Paying it Forward

With steel blue eyes set against a deep brown coat, Art Clough always wanted a Chocolate Lab puppy. It wasn’t until later in life that he had the freedom to grant his own wish, but when a litter of puppies came up for sale in his hometown of Barre, MA, Clough seized the opportunity. To determine which of the three males he would call his own, Clough held each in his arms. The first two wiggled so much he could barely handle them. Then came the third puppy. “I cradled him in my arms—he was very mellow, very calm. He looked up in my eyes, and then he put his head down on my arm and sighed and fell asleep,” says Clough. “I knew he was mine right then.”

Named after the Alaskan national park, Denali came into Art’s life at a time he needed it most. “I had a bad concussion from a construction accident, and it ended up disabling me. I could never work as an engineer again,” says Clough.

“I’ve been battling post-concussive syndrome for 11 years, but I had the constant companionship and unconditional love from Denali to get me through it.”

So, when the lab was diagnosed with a progressed case of osteosarcoma just before his 10th birthday, Clough did not hesitate to act. “Deni’s” only chance of survival was to enroll in a clinical trial, according to his primary care veterinarian. With no time to waste, Clough rushed him to Foster Hospital for Small Animals.

Clough was no stranger to cancer. In 1999, he lost his 28-year-old nephew to melanoma. And, around the same time Denali’s tribulations began, Clough’s oldest brother was diagnosed with a metastatic lung cancer that would claim his life. So, although he knew very little of clinical trials, Clough put his trust in his primary care veterinarian’s recommendation. As luck would have it, a clinical trial treating osteosarcoma with immunotherapies was accepting new patients.

Denali was admitted into the program, and, after completing chemotherapy, began his new treatment. Throughout the process, Clough got to know the oncology and clinical trials teams. “They were wonderful, compassionate people,” he says. “Deni wasn’t just another number, they truly loved him.”

After the second treatment, Denali’s condition began to continuously improve. The sparkle returned to his eye, as did his playful, puppy personality.

“It was amazing how he came back.”

When the program was complete, Denali’s radiographs were clear. “He appeared to have been completely cured,” says Clough. “He had no other tumors, no other lesions. He was doing really, really well.” The trial was a success.

But, after months of good health, bad news would return. During one of his check-ups, Denali’s X-Rays revealed that the cancer had appeared on his other front leg. “I thought he had beat it,” says Clough. “I asked what else we could do.”

As it turns out, another trial had just started, testing a combination of two medications. Though this trial was for soft tissue cancers, there had been a response in osteosarcoma from the two-drug approach. And so, Denali was enrolled. “It seemed to have arrested that lesion,” says Clough.

“They saved him again.”

Though Denali has since passed, Clough is grateful for the extra time they had together. A shadowbox with his special companion’s collar and photos is displayed in Clough’s house, along with a superhero bandana. “Deni is a hero,” says Clough. “He’s not only helping to save other animals, he may actually be saving one of our lives down the road.”

As originally seen on Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine