If there is a heaven, Brandy is resting at God’s feet. More than a friend, confidante and giver of unconditional love, the golden retriever was a lifesaver. Owner Donna Rice, of Millstone, may not have detected that she had breast cancer had it not been for her faithful companion.
Donna Rice, of Millstone, and her golden retriever, Brandy, loved each other through sickness and health, and only through death did they part. “She kept coming up to me and sniffing me, always going to my left breast,” Rice said. “She knew something was wrong.”
Although Rice never found a lump or had any other symptoms, she was diagnosed with breast cancer after a mammogram in 2003. She would later have a double mastectomy.
“All during my treatment she was there for me,” Rice said. “I would come home and she would be happy to see me, which made me feel good.”
Rice said she needed Brandy as much as the dog needed her.
“I got Brandy from a breeder and she started having major health problems after six months,” Rice said. “She couldn’t breathe and she had red spots under her belly.”
Over the years, Brandy suffered from throat and skin problems, including allergies and “hot spots,” which are external bleeding sores. She had trouble breathing and often gagged when she slept.
“I stayed strong for her and she stayed strong for me,” Rice said.
When Rice returned from reconstructive surgery and cried in pain, the dog cuddled with her on the couch. When groomers stopped bathing Brandy for fear they would break open one of her sores, Rice, who was in recovery, would fill a baby pool on the back deck and bathe Brandy herself. Rice also carried the 105-pound pooch up and down stairs when her back legs weakened.
Seeing her pet defy death multiple times after mass removals, major surgeries and spending weeks in intensive care gave Rice the courage to confront her own continuing health complications stemming from surgery and reconstruction.
“I couldn’t figure out if I was having a reoccurrence of the cancer or if my body was rejecting the implants,” Rice said. “The doctor didn’t know what was wrong with me. I was in so much pain that I wanted to have the implants taken out.”
In 2006, Rice’s doctor advised her against having the implants removed and suggested she see a specialist to determine if she had lymphedema — failure of the lymphatic system that can be caused by the removal of the lymph nodes as part of the surgery for cancer.
Before her appointment with the specialist, Brandy’s health deteriorated. Rice had placed sod on her deck because she could no longer help the dog down stairs. Brandy also stopped eating.
The night before the appointment on Dec. 11, Rice slept with her arm around Brandy to make sure the dog kept breathing. Although Rice did not want to leave her faithful companion the next morning, “something kept telling me that I had to go to the doctor.”
“All the way there I kept saying to myself I have to go home and be with Brandy, but the doctor might have the answer I have been looking for,” Rice said.
The specialist determined that Rice did not have lymphedema, but diagnosed her with costocongitis, an inflammation of the cartilage behind the ribs. Although painful, the symptoms could be treated with medication and the application of heat and ice.
Although the news that her condition was manageable and not life threatening made Rice feel immediately better, that day soon turned bittersweet.
When she returned home, her husband had to call neighbor John Haines to put Brandy on a stretcher for transport to the Twin Rivers Animal Hospital in East Windsor. Veterinarian Michael Petranto, who had cared for Brandy over the years, discovered the golden retriever was in critical condition as a result of internal bleeding.
Letting Brandy go after nearly 13 years of
companionship and unconditional love was the most difficult decision Rice ever had to make.
“Her next to last day … I knew she wanted to die, but she stayed alive that night, and part of the next day, until I was able to be diagnosed with good news,” Rice said. “She needed me to let go of her, knowing I was going to be OK.”
Rice keeps Brandy’s cremains in a locked box in her home, and will never forget the paw prints the golden retriever left on her heart.
“She will be with me forever and ever,” Rice said. “She saved my life and gave me the strength that I needed to get through.”