JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There is nothing like the connection between a man and his dog.
"My dog is everything to me," Moore said. "Everyone who knows me knows that I like animals more than I like people"
However, in 2019, Moore noticed a tiny little mark inside his dog's nose.
Levi did not seem sick, but it stood out to Moore as something different. According to Moore, it looked like a paper cut.
So he told his veterinarian, Dr. Tracy LaDue at Sevo-Med, in Orange Park, FL.
Dr. LaDue, a veterinarian oncologist, did a biopsy.
"When they told me it was cancer my heart dropped," Moore remembered. "Levi is my whole world."
"It was a tumor called nasal planum squamous cell carcinoma," LaDue explained.
She said they caught it so early that a surgical option was available.
The option was hard to hear at first. The surgery would take off Levi's nose, the black part where the cancer was located.
However, without that surgery, Levi could be in great pain from the cancer and have bleeding. Dr. LaDue said within months he would probably have to be put down.
So Levi had his nose removed.
A year and a half later, Moore hugs Levi is thrill to have Levi by his side.
"I call him my little camel dog," Moore remarked.
Dr. LaDue said Levi is cancer-free.
LaDue said it is important for dog and cat owners to look for lumps and bumps and anything different or unusual.
Dr. LaDue is a breast cancer survivor herself. She says, just as with people, catching it early in your pet is critical.
She says do Doggy Check, which means to check over your dog for lumps every month, just as people do for breast cancer in Buddy Check.
Dr. LaDue said cancer can appear anywhere in a dog. She suggests for you to look between their toes, lift their their tails, check under their arms, around their tummies and even inside their lips.
If you find a lump or see something odd, contact a veterinarian.