Danielle and Jason are Licensed Veterinary Technicians in the emergency department at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle. They are the pet parents of an amazing dog named Loki. Loki is an almost 13-year-old Collie mix that was born and raised in the countryside of Ohio on a small farm. Danielle has had Loki since he was five-weeks-old because his mother abandoned the litter. Loki was later introduced to Jason when he was three and quickly found a place in his heart as well.
When Loki was four-years-old, he developed a mast cell tumor on his lower right hock. As scary as this news was for Danielle and Jason, they had the advantage of working in the veterinary field to have several different doctors supporting them during this difficult time. Loki had surgery on his leg in 2010 and then had a month-long full course of radiation therapy at Washington State University. During this time, Loki was away from his family but was well taken care of by the veterinary students who gave Danielle and Jason daily phone calls and updates.
Loki was in remission for three years, but unfortunately, his mast cell tumor came back in 2013. Loki again had surgery to remove the tumor, then followed up with the oncology team at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle. Loki was not eligible to receive radiation again in his leg, so Danielle and Jason opted for him to have electrochemotherapy. The electrochemotherapy was only a day procedure, not a month-long procedure like the radiation therapy he received in 2010. Loki did very well with the electrochemotherapy treatment and his cancer remained in remission for four years.
In 2017, Loki’s mast cell tumor presented for the third time. Danielle and Jason were now employees at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle and received support from all of our emergency and oncology doctors and staff and Dr. Shaw from Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle. Together they collaborated to come up with a treatment plan for Loki. They decided to have surgery one more time to remove the tumor and another electrochemotherapy treatment to give his leg another chance. Although Danielle and Jason were scared for Loki, they were so grateful for the support they received from the amazing doctors and staff at the Animal Medical Center of Seattle and the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle. They followed up with Dr. Knapp from SOUND Veterinary Rehab to help fully rehabilitate Loki’s leg. Between his acupuncture and hydrotherapy treatments, Loki had a full recovery and was once again back to his normal self.
Loki’s mast cell tumor came back at the end of January 2019 and despite all of our efforts to save his leg, this time around it needed to be amputated. Our hope was to end his fight against cancer. Loki had his surgery on February 19th, 2019 and from start, to finish his surgery day went smoothly and was pain-free. For as scary as this day was for Jason and Danielle, the love, support, and compassion from both the Animal Medical Center of Seattle and the Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle put them and Loki at ease. Loki received exceptional care and was up walking on his own with barely any help the next morning!
Loki loves to run, play Frisbee, swim, go kayaking, play tug of war and chase his favorite dog friends, Wyatt and Emmett. His favorite thing to do is go for a hike or a long walk and lights up every time Danielle and Jason get out their camping gear. He has fought this cancer for a long time and losing his leg will only be a minor setback for him. Loki has gone on many adventures and his family was able to give him nine more years with his leg that he may not have had otherwise without the treatments and compassionate care from all of the doctors who have helped Loki. We know he will be out camping, hiking, swimming and trying his hardest to keep up with his younger dog friends soon!
