Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant for cancer treatment at LSU Vet Med gives dog “gift of life”

Petco Love/Blue Buffalo pet cancer treatment grants, for many, mean the gift of life.

Brittany Tassin came to Baton Rouge from Alexandria and was in her first year of law school at Southern University when she first laid eyes on the Great Dane she named Marie (Ree Ree) Elizabeth. Ree Ree, then 1, had been found tied to a tree, food and water out of reach, after her owners died. Brittany fostered Ree Ree, now 10, for nearly a year and adopted her in 2013 through a great Dane rescue. 

In July 2022, Brittany noticed Ree Ree was needing to urinate frequently. Ree Ree was treated for a UTI, but she didn’t get better. She stopped eating and eventually began shaking and breathing hard. Brittany rushed her to the ER. Brittany remembers hearing, “I think she has a tumor in her bladder.” 

“Alexandria did not have the equipment needed to help diagnose Ree Ree’s problem. We were referred to LSU Vet Med, and we were seen by Internal Medicine. They were very frank with me and said, ‘There’s a tumor at the base of her urethra. It’s inoperable.’ They got me over to Oncology,” Brittany said.

Ree Ree had transitional cell carcinoma in her urethra and bladder neck. 

Ree Ree was seen by Dr. Yen-Hao Lai, radiation oncology resident, the next day. “It’s not curable, but it can be managed,” he told her. The Oncology clinical team worked up a plan that Brittany agreed to with the goal of extending Ree Ree’s life.

Brittany brought Ree Ree from Alexandria to Baton Rouge for a cycle of daily radiation treatments. Ree Ree would stay at LSU, being dropped off Mondays at 7:30 a.m. with a pickup on Fridays at 3:30 p.m. It was a four-hour round trip. They followed this schedule for more than a month. Vet students called twice per day to give Brittany updates. All was going well, however, Ree Ree’s troubles were about to get worse. 

During the third week of radiation, she collapsed on the floor at home. Brittany rushed her to LSU Vet Med ER. It was nighttime. The ER team greeted them and called Dr. Lai. Ree Ree needed a blood transfusion. Her body rejected it. Dr. Lai ran tests and consulted other LSU Vet Med services, including Diagnostic Imaging, and diagnosed Ree Ree with a twisted spleen, which can be fatal without surgery. Dr. Lai asked an LSU Vet Med surgeon to call Brittany immediately.

“We stopped radiation because she needed surgery. I asked, ‘How much?’ I couldn’t afford it. My heart was breaking. I would have to give up on my best friend because I couldn’t do it,” Brittany said.

“What if I told you that there’s a Petco Love/Blue Buffalo fund to help you? It pays for cancer-related costs. It won’t pay for spleen surgery, but it could help cover the costs associated with her cancer treatment,” Dr. Lai told Brittany.

“It was a relief and a turning point,” said Brittany, who recalled when Ree Ree once saved her life when she’d fainted due to an undiagnosed heart condition, and Ree Ree eventually led her back home.

“These funds have allowed us to save many lives over the past couple of years,” Dr. Looper said.

Ree Ree had the surgery and underwent the final week of radiation. After she recovered, she began chemotherapy with one treatment every other week for 13 weeks with monitoring to see if the tumor was shrinking. 

By November 2022, no tumor was detected on an ultrasound and the bladder wall was normal. Ree Ree finished chemo in March 2023. Now, she comes to LSU Vet Med once every month for monitoring appointments.

“It’s the best possible outcome we could hope for. LSU Vet Med and Petco Love/Blue Buffalo gave me my best friend back. She used to love to roll down a hill. Now she’s doing it again, enjoying life,” Brittany said.

“The Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant is a tremendous gift to our clients and patients. Many life-saving treatments  are expensive, even though we try to make them as affordable as possible. These funds are a game changing option for clients faced with making difficult decisions for their sick pets,” said Jayme Looper, DVM (LSU 1997), DACVR, professor of veterinary radiation oncology.

“There’s no way I could have afforded radiation, chemo, and surgery. I would have had to say goodbye. I am so thankful for everything. She is my life,” Brittany said. “Thank you for sharing her story and showing the difference Petco Love/Blue Buffalo is making by providing oncology patients with these grants.”

LSU Vet Med’s Cancer Treatment Unit, founded in 1998, offers a variety of treatment options tailored to pets’ individual needs. The unit offers two major services: medical oncology and radiation oncology.

Petco Love/Blue Buffalo continues its support for pet owners by helping with the cost of pet cancer treatment, investing in the top veterinary oncology universities for pet cancer treatment funds. Since 2010, the Petco Love, in partnership with Blue Buffalo, have invested more than more than $16 million in the fight against pet cancer.  

For further information about the LSU Vet Med Cancer Treatment Unit and applying for funding, visit our Oncology Service webpage or email lsuoncology@lsu.edu.

About LSU Vet Med: Bettering lives through education, public service, and discovery

The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine is one of only 33 veterinary schools in the U.S. and the only one in Louisiana. LSU Vet Med is dedicated to improving and protecting the lives of animals and people through superior education, transformational research, and compassionate care. We teach. We heal. We discover. We protect.