Dog's Odd Behavior Has Owner Baffled Until Doctors Find Serious Illness

Odd behavior from Brenda Richards' Yorkshire terrier Cleo was actually the dog sniffing out cancer and it saved the 78-year-old's life!

Most of us expect our dogs to fetch balls, sit for treats, and give lots of love, but never do we anticipate that they will sniff out cancer! However, that is exactly what one perceptive pup of Derby, England did!

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It was bedtime for 78-year-old Brenda Richards and her sweet 7-year-old Yorkshire terrier Cleo. Brenda routinely carried Cleo up the stairs, Cleo either being legitimately too short or simply wanting that extra bit of pampering. But, on that spring evening in 2019, Cleo was not behaving normally.

Dog Sniffing Out Cancer Alerts Owner

Cleo fought Brenda, pawing at her chest and struggling as they climbed the stairs. After putting Cleo in bed, Brenda checked for scratches at the spot on her right breast where Cleo clapped at. There were no scratches, but there was a tiny lump.

Brenda had the lump checked out on Good Friday at the Royal Derby Hospital, which she was very familiar with since she’d volunteered there for a few years. A mammogram, a biopsy, and a diagnosis were completed in one day, and the lump was indeed cancerous.   

Brenda was not scheduled for a mammogram until the next year. So without her dog sniffing out cancer, the lump might very well have gone unnoticed for several months. "She was trying to tell me something. Without a shadow of a doubt, my little doggie, Cleo, found the lump in my breast and saved my life," said Brenda.

In addition to Brenda’s former volunteer service at the Royal Derby Hospital, she is also a retired home help worker and a great-grandmother of three. Brenda knows a bit about caregiving! That’s why it’s especially heart-warming to see her being cared for so well by loving little Cleo!

A lumpectomy, along with chemotherapy and radiation followed over the next eight months, but within a year, Brenda received good reports and is cancer-free, thanks to Cleo! Brenda urges other women to have regular mammograms, recognizing that early detection is critical to a complete recovery. And, having a sweet friend like Cleo might be a great idea as well!  

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“When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them.” Luke 4:40

WATCH: Dog Sniffing Out Cancer Saves Owner

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h/t: People

Featured Image Credit: Youtube/SWNS

Hally is a freelance writer, blogger, and mental health advocate. A former school counselor, Hally works for a nonprofit that distributes tax dollars to mental health and prevention education providers that serve her county's kids and families. She's a contributor to a devotional and two essay collectives, and she shares resources and wisdom regarding parenting teens, mental health, faith, adoption, and more at https://www.hallyjwells.com where she strives to "Dig Deep and Reach High." She and her husband have three adult children and one rascally beagle pup. Hally loves travel, her book club sisters, personality tests, and a great glass of iced tea.