Dallas

UPDATE 7-22-2010—

I was at the Oregon shelter that morning to help my 12 year old rottie diagnosed with bone cancer over the rainbow bridge. As a foster parent for the shelter I knew Dallas had just come back that morning from her 3rd home. I was in no mood for another dog, no mood to give my heart again, and definitely not in the mood for a puppy; somehow though I ended up leaving with her tucked under my arm like a tiny black suitcase mumbling under my breath about my own lack of sanity.

From that day forward she has brought nothing but joy and smiles into my life and everyone else she meet’s along the way. Dallas always wags her tail from the first rib back, greeting everyone with a friendly hello and a welcoming spirit.

I regularly get compliments what a well trained dog she is. I would love to take the credit, but I am sure I never did anything special; she just always seems to know what you are saying to her. However we do not actually use the D O G word in front of her because she really does not know she is one.

She has always enjoyed going for rides. She is so good that there have been times I forgot she was in the backseat. Other times she thought there may be a car ride and would sit in the car for hours, refusing to get out just in case. Because she is so well tempered and obedient she accompanies me most everywhere, whether a quick trip to the post office, laying by my side, or driving the ALCAN Highway, she is always happy just to be with her person.

I am convinced this miracle dog has a guardian angel watching over her. On Easter she was playing tug tug, her favorite game next to fetching the ball, when I noticed a little blood on her tongue. It seemed she had pulled loose one of her lower canine teeth and injured the gum tissue. I took her to a walk in vet clinic the next morning more worried about infection at her age (she was almost 9) and anticipating a script for antibiotics. Instead the vet immediately started talking cancer, abscess removal, surgery, and lab work. Whoa there Doc! This is just a loose tooth after all. I left thinking “that’s what I get for not going to my regular VCA vet”. But by Wednesday the injury to her gum seemed to be growing and there were more teeth being pushed loose from the pressure of the growth. I took her to VCA and the vet put her on a stronger antibiotic as well as doing a biopsy of the tissue. Just over the weekend the mass had taken on a life of its own and most certainly was no simple abscess. Monday morning, I was at the vet’s office waiting for DR. Simmons when they opened in a complete panic. While I waited the biopsy results also confirmed osteocarcinoma; bone cancer. Surgery was scheduled for that Friday morning. The treatment plan consisted of removing the cancerous portion of her lower jaw back to the pre molars for a clean margin and chemotherapy treatments. From that time on, my life became a whirlwind of vet appointments, online research, cancer chat groups and medication schedules. She recovered from the surgery like the trooper she is, our vet getting clean margins. Dr. Simmons took step by step photos of the surgery and I photo documented her recovery daily on facebook.

Her first chemo treatment was a month after surgery. I expected the worst and once again was surprised with the life and vitality Dallas radiates. She is now coming up on chemo treatment # 5 with 3 more to go. She will need 3 month check-ups, regualar blood work, bi-yearly xrays of the lungs, a special diet and supplements, but it is nothing compared to not having her in my life every precious day. Dallas was there for me when I had my own battle with cancer and now I am here for her. I never thought about the money or what I had to give up for Dallas to get the care she needs to live the full potential of her life.

I am so grateful for all the support and information available online, and more than anything I thank fate for bringing Dallas and I together and for watching over the both of us. I still can’t believe how quickly the cancer grew or how lucky we were to have caught it so early. I am thankful for the compassion and care Dr. Simmons and her staff has provided both me and Dallas. With the gray on her chin gone from post surgery she looks like she acts, a young pup enjoying every moment life has to offer.

Thank you Canine Cancer Awareness for all your help.

—Danika and Dallas

CCA has donated $800 in order to help pay the costs of Dallas’ treatments. Any sponsor donations made on behalf of Dallas will be used to pay unpaid invoices and the checks will be sent directly to Dallas’ vet.

Please also give generously to Dallas. To help sponsor 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

DONATIONS RECEIVED FOR DALLAS:

07-28-10 $50.00 Donation from Melissa — I Love you both M.

