There are some promises you make as a parent that you hope your kids forget.
In 2005, when Divinder Singh Purewal moved his family from London, UK to Canada, he made one of those promises.
“When we get to Canada,” he told his kids, Kieran and Simran, “and if we have more space… we might, possibly… maybe get a dog.” To him, it was a throwaway line, to his kids it was a legally binding agreement.
“They remembered every word,” Divinder says. “I tried everything to get out of it.”
He negotiated. He deflected. At one point, he told them he’d consider a dog if they got straight A’s all the way through school and into successful careers.
Simran took that personally. What sounded like a passing comment to him became a promise to her. Years later, in 2020, she sat him down for a presentation. A full one. Slides and all.
“The first slide was, ‘Why you should let Bobby and I get married,’” Divinder laughs. “I was paying very close attention.”
Then she flipped to the real presentation: “Why now is the perfect time to get a puppy.”
It was thorough, strategic, and relentless. She walked him through her straight A’s, the emotional benefits, and even made the case for more family connection beyond the occasional Netflix.
“I was impressed,” Divinder admits. “But, I still asked for time to think.”
“You have 30 minutes,” she told him. “We’re FaceTiming a breeder in Vernon. There’s one puppy left.”
There wasn’t much time to think.
Milo, the little black and white Shih-Tzu, Bichon and Poodle mix became the newest addition in the Purewal family.
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Leave Him Alone
From the beginning, Milo seems to have a surprising connection with Divinder.
“He followed me everywhere,” he says. “Like a shadow.”
At first, it just felt like attachment. But there was one habit that stood out. Every day, Milo would jump onto the bed and obsessively sniff and lick Divinder’s belly button.
“I honestly thought he just liked the taste of my shower gel,” Divinder says.
This routine went on for a while, until he mentioned it to a friend.
“She told me dogs can smell cancer,” he says. “That stuck with me.”
At first, he brushed it off. But the thought lingered. Like many men, Divinder didn’t rush to the doctor. Even when one recommended a simple stool test, he hesitated.
“I believe there are two types of men,” he says. “The ones who never go to the doctor until they die and the ones who overthink every symptom. I was closer to the first.”
It took Divinder three months before he was able to send his stool sample. Three months for something that takes minutes and could save a life.
The Silence Around Men’s Health
“There’s this thing,” Divinder says. “Especially in our community. You don’t talk about this stuff.”
He remembers a conversation that stayed with him.
“I spoke to someone who told me they would rather have colorectal cancer than go through a colonoscopy,” he says. “That’s how uncomfortable people are.”
It’s not that people don’t care about their health. It’s that many men are ashamed about issues involving the rectum. A version of masculinity that tells them to ignore symptoms, to push through, to avoid anything that feels invasive or uncomfortable, even when it could save their life.
“The idea of a test like that… people see it as a violation,” Divinder says. “But they don’t see the bigger risk.”
And the risk is growing. Across Canada, colorectal cancer is being diagnosed in younger adults at increasing rates. Colorectal Cancer Canada has called it a rising public health crisis.
“Having to deal with something like this… even saying it out loud, it’s uncomfortable,” he explains. “There’s ego. There’s embarrassment.”
Even something as simple as a screening test becomes a barrier.
“You’re thinking, what is this? A stool sample? Really? What’s the big deal?” he says. “But that thinking… that’s what delays people.”
Eventually, he sent it in. Soon after, a letter arrived from BC Cancer recommending a colonoscopy.
“We Have Good News…”
The colonoscopy itself wasn’t easy.
“There’s a lot people don’t realize,” he says. “The prep, the fasting, the laxatives… it’s not fun.”
Still, he went through with it, and he was glad he did.
He received a call the very next day.
“‘We have good news,’ the doctor said,” Divinder recalls. “And I remember thinking, what part of this is going to be good?”
Then came the words: You have cancer.
“I didn’t hear anything for about 30 seconds after that,” he says. “It was like the word cancer was just flashing in my head like a neon sign.”
But the doctor was right about one thing. It was good news. They had caught it early at Stage 1. Colon cancer, often called the silent killer, rarely shows symptoms until it’s advanced. But, because it was found early, Divinder could go through surgery to get it treated.
Looking Back at Milo
Throughout it all, Milo never left his side.
“He was there the whole time,” Divinder says. “Always next to me.”
Even during recovery, when Divinder spent long hours resting, Milo stayed very close, curled up beside him, his head against his stomach.
“There were moments I’d look at him and think… what if he hadn’t done that?” he says. “What if I hadn’t paid attention?”
It’s a question he still carries. Because without Milo, without that strange, persistent habit, he might have waited too long.
“I dodged a massive bullet,” Divinder says plainly.
“When you go through something like this, there’s the physical side,” he says. “But there’s also the mental side. You ask yourself, how did I not know? Why didn’t I act sooner?”
Now, he speaks openly about what many men avoid.
“We need to get past this idea of toxic masculinity,” he says. “This idea that we just ignore things, or that it’s somehow embarrassing to get checked.”
Because the reality is simple and urgent.
“The difference between Stage 1 and Stage 3 can be months,” he says.
“At Stage 1, you’re talking to a surgeon. At Stage 3, you’re talking to an oncologist.”
That difference is the difference between life and death.
The Dog He Didn’t Want
Today, Milo is still by his side. No longer just the dog he didn’t want.
“He’s like family,” Divinder says. “Honestly, he’s like a third child, a toddler with fur that won’t take my money for a deposit for an apartment.”
What started as a reluctant compromise has become something deeper, a companion and a steadfast reminder of the reason he’s here.
Divinder has since written a book, Colonic Irritation! How the Dog I Didn’t Think I Wanted Saved My Life! sharing his story with the hope that others will listen sooner than he did.
Because if there’s one thing he knows now, it’s this:
“You have to listen to your body,” he says. “Don’t wait.”
Divinder Singh Purewal is currently donating the proceeds of his book Colonic Irritation!: How the Dog I Didn’t Think I Wanted, Saved My Life! The book is available for purchase on various platforms, including Amazon, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart+.
