Kristine Richards, a 61-year-old resident of Wellington, Somerset, had initially regarded her eight-year-old chihuahua, Flag, as a mere handful. However, she soon realised that her little dog’s persistent and peculiar fixation with her armpits was something far more significant. Flag developed a strange habit of repeatedly pawing at the underside of Kristine’s arm, which she initially dismissed as nuisance behaviour.
As the days passed, the behaviour did not subside. Kristine then noticed a small lump in her armpit area, an observation that raised alarm bells and encouraged her to seek medical attention promptly.
In 2018, linking Flag’s unusual obsession with what she had heard about dogs detecting illness, Kristine arranged for a thorough medical examination. Tests subsequently confirmed that she had hormone-sensitive lobular breast cancer. Kristine believes this timely intervention was crucial, especially as she had felt perfectly healthy prior to this.
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“My initial thought was that it was nothing, but then I started to wonder if there was a connection,” she explained. “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.”
Following her diagnosis, Kristine underwent a comprehensive series of tests, including a mammogram and ultrasound. She was informed that the cancer was aggressive and had spread to her lymph nodes, which necessitated an intense treatment plan involving surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and drug therapy.
The treatment journey was challenging. Doctors had to halt chemotherapy prematurely as it began causing problems with her feet and legs, raising fears about her mobility. Despite these setbacks, around a year after the diagnosis, Kristine was declared in remission and has thankfully remained cancer-free since.
“It was a very difficult time of my life. In times like those, you find out who your true friends are, and ultimately, I did, and the answer was my dog.”
Kristine emphasised the vital role Flag played during her ordeal. She described him as her steadfast companion who provided comfort and support. Beyond this, Flag has become a trained assistance dog and a local celebrity, earning the honorary title of mayor in St Marychurch, Torquay. He is widely recognised as a ‘community champion’ as he and Kristine actively support charity causes and host coffee mornings.
Remarkably, Kristine recounts that Flag has saved her life twice, including an incident where he prevented her from stepping into the path of a moving vehicle.
“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,” she said.
Currently, Kristine and Flag are supporting Breast Cancer Now’s Wear It Pink campaign, encouraging people to participate in raising both awareness and funds. Kristine added, “The more people know about him, the more money we can raise for charity and the more awareness we can get.”