Kristine Richards, a 61-year-old from Wellington in Somerset, credits her chihuahua Flag with saving her life after the small dog developed an unusual fixation.
Flag, eight years old, began repeatedly pawing at the underside of Kristine’s arm. Initially, she dismissed it as a mere nuisance, but the behaviour persisted.
Shortly afterwards, Kristine noticed a small lump in the area. Connecting the dots between Flag’s insistence and what she had heard about dogs detecting illness, she sought medical advice. Subsequent tests revealed she had hormone-sensitive lobular breast cancer despite feeling perfectly normal.
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“My initial thought was that it was nothing, but then I started to wonder if there was a connection,” Kristine said. “I went to get it looked at and it was cancer. You can’t underestimate the shock. I couldn’t take it in. I just started crying.”
Her diagnosis led to a comprehensive day of examinations, including a mammogram and ultrasound, which found the cancer was aggressive and had spread to her lymph nodes. This prompted rigorous treatment, incorporating surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and hormone therapy.
Chemotherapy had to be halted prematurely when it started to affect Kristine’s feet and legs, raising concerns about her mobility. Despite these setbacks, about a year after the diagnosis, she was declared in remission with no return of the cancer.
“It was a very difficult time of my life,” Kristine reflected. “In times like those, you find out who your true friends are, and ultimately, I did, and the answer was my dog.”
Flag has since become a trained assistance dog and a local celebrity in St Marychurch, Torquay, where he was even named honorary mayor. The duo frequently support charity causes and host coffee mornings, with Flag dubbed a ‘community champion.’
Kristine shared, “If he hadn’t alerted me, it would have taken much longer for me to go about it. He saved my life. I owe my dog everything.”
Currently, they are supporting the Breast Cancer Now’s Wear It Pink campaign, encouraging public involvement to raise funds and awareness.
“The more people know about him, the more money we can raise for charity and the more awareness we can get,” Kristine added.