02/20/2026
Most of you know and adore sweet Maggie, our beloved Olney clinic mascot who has happily helped save the lives of so many dogs through her blood donor work for the last 3 years. We wanted to keep all of her friends updated and let you know that Maggie is officially retired from her donor duties. Though she goes home with our staff members from time to time for holidays and long weekends, she’ll continue living her very best, lazy life right where she’s happiest, our Olney clinic. This is her home. 💜
While Maggie was already nearing retirement due to age, her career was unfortunately cut a bit short this past month. What first appeared to be a small spot on her leg, originally thought to be something minor like a spider bite, did not respond to medications and continued to grow and become more inflamed. We made the decision to surgically remove the lump and send it to a reference lab for testing.
Aside from this lump, Maggie had shown no other symptoms, so we were hopeful that we were just being overly cautious by removing it. During the time we waited for pathology results, her incision struggled to heal, despite daily care and medications, and another lump quickly appeared nearby. The results were heartbreaking: Maggie was diagnosed with an aggressive subcutaneous mast cell tumor (a type of skin cancer).
This past Monday, Maggie underwent an extensive 3-hour surgery with a full team of technicians and two of our skilled veterinarians, Dr. Keelan and Dr. Kenzie. Using special contrast dye and radiographs, they were able to map which lymph nodes were connected to the cancer site. One affected lymph node was identified and removed. The new lump was injected and mapped with dye so every portion could be removed, along with an additional nearby lymph node.
To give Maggie the best chance at beating this, wide margins around the cancer site were taken, which meant removing a significant amount of affected tissue. Dr. Keelan then performed a complex skin-flap procedure, repositioning healthy skin from Maggie’s side to cover and reconstruct her leg.
The newly removed mass and lymph nodes have been sent to the pathologist for further evaluation.
Once Maggie has healed from this major procedure, she will begin an oral chemotherapy plan to target any microscopic cancer cells that surgery cannot remove. We are very thankful to share that her pre-op abdominal ultrasound performed by Dr. Katlynn showed no abnormalities or signs of spread to her internal organs. We are very hopeful that this was caught early enough to stop it in its tracks.
Please keep Maggie in your thoughts and send her well wishes as she recovers and continues her fight. She is deeply loved by our team and by so many of you. 🐾💗
