Vegemite returns to being a championship 'Iron Dog’ after melanoma is removed by surgery

What first looked like a simple car ride to a routine veterinary appointment quickly turned into a much more complicated journey for Vegemite, a miniature American shepherd, and her owner, C.J. Fithian.

It was a journey that recently culminated in Vegemite subbing in at the last minute to help spur her team of four fellow canine competitors to victory at the North American Flyball Association (NAFA) CanAm Flyball Classic in Indianapolis, dubbed the world’s largest flyball tournament. Flyball is a race for dogs involving hurdling and ball retrieval.  

Vegemite also earned an award for “Iron Dog” for scoring at least one NAFA point in 10 consecutive flyball racing years. 

But all that seemed far away for Vegemite less than a year ago. 

"I had a regular veterinarian appointment to take her in, and I went to get her to put her in the car, and it looked like she had had some kind of accident in the back," recalled Fithian who owns and operates Jam-Min’ Dog Sports and has more than a dozen similar dogs she trains for agility, barn hunt and disc competitions at her Pilot Mountain, North Carolina, home.

"So I went to clean her up,” Fithian said. “And that's when I noticed this big, big, bulbous thing."

Things suddenly became not routine at all.

"Her vet trip took on a different direction: Yeah, we need you to look at this," Fithian said. "My vet, unfortunately, was just confident that it was cancerous or, or some kind of tumor." 

After being referred to another veterinarian with more advanced equipment to examine Vegemite, Fithian chose the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center for further treatment of Vegemite. 

“I have lots of dog sports friends who recommended the ACCRC highly,” Fithian said. “So it was an easy decision." 

At the Animal Cancer Care and Research Center in Roanoke, one of three teaching hospitals of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine based on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Joanne Tuohy took on Vegemite’s case.

"It was diagnosed ultimately as a melanoma,” said Tuohy, associate professor of surgical oncology. “It was an unusual location and a challenging surgery.”   

Fithian said she was given two options for surgery, one that was minimal, focused on the tumor and its immediate surroundings, and another that would go deeper and take more tissue.

“I went with the minimal because I was concerned about effects that would happen if they went very aggressive, there might be some anal incontinence,” said Fithian. 

Despite the complexity of the case, the surgical outcome appears from examinations over the last couple of months to have been successful. "We're just very happy with the outcome that Vegemite has healed uneventfully from the surgery,” Tuohy said.

Fithian also chose to continue Vegemite’s comprehensive care at the ACCRC. 

"The family opted to start on the melanoma vaccine," Tuohy said. "That is very specific to melanoma and is a type of immunotherapy. Patients go through the initial four doses, one every two weeks."

Ongoing surveillance of Vegemite is a critical component.  

"Of course, we are still always following up with repeat imaging,” Tuohy said. “So, chest X-rays, for example, a belly ultrasound, and palpation of previous surgical site to make sure that we are always diligent about checking for metastatic disease, which is the spread of cancer to other organs, or any cancer that's regrowing at the original surgery site.”

The outcome has been encouraging, with Vegemite returning to her normal life.  

"After healing from the surgery, she's back to her active self," Tuohy said "It shows that dogs with cancer, they can still have a really good quality of life and their normal levels of activity.”

Relieved at the early stages of Vegemite’s cancer treatment while also being cautiously optimistic moving forward, Fithian is reflective about the stressful trial. 

“This is my first experience with cancer in a dog, but I'd have to say, if I have to go through cancer, this would be the way to do it,” Fithian said. “Everybody's been wonderful, and it's a teaching hospital, so there's been lots of students around. I appreciate that they get to learn from this as well.”