Wizard benefits from Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant to treat cancer

When Shania Worfel felt lumps on the neck of her corgi, Wizard, she knew something was wrong. She took him to her primary care veterinarian, Dr. April Salazar, of Hayes Veterinary Hospital, near where she lives on four acres of land in rural Rosepine, near DeRidder, La. Dr. Hayes diagnosed Wizard with large-cell lymphoma and referred her to LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s Oncology service in June 2025. At LSU Vet Med, Wizard underwent additional diagnostics and exams and was diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma.

Shania remembers sitting in the exam room and receiving the news, along with treatment options and related costs. “He was given about one to two months with only prednisone. The survival rate was jarring. To hear my baby could potentially be gone that soon shocked us. We kicked into high gear for him. Options at home were limited,” she said. Shania chose CHOP a 25-week protocol. CHOP is a multi-drug, high-intensity chemotherapy protocol (Cyclophosphamide, Hydroxydaunorubicin/Doxorubicin, Oncovin/Vincristine, Prednisone) for canine lymphoma, and is highly effective.

“Drs. Jacqui Li and Brittany Hodgkiss in Oncology told me about the Petco Love/Blue Buffalo grant that was available. We applied and were approved. A huge financial strain was lifted. He was only 3. We had to try to save him. Without the grant, I don’t believe Wizard would be here with us today,” Shania said, holding him during a recent checkup at LSU Vet Med.

The grant covered 75 percent of the cost, which made all the difference for Shania, a student in a master’s degree program.

“I honestly cried when I got the grant. It was unbelievable, surreal. It gave us breathing room. We had been saving up to get married, and we used most of our savings to help get him to LSU. He is family to us,” she said.

The 25 weeks of treatment required a six-hour roundtrip drive, plus six additional trips for a voluntary clinical study with LSU Vet Med’s Cardiology service to monitor and evaluate the effects of the drugs on Wizard’s heart. “It will help future ‘Wizards,’” she said.

“We’d wake up at 4 a.m. and return home around 4 p.m. Wizard took the rides and treatments like a champ,” she said.

Wizard finished his first round of treatment Dec. 17, 2025, and is embarking on a second round after he came out of remission in March. He turned 4 earlier this year.

“LSU has gone above and beyond for our little corgi! With the help of the Petco Love grant we were given an opportunity to save Wizard’s life. It’s a miracle,” Shania said.