Scott Seymore with Brittney. Photo: Rob Kurtycz, Grand Rapids Press / AP
On May 7, Seymore, of Grand Rapids, Michigan, received news that every pet owner fears, and never hopes to hear. Ever. His dog had cancer; Brittney's tummy was filled with tumors. The veterinarian didn't think Brittney would survive surgery and Seymore thought chemotherapy would devastate his normally active dog. Not wanting to euthanize her then, he put Brittney on a course of steroids, hoping to make most of the time he had with her and to make her remaining days as pain-free as possible.
Just weeks later on May 23, Seymore awoke at 5:45 on a Saturday morning to the sound of Brittney --- who was, by then, easily fatigued --- barking furiously. Something was wrong. "Brittney might whine a little when she has to go out, but she never, ever barks when I'm sleeping," Seymore, 39, told the Grand Rapids News. "She was demanding that I get up."
And with good reason: the house was on fire. Flames were already shooting towards the roof, yet the smoke detector hadn't sounded an alarm. Instead, it was Brittney, who Seymore has had since she was six weeks old, who saved his life.
Sadly, on the Monday after the fire, Brittney's condition worsened; she stopped eating, her stomach was distended and she had trouble breathing. The cancer had spread to Brittney's lymph nodes, liver and spleen, and a cancerous mass in her spleen was bleeding, causing much pain.
Unable to watch her suffer any longer, Seymore decided to put Brittney to sleep on Tuesday, May 26. "A dog loves you unconditionally and totally, which makes this really hard," Seymore said. "To have to do it days after she saved my life is really depressing. I know that it's the right thing, but it feels like the worst thing."
Seymore was at Brittney's side when she was euthanized at the Animal Hospital of Kentwood. "She hung on for a little extra time," said Seymore. "Like she was looking out for me."
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