Since the rescue of Speck—the Jack Russell Terrier—a few weeks ago from OC Animal Care by Russell Rescue, and an e-mail I received from George Seikaly—his foster dad—the day he took Speck home, I’ve been reminded of what it takes to be a foster parent to a rescue dog. It’s an important and often heartrending job.

While it was fortuitous that Crystal Christensen recognized Speck from a picture on Facebook and was able to arrange for him to leave the third shelter he had been in over the course of about a year’s time, his story is far from over.

Speck was transported from OC Animal Care to San Diego—first to a vet for a checkup—and then to Seikaly’s home, where he settled in immediately, and currently enjoys the company of two other terriers—one being another foster—along with his wonderful foster dad.

Like other dogs rescued from animal shelters by nonprofit rescue groups, Speck needs to complete medical treatment before he can be placed for permanent adoption.

OC Animal Care knew that Speck desperately needed dental surgery, which accounted for his age being estimated as 12, instead of the 7 he was believed to be during his earlier shelter experience in Irvine. He had also come to the county shelter from living on the streets in Orange. That was apparent from his emaciated condition upon arrival. The shelter staff did what it could to help Speck, but he still needed to gain weight when he left OCAC.

When Ally Edgerton of Russell Rescue was transporting Speck from the shelter to his veterinary exam on his way to Seikaly’s home, she discovered a growth on his belly. The veterinarian examined Speck and gave him a clean bill of health, other than recommending a biopsy of the growth when performing Speck’s dental surgery—which was scheduled for a few days later.

Speck’s surgery went well. The biopsy results were returned to the veterinarian two days later. The vet provided the information to Edgerton—since Russell Rescue is responsible for Speck.

Edgerton reported that the growth is a hemangiosarcoma— a malignant tumor. Edgerton described the news as “a surprise and an awful shock.” The recommended treatment was for Speck to go in for a second surgery with a specialist—to remove a wider margin of tissue around the growth.

It took a couple of days for the news to sink in and for Edgerton to decide what the next step should be, as Speck is an otherwise healthy and happy dog. Edgerton was also hesitant to let Seikaly know about the malignancy until she had a plan of action, given that Seikaly made the commitment to foster Speck for a very personal reason.

When I contacted Seikaly to get a picture of Speck for my previous story, George sent me the following message:

“I also wanted to tell you a bit about why I decided to foster Speck. I lost my 14½-year-old female Jack Russell Monday. Her name was Silk. She was diagnosed and quickly deteriorated from a vicious case of both congenital heart and liver failure. I was inconsolable when I took her to the vet to be euthanized. I was feeling personally overwhelmed and saddened for my other dog (her sister) and decided the way to honor Silk's memory was to foster a dog, which happened to be Speck. I'm honored to be his foster and to know how much all of you in Orange County did to get him a foster home.”

For Seikaly, deciding to foster Speck was a good way to help both Silk’s sister and Seikaly cope with their loss and refocus their energy in a positive way.

Now Edgerton was faced with having to break the news to Seikaly that Speck—the dog that was helping Seikaly and his other dog take their minds  off of their recent loss—might himself be in danger.

Edgerton gathered the board of directors of Russell Rescue to determine how to proceed. The board decided to approve the surgery but required X-rays first—to confirm that the cancer had not metastasized. “They do not want him going through a surgery that will not help him and just cause him more pain,” Edgerton said.

Upon hearing news of the board’s decision, Christensen—who still is very much attached to Speck—volunteered to pay for the X-rays.

Seikaly’s response to the revelations was to commit to caring for Speck after surgery—if that is the route taken—until he is ready to be placed in a permanent home. On the other hand, if the X-rays show that the cancer has spread, Speck will have a happy home with Seikaly and his other canine companions for the rest of his life.

Seikaly has already managed to help Speck gain a few pounds and was pleased to report that he gave Silk “anything and everything to eat” on her last day with him.

If that is what Speck has to look forward to, he will undoubtedly live out the rest of his life as a very spoiled dog.

While everyone remains positive, there is still the possibility that Speck has a serious illness. X-rays have been scheduled for later this week.

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Don’t forget to send me pictures of your dogs in their winter clothes. I’ve already collected some very cute photos and look forward to posting those along with your submissions soon. Send your pictures to animalwrites@ariel.net.