Fans of “Downton Abbey,” the soapy drama about English aristocrats struggling to adapt to the early 20th century, know the Crawley family got some bad news recently. Their beloved Labrador Isis, who had been listless in recent episodes, was diagnosed with cancer. At the end of Episode 7, the loyal hound seemed to be fading fast and wasn't expected to last the night.
While there weren't many treatment options for a cancer-stricken canine in 1924, when the episode was set, nowadays veterinarians can offer dogs chemotherapy, radiation or even bone marrow transplants.
While those treatments may come at a princely sum, Downton's patriarch, the Earl of Grantham, probably wouldn't blanch at the cost, despite the financial aggravations the Crawleys have wrestled with as they seek to keep their Yorkshire estate intact and a bevy of servants at their beck and call.
The Veterinary Cancer Society says radiation for a pet with cancer today can cost up to $6,000. Georgia's Legacy, a website that offers information on canine cancer, estimates a bone marrow transplant for lymphoma can cost $16,000.
And as to the theory that Isis is being written out of the PBS “Masterpiece” show because she shares a name with a certain group of ruthless Middle Eastern terrorists, the actor who plays the Earl of Grantham had a few choice words. Anyone who thinks that is “a complete berk,” Hugh Bonneville wrote on his website. And in case you don't speak Brit, Outliers found berk means idiot.
