A Boy and His Dog: Boy Battling Lethal Brain Cancer, Homeless Dog Soothe Each Other

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — A little dog has made a very big difference for one sick, young boy.

As he battles a rare and lethal form of brain cancer, 11-year-old Joshua McFadden dreamed of a dog that would sit on his lap and cuddle with him at night. His family has a dog — but he wanted one of his very own. Last week, Plainfield-based Wags 2 Wishes and the Waukegan Police Animal Control introduced the spunky pre-teen to a dog they hoped would be just right.

The scruffy Shih Tzu mix was in bad shape — having suffered from neglect — and in need of someplace to call home.

Joshua, of Buffalo Grove, was being shuttled back and forth between Chicago and New York for treatments on the aggressive cancer attacking his brain and craved the connection between human and canine.

Both easily could have lost hope. But then they found each other.

'It Boils Down to a Boy and a Dog'

Joshua knows he will die soon. It's a fact his family and friends grapple with but one he has seemingly accepted with the grace most adults could only hope to show.

Despite rounds of radiation and trial-treatment protocols, he has kept the sense of humor that so defined who he was before his diagnosis of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) in February 2016. Unlike many other forms of childhood brain cancer, no operation can improve Joshua's prognosis. There is no way to remove a tumor or zap it away.

"Literally from diagnosis to now, there is nothing that is currently available that will save his life," said Bradley Egel, a neighbor and volunteer family advocate who works with families dealing with cancer.

Instead the focus has shifted to keeping his quality of life high. Joshua makes that easy, Egel said.

Joshua is a neighborhood favorite, but he held that title long before the shock of the C-word.

"Everyone loved him even before he got sick," Egel said. "Joshua actually already had that going on before he was sick.

"He was kinda quiet, but when you knew him, talked with him, he was a very sweet kid. One of my goals in life, was if I could make Joshua laugh, then my joke was funny."

It's harder for those laughs to escape nowadays. A recent surgery to remove some of Joshua's tissues for research left him unable to vocalize. He often spells out his wishes in text messages to those mere feet away from him.

"His mind is sharp as a tack," Egel pointed out. "While most people think that’s really sad, there are cancers where it takes the kid’s mind away right away. Even though his body’s failing him, he’s still Joshua. He’s still him."

The Right Place All of the Time

When Joshua's mother Lisa Dluger learned of his fate, she reeled at the news. She turned to her next-door neighbor, Egel.

A volunteer advocate for families embroiled in cancer, Egel had heard the term DIPG. He knew things did not look good.

"From the beginning, they’ve been told: there is no operation, no chemotherapy," Egel said. "There is no current medical technique. There is no hope. Tomorrow, some scientist could come up with something. But it won’t affect Joshua at this point, it’s going to affect someone else down the road. The tumor has grown in such a way, it’s unsustainable for living."

Egel stepped into fill the difficult spot where he had found himself with so many others, one with a perfect view of the moment Joshua would meet "his" dog.

'As If She Had Been There Forever'

Joshua was hospitalized at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago when Dluger decided to introduce the two. He arrived at the entrance to greet some visitors he was expecting, and one dog he wasn't.

"His eyes got so wide," Dluger said. "He has been pretty lethargic. ... Josh is a joke-teller. It was good to see him laugh, and cuddle. His personality came back out."

The pair bonded almost immediately, onlookers said.

"She needed Joshua more than he would know," Waukegan police wrote on social media. "Quickly, [the dog] found herself snuggled up on Joshua’s lap as if she had been there forever. Joshua noticed her shaking and did not hesitate to hold her tighter and give her the comfort and security she needed.

He'll remain at RIC in the weeks to come and his new dog — now named Bean — will receive training so she can join him there. When asked why he wanted a pup of his own, Joshua texted his mother: "to take walks with, to talk to, 'cause I can’t talk right now.” He can only walk with assistance, his mother said, and the companionship could lighten the emotional burden of being constricted to a wheelchair.

The adoption became official last week, and Bean will await his return home.

"A lot of things people said they’d do for him, they fell through," Dluger said. "It’s so precious that this came through."

To Egel, it's as simple as seeing Joshua smiling and trying once again for that gravelly laugh.

"It boils down to a boy and a dog that needed each other," he said. "The dog needed to be rescued, and so did Joshua. It’s not going to save his life, but it’s going to improve it.

"I think this is a hopeful story, it’s a beautiful story. "

Photo Credit: Waukegan Police Animal Control Facebook

You can donate to Joshua's medical care via GoFundMe and follow updates on his health on Facebook. Find out more about DIPG here.