Tank continues job as therapy dog while also battling melanoma
As a therapy dog, Tank’s job is to provide support to those battling addiction in Summit County’s Turning Point Program.
Lately, though, Tank has been the one in need of support.
The 7-year-old golden retriever recently was diagnosed with malignant melanoma.
Since May, Tank has had two surgeries and gone through chemotherapy injections and boosters. He’s recovered well and is back to spreading cheer to clients in Turning Point, the drug court program in Summit County Common Pleas Court. His long-term diagnosis isn’t positive, though court officials are trying to keep an upbeat attitude.
“I’m so blessed with him,” Jillian Zetts, the program manager for Turning Point and Tank’s handler, said at a recent Turning Point graduation. “Our program is blessed. He’s such a great dog.”
Tank’s cancer treatment has been pricey, and the bills will continue adding up because he will be getting chemotherapy boosters every three months. His medical expenses have so far topped $8,300, with the court covering this through recovery funds.
Rebecca Crouch, Zetts’ mother, recently set up a Gofundme page with the goal of raising $10,000 for Tank’s ongoing medical needs.
“Any amount you can contribute will be greatly appreciated and will go towards his care and the work he does,” Crouch said in her Gofundme request.
Tank finds his calling as a therapy dog
Tank was a service dog dropout. He was highly intelligent and could master commands but had trouble focusing on one person.
“His true role was as a therapy dog,” Zetts told the Beacon Journal in July 2019 when Tank celebrated his one-year anniversary with the Turning Point program. “He’s not meant to be with just one person.”
Zetts got Tank through Circle Tail, a Cincinnati agency. She liked how the program includes training at Ohio prisons, which she thought was appropriate for a dog that would be working in court.
Summit is one of only a handful of counties across Ohio using a therapy dog in a specialty court. Other counties that have used canine helpers for this purpose include Scioto, Richland and Portage.
Summit County Common Pleas Court paid Tank’s $1,500 adoption fee. His daily expenses have been covered by probation services’ funds and state money for recovery services.
Tank lives with Zetts and her husband; Tank has his own room, complete with his name on the wall.
Zetts said her hope was that Tank would add a compassion component to drug court, a program that is offered to people who have run afoul of the law because of a substance-abuse problem.
Drug court participants are regularly and randomly tested for drug use, required to appear in court for a review of their progress, rewarded for doing well and sanctioned for not following requirements. Those who successfully complete the program may have their charges dismissed.
Zetts takes Tank to drug court sessions, where clients pet him as they listen to what’s happening. Tank often wears a tie from his collection that’s now up to 20.
Tank has enjoyed a warm reception from both drug court clients and the staff who work with the program.
“It takes people’s mind off being in court,” a drug court participant from Barberton said in 2019. “It brings a positive outlook to it.”
Tank is diagnosed with melanoma
Zetts learned Tank had cancer when she took him in for a routine exam in April.
Dr. Leo Kline, a veterinarian at Graham Road Animal Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, found a tumor on Tank’s upper lip inside his mouth. Kline has donated his services for Tank’s routine care since Zetts first got him.
“I thought it was a good idea for what they had planned for Tank to do as a support animal,” Kline said.
Kline took a biopsy of the tumor and found that it was malignant. He said the prognosis for dogs with melanoma can vary.
“I’ve had dogs with removal, and depending on the severity, they can live a few years,” Kline said. “Statistics show that is not always the case.”
Kline referred Tank to the Metropolitan Animal Hospital in Copley, where he had surgery in May to remove more of the area around his tumor and to do a biopsy of one of his lymph nodes.
Judge Joy Malek Oldfield, who presides over drug court, broke the news about Tank’s diagnosis and surgery to the pup’s followers on Facebook and Instagram.
“There is no guarantee but this is the best course of action,” the judge said. “Tank is so important to everyone and we are praying for his health and comfort.”
Tank’s lymph node biopsy was negative, which was good news.
Zetts worked from home for two weeks while Tank recovered from his surgery, which involved him wearing a cone and having to eat pureed food. She said he didn’t mind the mushy food or the cone, though they nicknamed him “Wreck-it Ralph” because he kept running into things in their house while he wore the cone.
Zetts said she would put ice on Tank’s face every night, and he’d just lie there and look at her.
In May and June, Tank had four chemotherapy injections. He is now receiving a booster injection every three months.
“Luckily, the shot does not hurt and I have zero side effects!” wrote “Tank” in a May 30 Facebook post, which featured a photo of Tank sitting with a collection of squeaky toys. “In the meantime, look at me! Back with my buddies!!! #nomorecone #freedom #solid food.”
Three weeks ago, Tank had another lump removed from one of his legs that turned out to be benign.
Zetts said the goal is to aggressively treat Tank’s disease “while making sure his quality of life is still high.”
Tank’s health struggles don’t keep him from doing his job
Tank only missed two weeks of his drug court job while he was recovering from his first surgery.
During a recent drug court graduation, Zetts and Tank greeted drug court clients and their family members as they arrived. Zetts then walked around with Tank, giving people the chance to get tail wags from the pup in exchange for a pat on the head.
Tank “looks better and better every time I see him,” Laura Penczarski, the girlfriend of Kevin Bergstrom, a drug court graduate, said as she pet Tank.
Bergstrom said having Tank in court has been great for relieving stress. “Everybody knows Tank,” he said. Just then, Tank jumped up and put his front legs onto a woman’s lap.
“He’s a show-off,” said Bergstrom, 38, of Chardon.
“He knows what he’s doing, for sure,” Zetts said.
Tank, at one point, tried to snag a stuffed pumpkin decoration that was part of a centerpiece on a table. Those sitting at the table happily gave it to him. (Zetts put it back.)
Several drug court participants and staff took photos with Tank.
That included Susan Curtis, who works with Touchstone, which offers housing for women suffering from addiction who are pregnant or recently had a child.
“I just love him,” Curtis said of Tank. “I think he’s so comforting.”
Asked her thoughts on Tank’s illness, Curtis said, “I try not to think about anything negative. He’s just such an asset.”
Oldfield and Zetts have kept the Turning Point clients and staff updated on Tank’s illness. The judge, though, said they don’t add want to add to the stress of participants who are already struggling in their own lives.
Zetts said this had been made easier by how Tank so far seems like his old self, having bounced back fully from his surgery and suffering no side effects from the treatment since.
“If you didn’t know he was sick, you wouldn’t know,” Zetts said.
Zetts has tried to make sure Tank has had some fun between his treatments and vet visits. She and her husband took Tank to Cocoa Beach, Florida, in August, where he got to do one of his favorite activities – swimming – both in the ocean and in a pool.
Tank recently turned 7, and Zetts had a birthday party for him at their house, with his doggie cousins attending.
“We want him to live his best life possible,” Zetts said.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com , 330-996-3705 and on X, formerly Twitter: @swarsmithabj.