(WWJ) - One cancer survivor from Metro Detroit thought a hunting trip in Northern Michigan was just what he needed after undergoing treatment, but he didn't expect it to lead him on a multi-state journey to recovery and two prized hunting dogs.
Trial attorney Paul Reasoner recounted the story of how he acquired Skate and Dags, two prized Llewellin English setter hunting dogs in a press release from Beaumont — an encounter that can be described as a major stroke of coincidence or a meeting of fate.
Reasoner said he had just been seen at Beaumont's Proton Therapy Center for treatment for squamous cell carcinoma in his head and neck when he planned his trip to Northern Michigan.
His cancer diagnosis was made by doctors in Feb. 2021 after Reasoner noticed a lump in his neck.
“This diagnosis was potentially devastating," Reasoner told WWJ Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites.
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After his treatments over the summer, the lawyer felt that heading up north would be good for him and made the journey for a hunting trip.
It was walking through the snow-covered woods near Grayling in late 2021 that Reasoner happened across another hunter preparing for for open grouse season.
“I asked if I could walk along," Reasoner said via Beaumont. "I said, ‘I’ll leave my gun in the car – I’m really recovering from cancer treatment,’”
Reasoner said the hunter asked him, "'First time? Come along; walk with me.'"
While walking together, the hunter shared that he was a three-time cancer survivor and a West Virginia native.
"He found it unacceptable that I did not have bird hunting dogs because I was bird hunting," Reasoner recalled.
The man told Reasoner he knew of another attorney from his home state that had recently passed of prostate cancer and had been adamant about finding the proper home for his two bird dogs.
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The West Virginia man's wife and daughter had been worried about what to do with the dogs. Some breeders and show dog enthusiasts had expressed interest, but the owner balked.
“He said, ‘Don’t give them these dogs – these dogs want to be running around in the woods with some guy,’” Reasoner said. “Before he died, he told his family, ‘I’ll send you someone.’"
He promised his family they'd get a sign. Well, how about this for a sign -- his daughter's name is Nicola, and so too is Reasoner's.
"I drove to West Virginia, waiting for the results from my first CT scan, to see if the cancer was gone. And when I got there, these highfalutin hunting dogs jumped in my car. His wife and daughter said they’d never seen anything like it," Reasoner said.
Reasoner says walking Skate and Dags twice a day – and knowing he’s been declared cancer-free from his head and neck cancer – have helped him recover.