A mother-of-three claims her pet dog actually detected her breast cancer before she did and ended up saving her life.
37-year-old Lisa Johnson knew something was up when her 10-year-old Bull Terrier started acting strange, refusing to leave her side.
“I know it sounds unbelievable but Marley had been acting really strangely,” Johnson said, according to The Daily Mail. “She wouldn’t leave me alone and she’s not usually like that, she’s normally very independent and not that interest in you.”
“Everywhere I went she came with me. She would clamp herself next to me when I was in the kitchen, she’d come sit next to me on the bed,” she added.
The only time Marley had ever been this attentive in the past was during Johnson’s three pregnancies.
“With my next two, as soon as Marley started acting that way I went and got a pregnancy test and it was positive. My third child was unexpected, but Marley still knew,” she said. “It sounds bonkers I know, but she sniffed it out all three pregnancies at about four weeks. But this time I knew I was not pregnant so I just didn’t understand why she was acting this way.”
Trusting Marley’s instincts, Johnson immediately made an appointment to see her doctor—and she’s so lucky she did.
“Something didn’t feel right. I told my husband something was wrong. She was acting like it for a month, so I decided to check myself for cancer,” she recalled. “When I did I found a lump on my breast, I couldn’t believe it.”
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2015, Johnson quickly underwent surgery and chemotherapy.
Now that she’s finally finished her year-long treatment, Johnson is currently in remission, thanks to Marley.
“I know I sound like a hippy, or a lunatic but my dog helped me on my way to finding out,” she said. “I think she can smell out the hormones on my breath or something, as that would explain how she could detect my cancer and my pregnancies.”
