Her dog kept sniffing a tiny freckle on her leg through her clothes — what doctors later found was terrifying

The owner ignored her pet’s strange behavior until it became a daily occurrence.

PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO

(L) Puppy sniffing an adult's leg, (R) Healthcare expert guiding patient. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L)Elva Etienne, (R) Klaus Vedfelt)

A loyal dog forced her owner to get a seemingly harmless freckle on her leg medically checked. Ten years later, she is still grateful for her pet saving her life. Christine Sams from Lewisburg was barely concerned about her health when her dog, Lexi, brought her attention to the tiny freckle with her excessive sniffing. The dog owner opened up about her terrifying experience while recounting what happened.

A woman hugging her pet dog. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | standret)

One day, Sams came home to her dog, who suddenly would not leave her alone. “Lexi started following me around and sniffing a freckle on my leg, which was off. It didn’t look like anything concerning,” she told WVVA. The owner ignored her pet’s strange behavior until it became a daily occurrence. Lexi continued to sniff her freckle through her clothes, whether she wore jeans or pajamas. Sams finally decided to get it checked upon Lexi’s persistence, considering her mother had passed away from breast cancer only a few years ago.

Woman patient interacts with her dog. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Wirestock)

Soon, the biopsy report revealed a terrifying truth. Sams was diagnosed with Stage 1 melanoma. She could never have guessed the tiny freckle her dog obsessed over would turn out to be skin cancer. “It was very scary. I had to have another surgery, a wide excision to remove the tissue around the cancer,” the pet owner told the outlet. Fortunately, Sams went into remission and has remained so for the past decade. Indebted to her dog, she began taking Lexi’s hints seriously.

A vet treating an ailing dog (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko) — A vet treating an ailing dog. (Representative Image Source: Pexels | Tima Miroshnichenko)

However, she never expected the tables would turn on her beloved dog instead. Months later, Lexi was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumor that was inoperable. Sams and her husband cared for her tirelessly, hoping her condition would stay stable. She said, “So far, her medications are doing well, and we’ve got her on different supplements. Most days, you wouldn’t know anything was wrong with her, but, you know, we try to keep her happy and comfortable.” Ever since Lexi’s health battle, Sams, who was crowned the 2017 Miss All State United States, has advocated for melanoma awareness. She has been speaking about the dangers of tanning and sun exposure, both of which are strongly linked to skin cancer, in hopes of reaching a wider audience.

A couple with a pitbull dog. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by Aleksandar Jankovic) — A couple with a pitbull dog. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Aleksandar Jankovic)

The story of Sams and Lexi is a powerful reminder to be attentive to one’s health and to trust our pets. Research published in the journal Frontiers suggests that dogs can detect many types of cancers using their olfactory senses. Cancer cells produce and release signature odors in a person’s body, which attract the attention of dogs. Some pups are even trained as medical detection dogs. Their superpower is mostly credited to their exceptional sense of smell, equipped with millions of olfactory receptors that enable them to sniff out cancers and any minor changes in their owner’s body, per Britannica.