By Caroline Zambrano
Ten years after her cancer diagnosis, Bella is remembered as a gentle family protector whose resilience, illness and loss changed the course of Arthur and Sandra Wajs’ lives.
When Arthur and Sandra Wajs’ daughter Ella was born in April 2011, Bella was little more than a puppy herself. Yet the American Staffordshire Terrier seemed to immediately appoint herself as their baby’s protector.
“Bella was the gentlest of dogs, incredibly intelligent and caring,” said Sandra. “She was fascinated with Ella when she was born and would always be sitting or sleeping next to the cot or the pram, never leaving her side, like it was her mission to be her protector.”
“Bella may have looked tough, but she was far more likely to lick you to death than hurt anyone,” said Arthur.
Five years later, in April 2016, their roles were reversed. Bella needed her family to protect and care for her when what appeared to be a common skin condition was diagnosed as a rare and progressive cancer.
Arthur and Sandra were warned that their six-year-old dog might have only weeks or months to live. In the end, the family shared another 19 months with Bella, doing everything they could to keep her comfortable while treasuring the ordinary moments that made her life special.
Bella died on 23 November 2017. As the anniversary of her death approaches, Arthur and Sandra are sharing her story for Pet Cancer Awareness Month, not simply to remember how she died, but to celebrate how she lived and the mission her life inspired.
“Bella was the dog that opened our eyes, minds and hearts,” said Arthur.
To understand the legacy she left behind, it helps to know the dog Bella was before cancer entered their lives.
A Gentle Family Protector
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| Bella and Ella shared a special bond from Ella’s earliest days. |
Arthur and Sandra returned to Australia from Poland in 2002 after 11 years abroad and settled on the Gold Coast. In 2010, they decided to get a Staffy after a third break-in at their Southport home. They found nine-week-old Bella on Gumtree and decided to go see her that day.
“We hadn’t originally planned to choose Bella. She was the little runt with a kink in her tail, nine nipples and one eye different colour from the other. She had those massive ‘dumbo’ ears! But her mother picked her up and literally placed her in Sandra’s lap. It felt as though Bella’s mum had chosen us to be her family,” said Arthur.
“As my mum’s Poodle, Coco, would stay with us often, it was also important that we got a dog from a family who also had small dogs and cats. That’s exactly how we found our Bella. There was a Pomeranian and a cat!”
When Bella joined the Wajs family, their ginger cat, Garfield, was already the undisputed boss of the house and the neighbourhood.
“When Bella met Garfield for the first time, the cat was so disappointed that he disappeared for two days and after he came back, he always made sure that Bella knew that he was the boss by eating from her bowl before her and sleeping on her bed,” said Arthur.
Bella was easy to train and because she had an older cat brother and Coco would come to stay too, she thought that she was a mixture of a cat and a poodle, laughed Sandra.
“She would stretch like a cat and only wanted to play with little dogs,” she recalled. “Their owners looked petrified when this 40-kilogram ‘monster’ came running over to play. When Ella was born, Bella became her constant companion and protector, always watching over her.”
Arthur saw Bella as his companion and the guardian of the family.
“She stayed within about half a metre of my leg and ran beside me when I rode my bike,” he said. “There was something incredibly human about her. She was intensely attached to the family. She was also such an entertainer. She wasn’t allowed on the furniture inside, but outside she had her own chair at the table. That was Bella’s chair.”
Arthur joked that, in a household where his wife, daughters and mother often told him what to do, Bella was the only one who always listened – or so he thought! He explained that Bella wouldn’t touch the food in her bowl until he gave her permission. But during the interview, he discovered to his surprise that Bella and the children did whatever they wanted behind his back!
“Bella was really cute, very calm and she loved eating my food,” said Ella, now age 15. “I used to give Bella lots of food. I remember once, I walked away to get some soy sauce and she ate my sushi.”
Arthur and Sandra’s older daughter, Michelle, now 26, remembers she was in primary school when Bella joined the family. “I was about nine and we’d only had Bella for a short time. One day she squeezed through the car window and chased me all the way through the school grounds to my classroom!” laughed Michelle. “She was very attached to us, very protective and she absolutely loved children.”
The Diagnosis That Changed Everything
The first signs appeared in early 2016, when Bella developed what Arthur and Sandra initially believed was a common skin problem.
“Sandra was the first to notice something was wrong. Bella had experienced skin irritation before, so when the bumps appeared, we initially thought they were hives or an allergy,” said Arthur. “We looked at everything – her food, possible allergies and whether we needed to change her diet. We sought several veterinary opinions before one vet told us this may be cancer. That was the moment everything changed.”
They took Bella to their long-time family veterinarian and close friend, Dr Baron Jonsson, who investigated further. A biopsy revealed that Bella had cutaneous epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma (CETL), a rare and progressive skin cancer.
