunshine today. We have a game we play where I hand Rudy the ball...she trots off with it, gets bored, drops it and starts chewing something else or having a dig. Jigso, the true ‘retriever’ in our household, then swoops in and brings the ball back to me. They both get their ball fun with no high impact chasing.

As you can see, today someone else wanted to get in on the fun...photobombed by another Goldie...turned out he comes from the same line as Rudy so a distant relative! A question about Rudy’s shaved patch revealed that the other dog’s guardian lost a Goldie to cancer...never the conversation you want when you are going through treatment with your own, but I understand that people want to talk about it.

10/02/2021

28 days ago Rudy had her treatment and spent a night in the referral clinic.

Today the large wound has just the tiniest of scabs left to heal. There is nothing at all left to see where the smaller tumour was...the darker patch is just dirt I think 😂

The healing process has been miraculous. I am now seeking an appointment with the oncologist so she can have a look at progress (and test whether the tumours really, truly, have gone?!)

I will post again once we have seen the oncologist and can update everyone.

Thank you all for your ongoing support and kindness- it’s meant a lot xx

07/02/2021

Day 25:

So there is nothing to show you now at the site of the small tumour. It’s gone, and the skin feels less ‘lumpy’ than it did in the week.

The larger wound is now tiny. A little raw looking, but getting smaller by the day.

They say it takes between 28- 84 days for the wound to heal. Rudy looks on course to be at the lower end of that.

Today we had a crappy walk, in that everywhere is muddy and there are too many people in the spaces we usually go to have a quiet dog walk so it’s all a bit more fraught than ‘usual’. I was feeling grumpy and a bit low about the changes covid has made to our walks/ lives ...and then a switch went off in my head and I stopped moaning and said to my husband ‘Really, it doesn’t matter how cruddy a walk this is...Rudy is here enjoying it with us, and it looks like she should be here a bit longer. That makes this an amazing walk!’ And she WAS enjoying it...running, rolling, body wiggly and soft...she was a joy to watch and lifted my spirits.

04/02/2021

Day 22:

The big wound is healing so well, and the smaller wound is basically almost invisible now. That’s my little finger nail in each shot for perspective.

However, gotta be honest and say I have doubt and worry.

I can still feel a small lump where the smaller tumour was. Obviously it may be scar tissue or just continued healing, but I can’t rule out that the MCT is still there. We knew there was greater risk the smaller tumour wouldn’t respond. We can’t repeat the treatment until after 28 days anyway, so it’s a case of wait and see. Luckily, we still also have the option of surgery of the small one is still there.

I can feel a lumpy bit at the bottom of the larger wound too but somehow I feel less worried about that one. It was such a bigger wound, the tumour clearly died, and the lumpy bit is close to the where the skin flap was. In my mind (hope?), the bigger nastier tumour has completely gone.

I know that looking and feeling doesn’t tell us anything about MCTs- only testing via Fine Needle Aspiration can do that. So I’ll try to push my worries to the back of my mind and wait to see the oncologist.

31/01/2021

Day 18 post 2...

It is so wet and muddy here at the moment. We keep Rudy on lead most the time so we can steer her around big puddles but allow her to have an off lead run on drier ground.

She wears her full body suit from Equafleece which we LOVE! That covers the small wound successfully. However, the larger wound is much closer to the ground, comes close to the end of the suit, and was so large initially that we didn’t want fibres from the suit getting in (as well as mud!). We have therefore been covering the wound we go out, except on pure pavement walks.

I thought it might help some people to see how we are covering the wound.

Extra thought: we taught Rudy a ‘roll over’ cue when she was younger. We never pushed it to a full roll because of her spinal crunchiness. However, the ability to get her to lie on her side on cue/ request has once again been SO helpful. I’d thoroughly recommend teaching it to any dog.

As you can see, Rudy is a real sweetie, and although she has a strong, independent mind, she will also do anything for Kev or I. However, I try to work on the ‘just because you can, doesn’t mean you should’ principle with my handling of her, and find cooperative ways of doing things rather than physically moving her. You can see she is a bit wary here about what I might do next...hardly surprising given the last few weeks, but we keep everything to a minimum and give her a clear release at the end (and there was a tasty reward afterwards!)

Rudy's Stelfonta Journey