Sersha
July 7, 2000 — January 28, 2010

UPDATE 02-13-2010—

Sersha was a beautiful Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever – or Toller for short! He had the heart of a lion and the soul of an angel. Sersha was always intent and focused when working or playing, but underneath it all he was a true comedian. He made me laugh and always found the fun in every situation, whether it was a walk around the block, a drive across many states, or playing in the vineyard with his canine friends. Even then, he would check on me, before running with abandon. He never met a person that did not fall in love with him within five minutes and happily anticipate his next visit.

Sersha was noted to have what was thought to be a bladder tumor in June 2009, with a 6 cm. sublumbar metastases already present. In July, it was definitively diagnosed as prostate cancer, which carried a grim prognosis of 30 to 60 days beyond diagnosis. Surgery was not a good option and chemotherapy was not generally effective. He entered a clinical trial at the University of Missouri Veterinary Teaching Hospital, where he received exemplary care and in September radioactive gold nanoparticles were placed directly into the tumors. He did amazingly well, but by November I elected to stop chemotherapy altogether due to tumor progression. Despite all of the pain associated with cancer, he continued to eat well, beg for treats and play hard – his favorite game being fetch of course. (His motto was to "e;Live to fetch, fetch to live" and my arm would weary far sooner than he ever did, even to the end.) It was not until a week before his death, that he began to show obvious signs of pain and discomfort, and yet his disposition never changed, he was always sweet, loving and funny. The tumors had progressed even further than we had imagined. My sister and I, along with his loving vets, were with him at the end. His courage and strength through the pain were truly amazing. Nine and half years was not long enough for him to grace the world!

Always in my heart,
— Maureen

PetLuv Bracelets has generoulsy agreed to donate 15% of the purchase price of their unique custom engraved .925 Sterling Silver cuff bracelets to Canine Cancer Awareness.

If you would like one of these unique bracelets, go to http://www.petluvbraceles.com to create your custom order. When you order your bracelet from PetLuv Bracelets please also send an email to info@caninecancerawareness.org so that we may track and acknowledge your contribution.

Thank you for your generation donations to CCA!

01-12-10 — Thank you Kim, who bought a bracelet from Pet Luv Bracelets and asked that her 15% be donated to CCA.

Roxy

UPDATE 01-25-2010—

This is our beautiful Roxy. She turned 10 on December 30th 2009. She has been fighting Anal Sac Adenocarcinoma.

She under went a rough surgery, her recovery was tough, but she struggled through. The tumor was removed, we enjoyed our holidays with her, right after her birthday, 3 months after her surgery she stopped eating again. The vet has just confirmed the cancer has metastases into her lymph nodes and stomach.

We have brought her home for now…she is my 16 year old daughters best friend. She has brought my daughter through everything from skinned knees to broken hearts.

Each day I pray that I will see a sign as to when to make the decision. We are losing part of our family, how do you make that choice…
My daughter and I will be by her side and hold her until the end. She has been so brave with her fight we need her to know we are with her, that is the least we can do for her.
She has given so much to us. Unconditional love.

For now, we smile at her, kiss her, look into those sweet big brown eyes, and nuzzle our noses into her warm fur and inhale a smell we hope to never forget….

Tigger’s update — Eye of the Tiger

UPDATE 01-24-2010—

Thank you Sharon for your donation to Tigger!

UPDATE 01-21-2010—

In May 2008 Tigger was given months to live, but with the embolizations, surgery, and chemo, Tigger is still with me. Thanks to Dr. Chick Weisse, VMD, DACVS, of AMC in NYC. And to everyone who gave towards Tigger’s fight! Tigger is my miracle in NJ.
— Kathy

