Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant makes life-saving treatment at LSU Vet Med possible

Jackson the Cairn terrier received another chance at life after years of offering comfort to people in end-of-life care with his owner, Heather Meadows.

When Heather noticed something wrong with Jackson, she took him to multiple veterinary appointments seeking answers. After receiving news of a mass on his liver with an unaffordable removal surgery, she faced an unbearable possibility.

Thanks to the Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, Jackson received the treatment he needed.

"I prayed about it before coming to LSU. I’m eternally grateful it was there," Heather said.

Before retiring, she visited patients as an end-of-life caregiver with her trusted canine assistant. Heather felt Jackson acted as a “comfort dog” for the patients and recalled his heightened sensitivity to their final chapters.

“They connected. He was right there through every stage,” she said.

At age 15, Jackson started to show signs of pain as he sat hunched over most mornings trying to sit comfortably. Heather, determined to keep him well, continued to seek out care options for his elevated liver values that had been ongoing for two years.

“He’s my boy. I took care of him as I would my child,” she said.

Dr. Quinci Middlebrooks, veterinarian at Walker Animal Hospital and 2022 graduate of LSU Vet Med, discovered a mass the size of an orange on Jackson’s liver after an in-house ultrasound was performed in April 2024.

Dr. Middlebrooks referred Jackson to LSU Vet Med, where Drs. Jude Bordelon (LSU 2002) and Brandon Thibodaux (LSU 2021) suggested further diagnostic testing and surgery to remove the tumor. The costs of these treatments were more than Heather could afford.

"I didn't ever want to let him down,” she said.

What started as a desperate situation turned into a beacon of hope when Heather learned she had received the Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant, making Jackson’s surgery possible.

Drs. Bordelon and Thibodaux successfully removed the mass in June 2024.

“He’s a trooper,” said Dr. Bordelon.

Since then, Jackson is back to living his best life with his biggest fan.

“He seems happier and more energetic after the surgery,” said Dr. Middlebrooks, who saw him in her clinic in August 2024.

When assessed before the surgery, it was determined that Jackson was otherwise healthy even though he suffered from an autoimmune disease years earlier. He had received two blood transfusions before any signs of the tumor.

“He’s here because he loves his life. He’s a survivor,” Heather remarked.

She adopted Jackson at six weeks old from Lake Charles, La., and has provided him with the best chance to live with whatever time he has left.

“I’m doing right by him,” Heather said.

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.

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.