Marley, a dog with terminal cancer, could get a second chance at life

MALTA - When Gary LaBelle's Labrador retriever, Jack, died in 2024, he swore off owning a dog ever again. He could not bear to relive the anguish of losing a four-legged friend.

But that changed when the Fulton County Regional American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals announced they were seeking a home where Marley, a 5-year-old Labrador with terminal cancer, could live out the rest of her days. On Wednesday, LaBelle said he has been fostering Marley for just over nine weeks.

Ever since, the pain he has held in his heart since Jack died has waned.

LaBelle believes he and Marley were brought together by Jack.

"It sounds weird, but I truly feel Jack is saying, ‘Dad, she needs your love,'" LaBelle said.

LaBelle and Jack were inseparable. In the 14 years they were together, Jack accompanied LaBelle to work, family gatherings and multiple road trips across the United States. Photos of the late dog adorn the walls of LaBelle's Malta home, and a memorial containing a painting of Jack and his favorite toys is staged in the living room. A portrait of Jack wearing his signature red bandana is tattooed on LaBelle's right upper arm.

"If Jack couldn't go, I didn't go," LaBelle said.

In an interview Wednesday, the 70-year-old said Jack's death "was very sad." The dog had been struggling to make it upstairs and, toward the end, would get sick after drinking water. LaBelle said he called a veterinarian to euthanize Jack after he lay in the snow outside in the middle of winter.

"He would never do that and it was almost like he was trying to get away from me so he could pass on," LaBelle said.

Now, LaBelle has Marley by his side.

"She goes to work with me, rides in the truck, sleeps in my bed, just like Jack," LaBelle said. "It's almost like Jack is guiding her along the way."

Marley, a former stray, was given just months to live after a mass discovered in her mouth by veterinarians removing porcupine quills was determined to be a squamous cell carcinoma. But a positive second opinion by a veterinary oncologist led the animal society's Board of Directors to unanimously approve treatment for Marley that could give her years longer to live, according to SPCA Board President Jennifer Lacosse.

To afford the treatment, the SPCA posted an online fundraiser on July 20 with a goal of raising $7,000. Lacosse said it was reached within 24 hours.

"Our community is absolutely incredible," she said.

LaBelle is bringing Marley to Upstate Veterinary Specialties in Latham on Thursday morning for an operation to remove the cancerous cells from her mouth and test her lymph nodes for signs the cancer has spread. Depending on what surgeons find, Marley could require chemotherapy in the future. Lacosse said the entire treatment could potentially cost about $13,000.

LaBelle is nervous about the procedure, but said he is planning on waiting at the veterinarian's office to be there for Marley in case anything happens, just like he used to do for Jack.

"When I brought Jack in for his surgeries, I stayed there," LaBelle said. "They thought I was a nut."

LaBelle has not officially adopted Marley, but hopes to after the surgery. And there is one thing he wants everyone to know:

"There's a dog out there that can fill that void in your heart, and there's a shelter dog out there that might be old or sick, that still has a ton of love to give you," he said.

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