Vet Tech Photographed Comforting, Sleeping Next to Dog with Cancer

Dog
Cindy Siddon

“You can’t teach this in college and you either have [this compassion] or you don’t and this girl gets it,” Cindy Siddon told Inside Edition of Calhoun. “It is just heartwarming.”

A New York vet tech was photographed sleeping next to and comforting a dog with cancer as it went through rounds of treatment.

Taylor Calhoun, a licensed vet tech at Clinton Pet Vet, was photographed by the dog’s owner, Cindy Siddon, as she laid next to Rizz as the pitbull mix battled bone cancer.

Siddon posted the photo on Facebook and the picture warmed hearts in a time of discomfort.

“Rizz went in today for another vitamin c infusion and more cuddles with taylor.....she goes back tomorrow for another pain infusion....unfortunately although we seem to be keeping the cancer at bay the HO is progressing and she’s becoming more painful....we’ll kind of take it one day at a time from here,” she wrote in the post.

Sadly, just a week after the photo was snapped, Rizz was euthanized as the complications from the cancer grew more dire, Siddon told Inside Edition Digital.

Siddon told Inside Edition Digital that Rizz had her front leg amputated last year where the bone cancer’s tumor was, but up until three weeks ago her dog was playing around with her other six dogs before things took a turn for the worse.

Rizz was a rescue and Siddon has had her for many years and when the dog went in for treatments every Thursday, Calhoun laid next to her during her lunch break as Rizz naps.

“You can’t teach this in college and you either have [this compassion] or you don’t and this girl gets it,” Siddon told Inside Edition of Calhoun. “It is just heartwarming.”

Calhoun was with Siddon as she made the tough decision to put Rizz down Wednesday night. Siddon, who works at Clinton Pet Vet, was back at work the next day calling it a “good distraction” from what she faced with Rizz.

Siddon, who also runs a dog rescue service, says one of her other dogs was gloomy and sensed that Rizz would not be returning. Over the years of rescuing dogs, Rizz was the second she had to put down due to bone cancer and it is always “very sad.”

A vet tech sleeps next to a dog with cancer. - Cindy Siddon

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