A Freeland resident is asking for help after her dog nearly died from licking chemotherapy cream off the skin of a cancer patient.

Until Oct. 3, Mia Saenz’s dog Sugar was full of energy. Now, the 3-year-old black English Lab struggles to get out of bed after suffering burns in his intestines.

“We’re lucky if he lifts his head to look at the door,” said Saenz, who launched a fundraiser on GoFundMe to pay for Sugar’s medical expenses. Already, more than $2,500 has been raised.

Like many dogs, Sugar — whose full name is Sugar Ray Leonard — likes to greet people by licking their face. Sadly, this display of affection is what got Sugar sick as he licked the head of Tony Whitmore, Saenz’s ex-husband, who had applied a cream to treat his skin cancer about 10 hours earlier and couldn’t stop the dog from licking him.

“How can this little sweet thing be injured from expressing love? How can that be?” Saenz said.

Sugar was immediately taken to the Pet Emergency Center in Mount Vernon and later to the Animal Hospital by the Sea, located in Langley.

Saenz and Whitmore said that Sugar’s energy diminished dramatically within the first 24 hours, which was unusual for him. After a day, Sugar was vomiting and had diarrhea.

Whitmore’s dermatologist said he couldn’t cover his skin with bandages because it would lead to blisters, he said.

At the Animal Hospital, Sugar undergoes blood tests every day or every other day. Monday, his tests showed he had a fever and an infection.

While he is in pain, Saenz believes her dog has been lucky, as he is still alive and doesn’t show signs of neurological damage.

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the agency has received many reports of dogs accidentally ingesting this cream, known as fluorouracil, and all the dogs have died.

Sugar takes five different medications for the damage to his intestines and has since stopped vomiting or having diarrhea. Sunday, he was able to jump onto the bed to snuggle with Saenz, who said it was an encouraging sign of improvement.

Saenz is asking for community support to help cover the cost of Sugar’s medications and bring him back to his old bouncy self. She does not know how long recovery will take.

Saenz adopted Sugar when he was a puppy; she was looking for something that could give her unconditional love and cheer her up while she battled with breast cancer.

Since then, Sugar has helped his owner in different ways.

One day, Saenz fainted while driving. Sugar jumped to the front seat of her car to lick her face, and Saenz woke up on the middle of the road, in the way of incoming traffic.

After Saenz came back home following a mastectomy, Sugar knew he had to be gentle with her, never laying on the side where she was recovering from the surgery.

Seeing her beloved pet nearly die after he saved her life has been very difficult for Saenz, who wants to ask drug manufacturers to add a pet-repellent scent to the cream.

The GoFundMe can be found at gofundme.com/f/help-sugar-heal-from-chemo-poisoning.