Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty
When Cory Padilla felt swollen lymph nodes in the neck of his dog, Copper, he knew it was time to take his best friend to the vet. Padilla told The Daily Beast that Copper, a beagle and German shepherd mix, was also experiencing bouts of diarrhea and his eyes looked “droopy”—but cancer wasn’t on the pet owner’s radar.
“I thought it could be another disease that hounds get,” Padilla said. But the veterinarian confirmed the pet parent’s worst fears after aspirating Copper’s swollen lymph nodes and diagnosing him with lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in dogs.
“My heart hit the floor,” Padilla said. He was right to be worried: If left untreated, canine lymphoma kills most dogs within three to four weeks.