The love of dogs runs deep for Nicole Stanles, who for most of her life has had a hand in helping animals who seemingly had nobody to love them. She acquired her strong sense of empathy for animals while spending time at the non-profit animal shelter her grandmother founded in central Wisconsin. It was there at the age of 17 that she adopted her first dog—a tiny Boxer puppy whose mother had been abandoned, heavily pregnant, on the doorstep of the shelter. Stanles named the puppy Angel.
“There’s just something so wonderful about Boxers,” Stanles says. “They are so playful, loving, and sweet, but they’re also incredibly smart, even though they can act pretty goofy at times.”
It was those endearing qualities that inspired Stanles to stick with Boxers for her next two dogs as well. But she admits that loving Boxers can also be hard because they’re prone to developing cancer at relatively higher rates than some other breeds. Stanles lost Angel to cancer years ago, and lost her second Boxer, Baja, to cancer in January 2023. She was heartbroken, of course, but was buoyed by the love of Baja’s younger sister, Maui, who was just 6 years old at the time. Unfortunately, just 8 months later, Maui fell ill as well, first with digestive issues and then with seizures. Her local veterinarian did all they could to figure out what was wrong with her, but when Maui collapsed one day while playing ball in the backyard, Stanles carried her to the car and made the harrowing two hour drive to the emergency department at UW Veterinary Care in Madison.
After a long night of testing, Maui was diagnosed with Insulinoma, a tumor of the pancreas that produces too much insulin and can cause dogs to collapse during exercise or excitement due to very low blood sugar. Insulinomas can be very difficult to cure because they commonly spread to other tissues, but there are treatments that can help improve and increase both quality and duration of life. The two most common treatments for the disease are surgery and/or chemotherapy, both of which were cost prohibitive for Stanles, especially after she’d accrued significant credit card debt for the unexpected costs associated with Maui’s care prior to coming to UW. Heartbroken once again, Stanles felt like she’d run out of hope and was convinced she’d have to say goodbye to Maui soon as well. That’s when Maui’s medical oncologist, Dr. Kirsten Andersson, told Stanles about the Petco Love Cancer Treatment fund, which provides financial support for clients who don’t have the resources to cover the costs of veterinary cancer treatment. Stanles applied and was awarded funding to help pay for Maui’s cancer care.
“Without the Petco Love funding I absolutely would not have been able to afford Maui’s treatment,” Stanles says. “The treatment regimen she’s on now has given so much more quality time with her than I originally thought I’d have. Even more importantly, Maui is not suffering like she was prior to starting this treatment.”
UW School of Veterinary Medicine is one of 12 of the nation’s top veterinary oncology programs to be awarded grants from Petco Love, a national nonprofit whose mission it is to “improve the lives of pets and their people.” The grants are given to clients on a first come-first serve basis and are designed to subsidize the cost of cancer treatments. Since 2020, UW has received $250,000 from Petco Love for oncology client assistance and has helped 62 clients provide cancer care for their pets.
“We know pets are family, and too many pet parents are facing the challenges a cancer diagnosis brings,” said Susanne Kogut, president of Petco Love. “We are proud to support treatment for pets with cancer and pet cancer research to save pets lives and to further Petco Love’s mission of making pet families closer, stronger, and healthier.”
And it’s not just the clients who are incredibly grateful for the generosity of Petco Love. Dr. Andersson, the medical oncology resident involved in Maui’s care team, says she and her colleagues all find it incredibly rewarding whenever they can tell clients that they can treat their pets with reduced or no cost to them.
“A diagnosis of cancer is heartbreaking and shocking news, and treatments options for those cancers can vary significantly and can be very expensive, leaving many families to make the difficult decision to decline treatment due to significant cost,” says Dr. Andersson. “Petco Love funding opportunities have given many families the chance to have more quality time with their beloved pets, and it means the world to our team at UW that we can take part in providing that care.”
Without the Petco Love funding and the treatment it payed for, Andersson says the odds are good that Maui would no longer be with us today. Instead, Maui and Nicole are now back to doing many of the activities they used to enjoy before Maui got sick. Stanles credits Dr. Anderson, the entire UWVC staff, and Petco Love for helping Maui get back on her feet.
“Since starting the treatment back in October, Maui has not only been seizure-free but is now back to enjoying neighborhood walks and playing ball with me in the backyard. And for that I could not be more grateful.”