It was an all-paws-in effort.
A mom-of-two has her collie to thank for saving her life after she started sniffing her breast.
Trisha Allison, 50, from Wilford, England, was lying on the couch one day watching TV when she claimed her 2-year-old dog, Luna, jumped on her chest and smacked her right breast in the process.
Although not unusual for many dogs, the greyhound/collie mix then continued to sniff and nudge at her chest before lying next to her — which Allison recalled as being unusual since she “isn’t the most affectionate dog,” she told South West News Service.
However, when her breast continued to hurt, she made an appointment to get a biopsy — and was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks later, on April 18.
“If it wasn’t for Luna, I would not have found it that day,” she recalled to SWNS. “Because I have dense breasts, I might have not banged them again for a couple of years or so — my story might have been very different.”
Allison, who works as a nanny, said she checks herself “every couple of months” anyway, but Luna’s helpful paw meant her doctors caught her cancer early.
The mom has now received two operations to remove the tumors and is waiting to find out whether she will need chemotherapy.
“When they say, ‘I am sorry to tell you it is cancer,’ your whole world falls apart, and you just wonder what size coffin you’re going to need — it is hard to explain how you feel,” Allison admitted.
“The thing is, I am a positive person, but when you are sitting in that room, you have it all in your head that you are fine and that you’re not ill,” she continued. “My next appointment is in two weeks’ time and they will determine my next steps.
“Every appointment is so stressful,” she added. “Everyone tells me to be positive, but you go in being positive and get the worst news.”
Despite the stresses, Allison is immensely grateful to her lifesaving pooch and her meddlesome paw.
“I am grateful for Luna; if it wasn’t for Luna, this would be a very different story,” she said.
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