After 2-year cancer battle, Fort Erie, Ont., man reunites with dog he never thought he'd see again

Fort Erie, Ont., resident Mike Nayler never thought he'd see his "four-legged daughter" Minnie again after surrendering her to a shelter two years ago. 

At the time, Nayler was diagnosed with terminal cancer and "gave up" on life, he told CBC Hamilton. 

Last week, however, he and the mastiff mix reunited — with a tackle and many licks to his face.

Minnie might not know it, but Nayler credits her with saving his life.

"She helped me through every single hardship in my life," Nayler said.

Nayler said he met Minnie when she was born. He adopted her 6½ weeks later and were inseparable, Nayler said.

But after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, his life changed.

Originally diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, he later discovered he had a rare intestinal cancer that he had a greater chance of surviving. 

"But Minnie was there right through thick and thin, like she always is," Nayler said.

An impossible decision

Nayler's health quickly declined and soon he was unable to take care of Minnie.

His family would try to care for her, but Nayler said that as his health deteriorated, Minnie became harder to manage.

He said Minnie wouldn't leave his side. Sometimes, he had to force himself to move so Minnie would eat something.

"It wasn't fair to her," he said. "She wasn't getting her runs in and playing outside … I could see a change in her."

She was placed with the Humane Society of Greater Niagara (HSGN) in October of 2022 under its 30-day humanitarian boarding program, which would have seen Minnie return to her home after a month.

But Nayler thought he wasn't going to make it, so made the difficult decision to surrender her.

"[I felt] like a failure — a failure as a father, as a man, as a husband" to said Nayler, whose wife is Summer Montour.

Shelters in Niagara Region at capacity

Nayler said the months after Minnie was surrendered were torture. He would check the HSGN's website daily to see if she was still there, and she was, for months.

"I never was [religious], but I would be lying if I said I didn't pray every day for her," said Nayler.

Brianna Dingman, a senior animal care technician at the HSGN, said it's common for large dogs like Minnie to spend a long time at the shelter as people often are in search of smaller dogs.

She said there's also been an increase in the number of dogs that have been surrendered in recent years.

As of Nov. 1, the shelter was full, with at least 70 dogs, as are other rescues in the area, said Dingman.

Even the boarding program that initially took Minnie in is on pause due to lack of funding, but Dingman said they're "working hard" to get it back up.

After almost one year at the shelter, in September 2023, Minnie was adopted by another family.

"That's when I just basically gave up because I knew there was no getting her back," Nayler said.

He said he fell into a deep, months-long depression and stopped going to treatments.

Reunion 'like a dream'

But Minnie was eventually surrendered again by her new owners for reasons unrelated to her, and in June this year, while checking back on the HSGN's website, Nayler saw Minnie's face again.

He knew he had to try to get her back, which what motivated him to keep fighting the cancer.

When he was "100 per cent sure" he was in remission by mid-October, the first thing he did was call the HSNG and ask to adopt Minnie.

"She's saved me more than once," he said.

Some dogs don't mind being at the shelter and get used to the lifestyle quickly, Dingman said. Minnie, however, was not one of those dogs.

Minnie was "very quiet and kind of just reserved" at the shelter, Dingman said. But when Minnie recognized Nayler, she became "this totally different dog. She tackled him and they were both crying."

Everyone in the shelter's lobby was emotional that day, she said.

Nayler said having Minnie back in his arms was "like a dream."

Minnie went back home just in time for her seventh birthday on Oct. 28.

"It's just like she hasn't even left," said Nayler.