CETL involves malignant T-lymphocytes infiltrating the upper layers of the skin and can progress from redness and scaling to plaques and painful ulcers. Bella had lesions affecting her nose, ears, thorax and flank. Some were weeping and slow to heal.
Faced with a devastating prognosis and few available options, Arthur and Sandra explored several approaches to managing Bella’s symptoms and maintaining her quality of life. Sandra moved Bella onto a raw, organic diet with no kibble, and Dr Baron put her on a high-dose linoleic acid protocol using safflower oil.
Around the same time, Arthur and Sandra were offered a bottle of what they understood to be cannabis oil through a close family friend who was seriously ill with breast cancer. Regulated access to medicinal cannabis was extremely limited at the time, but Arthur made the difficult decision to try the unverified preparation.
Dr Baron did not prescribe or direct its use but continued to monitor Bella as her treating veterinarian.
“The bottle was described to us as cannabis oil, but we didn’t know its cannabinoid concentration,” Arthur said.
Earlier in her illness, Bella continued to eat, run and enjoy time with her family.
“We kept doing all the normal things with Bella,” said Sandra. “We’d take her to the park across from our house or to our favourite place, the dog beach at the Spit. She’d run over to play with the little dogs, much to their owners’ horror.”
Bella was receiving several forms of care at once, including a new diet, the linoleic acid protocol and regular veterinary monitoring, and one dog’s experience cannot show why she lived for another 19 months.
“We do not claim that cannabis or hemp cured or treated Bella’s cancer,” Arthur said. “This was our personal experience, not a controlled trial.”
After the preparation ran out in April 2017, Arthur recalls that Bella’s lesions worsened. In September, Arthur obtained a different oil that he understood to be CBD-predominant. He said it did not affect the tumours.
The Final Six Months
Bella’s health steadily declined and by November 2017, the bad days were more frequent than the good ones. Arthur and Sandra had to find the difficult balance between hope and recognising disease progression.
“During Bella’s final six months, she barely left the house. We didn’t want to expose her to other dogs because we were worried about her immune system, but she was still there with us, still part of everything,” said Arthur.
“The most important thing that we can do to support an animal or human with cancer is to make them comfortable any which way.”
“Cancer hurts, so working closely with your vet on pain relief is critical. We must enjoy every day while the inevitable is approaching.”
“It’s heart-breaking to see the disease progress. But we have to stay strong and positive for those in our care and can only cry in private. Never in front of them, as much as it may hurt.”
Arthur and Sandra faced the decision every family dreads.
“Seeing her struggle to move and breathe in November 2017 was so hard, and so was making the decision to take her on that final trip to Baron’s clinic, an hour and a half’s drive away,” said Arthur. “She was so brave, right to the end. Every extra day we had with her was a bonus, for us and for her.”
Bella was euthanised at Dr Baron’s clinic on 23 November 2017.
Turning Grief Into a Mission
In time, caring for Bella gave Arthur and Sandra a new purpose.
“What we learned caring for Bella and how little was understood about pet nutrition and the endocannabinoid system became our purpose,” said Arthur.
“Bella died in the same month that low-THC hemp seed foods became legal to sell in Australia for people. Hemp seed oil was gaining attention for its nutritional value, and we thought, why shouldn’t pets have access to that nutrition too?”
After working with a small team of veterinarians, biochemists and nutrition specialists, Arthur and Sandra launched HempPet in 2018 as Australia’s first hemp-based pet supplement range. Dr Baron became their Veterinary Advisor.
Neither preparation Bella received was a HempPet product. HempPet products are not a treatment for cancer or any other disease.
“When Bella got sick, I educated myself about animal nutrition,” said Sandra. “Caring for her on a very specific diet through her illness inspired me to deep dive into animal nutrition, and that shaped the products we make now. HempPet is a true legacy to our Bella and she continues to influence the principles behind our work.”
As this year marks ten years since Bella’s cancer diagnosis and the beginning of the journey that inspired HempPet, Arthur and Sandra want to remember Bella and raise awareness about cancer and the importance of comfort, veterinary care and valuing each day with your pet.
“For anyone who receives the news of a cancer diagnosis, it’s a very raw and devastating time. Don’t give up hope. Work closely with your vet and keep fighting for your animal and for yourself,” said Arthur.
The Wajs family cherish Bella’s legacy as a gentle family protector who changed the direction of their lives.
“This is why we do what we do. Bella is what makes me get out of bed and keep pushing forward,” said Arthur.
Photo Credit: all supplied
About the Author:
Caroline Zambrano is an experienced pet journalist and communications professional specialising in animal health, welfare, and human-animal bond stories. For details, please visit petjourno.com.au
Disclaimer: The story above reflects a personal experience. Always consult a licensed veterinarian regarding medical diagnoses, dietary changes, or therapeutic treatments for your pets.
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