Abandoned Golden Retriever With 46-Pound Tumor Is Rescued and Now Lives a Happy Life

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From the archives: This story was last updated in February 2019.

This dog grew a massive tumor twice as heavy as his own weight and was abandoned by his owner. But despite being homeless with his declining health condition, he remained sweet and lovely. After a lot of kindhearted people’s help, he was a happy dog that loved running and playing around.

When the police found Henry, he was walking alone on a California beach. The police found the dog walked with a wobble and noticed something unusual. They decided to approach him and discovered something scary on the dog’s body. It was a massive tumor more than half of his body weight. It was weighing him down and dragged as he walked.

The cops quickly took him to the Newport Beach Animal Hospital. Doctors discovered a tumor that weighed 46 pounds (approx. 21 kg), which needed to be removed quickly.

Despite being in such a state, however, Henry kept being as positive and as loving as any other pooch, animal control officer Valerie Schomburg told CBS Los Angeles. "The whole time, he’s trying to give you kisses and wagging his tail.”

Since the tumor was too enormous, they had to find an expert to perform the surgery on Henry. “Most vets that we’ve asked and have been involved in his story have never seen [a tumor] that big,” Schomburg told Shareably.

“He has so much love and life to live that we wanted to give him a second chance.”

Henry’s tumor was removed and he received thousands of dollars of veterinary care, which was paid for by donations.

Henry was a typical golden retriever who was full of energy and liked running and playing. He was later adopted by a foster family and underwent radiation treatment for cancer. “He’s a happy dog now that he’s received the treatment he needs,” Officer Nick Ott told Los Angeles Times.

Unfortunately, Henry died in 2017 at the age of 8 while living with a foster family.

Henry’s ex-owner, Sherri Haughton, was sentenced to three years of informal probation in October 2017.

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