UPDATE 01-06-2010—

Tigger my little Rocky! continues his fight ! I’m letting you know how Tigger is doing. I was so scared during the year to write a update because I thought something bad would happen. After his surgery he did not get clean margins so oncology said Tigger was strong enough for five treatments of chemo. I was so scared sitting there thinking he just went for surgery a month ago and now chemo. I had to sign papers stating the chemo could cause heart and bone problems. Tigger had no problems with chemo except alittle GI upset and hair loss. Remember in Aug 07 he had his first surgery mass removed in liver and liver was resectioned. It came back eight months later and it was inoperable. They said sorry no one wanted to take the risk of surgery. The doctor said maybe this one doctor could help he does a procedure thats new and it may help. People come to see him from all over world. Going from sorry there is nothing we could do to someone who might help. That ounce of HOPE that Dr. Chick Weisse gave to me meant so much to me. And I will never forget it…he performed the two chemoembolizations and he was able to operate last year. Since then Tigger had the five treatments of chemo and every three months ct scans and blood work. Jan 4 , 2010 the ct scan showed a shadow area so they did aspirate. These areas showed necrosis and no tumor recurrence. Can not be 100 percent but Dr. Weisse said it’s good news. Our problem now is his bloodwork platelets are elevated and his alk. phospate. Vet said it could be Cushings disease so Tigger will have to get more bloodwork. Medical bills from chemo, to ct scans, to ultrasounds have added up to over 9,000 dollars. Tigger still runs and plays. I want to thank everyone who gave towards Tigger’s fight against this horrible disease. Tiggers medicine and supplements comes to about three hundred dollars alone. Tigger means the world to me. And was given months to live and is still with me thanks to Dr. C. Weisse now at AMC and Dr. Griessmayer, the oncologist at Matthew Ryan at Penn. I thank both Vets for giving me the courage to fight for Tigger. I want to thank the nurses in oncology at UPenn for taking care of Tigger. And most of all Thank you CCA for helping us fight the fight! And to everyone who made this happen by supporting Tigger. To me it’s a miracle. Please let us continue.

— Kathy

Read more about Tigger and make a donation to support his treatment!

To help sponsor Tigger’s treatment, you can click on the PayPal donate button below or send a check to:

Canine Cancer Awareness, Inc.
44 Devoe Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

Thank you Lillian for helping families continue the fight against canine cancer.

Thank you Lisa for your generous donation to CCA. Your funds will go directly to the vets who are treating cancer in dogs who otherwise could not afford treatment. Thanks so much for your support!

Thank you Karen for your generous donation to CCA. In these tough times there are more families struggling to help their dogs fight this disease. Thank you for your support in keeping this struggle going.

Thank you Greg Lucas for your generous donation to CCA. Your funds will go directly to the vet bills for dogs fighting cancer whose families cannot afford treatment. Thank you!

Soda Pop

UPDATE 01-06-2010—

Soda Pop Curtis Bombardier was a road side pup (breed: New Mexico Mystery Mutt) found abandoned in a cardboard box at a pueblo casino in New Mexico in 1997. She moved to San Francisco at the age of two months and grew up drinking water in a Martini glass at the Lexington Club.

Soda Pop became friends with folks from all walks of life and was even known as a “gateway dog”, turning previous dog-dislikers into dog-lovers. She toured with Sister Spit and Wise Fool and has traveled the USA extensively by road.

Soda Pop returned to New Mexico in 2002, when we relocated here, and she loved having a yard and tons of open space. She hiked, swam at Abiquiu Lake, ran at the massive dog park in Santa Fe, and enjoyed bossing around her new step brother, a boxer-shepherd mix named Roscoe, who also was a road-side freebie.

At the age of 12 Soda Pop began battling Mast Cell cancer. She lost a leg and had other tumor surgeries. Originally the leg amputation was hoped to save her life, but another tumor appeared in the area where her leg was removed. She was doing chemotherapy and eating nutritional supplements to help boost her health. Despite all of these challenges she faced every day with courage and a smile. After almost a week of not being able to eat or take in nutrients without being on an IV, she died at home surrounded by love.

Soda was the best companion I have ever had. She was practically my shadow, and went everywhere with me, which is why she had so many friends. I miss her following me around while I do everything. She is sorely missed!

— Cooper Lee Bombardier

Thank you Marcia Kurtz for your generous donation! You are helping to fight canine cancer for families who cannot afford veterinarian care. Thank you!