Nathan is a dignified champion. Like most Rottweilers, he is handsome and rugged, but he is also a loveable companion. Nathan is an American and Canadian Champion, a multiple Best of Breed winner and winner of multiple group placements. He has been an Award of Merit recipient multiple times at Rottweiler Club Specialty Shows. He retired from a show career to participate in agility and herding events. He obtained his AKC Agility Excellent and Agility Excellent Jumpers titles, as well as an AKC Herding Started title (with all three qualifying legs coming with placements!) Nathan also served as a demonstration dog to teach children how to be safe around dogs. For four years, Nathan visited approximately a dozen libraries each summer and presented a program developed by the AKC called “Safety around Dogs.” Nathan’s owner says, “With all of Nathan's accomplishments, accolades and titles, he was and still is my buddy.”

Nathan was three qualifying runs away from having an AKC Masters Agility title (which requires 10 qualifying legs) and would have been the first Champion Rottweiler in the history of the breed to have an MX title, when his family noticed that he seemed to be giving a bit less than 100% in performance events. He was just under 9 years old at the time, and that was simply not like him. It was then that he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Unfortunately, Nathan’s human family had dealt with this disease before, but their experience had been good. To them, there was no question about pursuing treatment, which included amputating the leg and following up with chemotherapy. Without this treatment, Nathan would have had a 50% chance of living an additional 4 months. Other people commented a dog like Nathan, who was so noble, dignified, active and athletic would lose his dignity if he had a leg amputated; but Nathan’s family responded by saying that “a dead dog would have nothing at all.”

Friends who were not sure amputation was the right choice have seen Nathan since and remarked that amputation was exactly the right thing to do. Nathan is healthy and happy. He certainly does not know anything is different; he walks, he jumps in the car, he jumps on the bed and he hikes his leg in a manner that puts most boy dogs to shame! He still competes with his granddaughter on the weave poles in the back yard. Nathan also had six rounds of carboplatin chemotherapy. There were a few choices, but carboplatin had less side effects. He tolerated the treatment exceptionally well. It is now 18 months since Nathan was diagnosed and started treatment. He is one of those 20-30% of dogs that surpass the odds and survive more than a year. We hope he will be among those that make it three years and beyond from the time of diagnosis. More importantly, though, for Nathan, every day with cancer has simply been another day. He does not know he is sick and he does not consider himself a hero. He is simply a lucky dog that has a family who loves him, and that is just fine by him!

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Nathan is also a member of the RHF's Circle 2000 Registry.

Taken from Modiano Lab's January 2005 Newsletter
Jaime Modiano is the principal researcher of a number of cancer studies, some of which RHF is funding.

 (http://www.modianolab.org/newsletter/newsletter_paws2005.shtml)