Elninos Best of Cubbaroo (1997-2013)

Nina (Elninos Best of Cubbaroo) was the pick of the litter out of my ex-fiance’s bitch Wendy (Can CH Cubbaroo’s Fire Opal) in November 1997. It was a scenario where every time we would come to visit her breeder, Carrol, Nina would quit her and come to me. The long story made short, Nina became mine permanently at about 18 months of age. She became my constant shadow, my loyal protector and truly the reason I fell in love with the breed. She whelped three litters of 8 puppies for Carrol and as Nina aged I regretted not ever asking for one of those puppies as she surely would have made it happen.

In 2005 just after her 7th birthday she was diagnosed with breast cancer two weeks after being bred a fourth and final time. Western Veterinary Specialist Oncologists in Calgary gave her a prognosis of 6 to 12 months to live and recommended a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. Being a wholistic practitioner I agreed to the lumpectomy but negotiated an epidural to limit any impact on her unborn litter but I declined the chemotherapy and radiation. Instead, I let her progress with the litter though tragically her singleton puppy died in utero at a time where ultrasounds and x-rays we not commonly used to count numbers and circumvent potential whelping problems.

In the wake of the loss of her final litter we went forward with a somewhat controversial alternative cancer treatment called Laetrile Therapy. This consisted of feeding ground apricot kernels (the bitter almond-like nut inside the apricot pit) with salmon. Apricot kernels contain high amounts of amygdalin which when processed by the body, it changes to cyanide which in this form is believed to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. Officially there is not enough reliable scientific evidence to say laetrile can cure cancer and it is difficult to find much written about the therapy that does not strongly discourage individuals from using it. HOWEVER… I fed Nina a course of ground apricot pits (found in the fridge of our local health food store) along with wild-caught canned salmon twice per day for approximately two months —  the day she refused it, telling me she had enough.

Prior to this experience Nina had been eating a pretty good quality lamb & rice kibble since she was a puppy, however following this treatment I switched her to a homemade raw diet consisting mostly of chicken, beef, bone, organ, and some fish. Cancer never recurred on this regimen and she lived another 8 years, dying at 15½ years of age from complications of congestive heart failure — This is 7 years longer than the cancer veterinarians’ longest prediction! As for the congestive heart failure, my opinion is that we wear out as we age and ultimately we have to die of something.

Nina’s recovery and longevity was the driving force in my feeding a homemade raw diet which evolved and changed over time for my dogs from August 2005 until July 2023. I still believe that a balanced raw diet of meat, fat, bone and organ is ultimately the best for our canine friends however post-COVID rising costs and a growing pack of Reel ACDs had me electing to switch to a high quality professional working dog kibble.

I share my canine cancer recovery experience here not to convince people to follow my lead but because anecdotal stories about Laetrile Therapy are all we have. I believe there are no studies about the efficacy of using Laetrile in treating cancer because there is largely no money in apricot pits and money is what drives research studies which offer the evidence that allopathic medicine practitioners require to prescribe. I think that until big pharmaceutical companies can figure out how to make billions from it, it will remain in the shadows.

Getting off of my soapbox now, let me just say Nina will remain my heart dog forever and I am forever grateful for Carrol allowing her to leave her ranch to be in my life at a very difficult time for me.

She brought me joy, she protected me from bad guys, she licked away my tears, and she listened to my troubles better than any therapist I’ve ever had. Her loss left an enormous void within me. However, she set a standard for the temperaments and structure of the Australian Cattle Dogs in my program today.