Thank you Shay Morrow, your donation to CCA is much needed and will go directly to pay for veterinary care for dogs fighting this disease whose families could not otherwise afford treatment. Thank you so much!

Thank you Basset Hound Cancer Foundation for benefiting Canine Cancer Awareness! To see this cause visit:
http://www.causes.com/causes/506759

Toka
June 9, 1997 — May 17, 2008

UPDATE 07-19-2010—

My dog, Toka, was part Australian Cattle Dog/German Shepard. She grew up in Rhode Island, and lived a happy & healthy life. She was my best friend. Practically my daughter. She was always there for me. She would be playful, protective, and would never leave my side when going through many traumatic experiences in my youth.

Unfortunately, just before her 11th birthday, she was diagnosed with Anemia, Cancer, and tumors. We learned of this news from a different vet, as ours was practically worthless. Refused to believe there was anything wrong with her. They also didn’t see a reason to examine her blood work. The new vet broke the devastating news to us; and two days later…I lost one of my best friends. She truly touched my soul and I miss her so much! No one, no animal, should have to suffer this way. Ever. I hope that a cure can be found someday soon.

— Lisa

Rebel

UPDATE 4-14-2010—

Hello my name is Rebel Jo and I am a 7 year old rottie that has been diagnosed with osteosarcoma bone cancer January 2nd 2010 and it is in my right front leg.

I am writing this story to tell you about what I am going through and the changes in my life and my loved ones. Here are some of my favorite things I love to do with my mommy and pappy that I can’t do anymore. Because of the pain and discomfort that I now have with this cancer.

I love going for rides in the back of my mommy and pappy’s truck and feeling the wind in my face, and my ear’s flapping in the wind that makes me feel like I am going to fly. I also like going to the river swimming, fishing for rocks and just playing in the water with mommy. I also love going with my pappy and his hunting dog’s when he took them out hunting for that big raccoon, seeing who would smell it first. I would tell myself those guys weren’t going to show me up, but they always did, but I would act like the biggest master of all master’s. The most of all was getting to ride and watching over my pappy and making sure that he was ok, and helping mommy plant flowers and clean the sticks out of the yard. Sometimes I would sneak behind mommy and dig up the flowers and leave big holes in the yard. We would always go camping with mommy and pappy, but it’s going to be hard this year knowing I can’t go swimming in the river and taking my baths. As you would say those were the best days of my life doing the things I love to do!

Now instead of doing the things I love to do my life consists of going back and forth every three weeks to my chemo treatments in Pittsburg P.A. and going once a week to get blood work at my regular vet. The chemo is very costly to my mommy and pappy, but they will do without to see that I get the best treatment I possibly can. As you would know the chemo makes me very sick, it makes me not want to eat for a week or more, but mommy and pappy will make me people food or just take me through the nearest drive-thru to get me a cheesy burger, but sometimes I won’t even eat it. I also take ten pills twice a day, I hate to take them, but mommy tells me that they are good for me and that I must take them, even though I don’t want to, mommy will hide them in food or ice cream, no matter what she will make sure that I get them.

I also want you to know that I had a very best friend her name was Daisy she was my only sister that I ever knew. In July 2009 I lost her to the same cancer. I miss her very much! We would run through the yard playing fetch and chasing each other around the yard. Then six months later we got the news that I had the same horrifying disease. It devastated my entire family and loved ones, and me so much that we sat and cried! I often hear my mommy praying for me at night and I hear her crying and I want to just say it will be ok! Don’t worry!

My mommy would always call me her little baby boy and her little angel! Mommy never lets me down, she is always there for me! If something would happen to me my mommy and pappy would be so devastated because I am the only little baby boy they have!

Now that I have shared some of my story with everyone, I would appreciate it if you would donate what you could from the kindness of your heart to the CANINE CANCER AWARENESS, INC. 44 Devoe Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211 or visit the website at http://www.caninecancerawareness.org. I want to thank you for taking time to read my story! I also want to give a big "Ruff" "Ruff" to Canine Cancer Awareness for all there help and support.

May God Bless everyone.

— Rebel (and mom Kathy)

CCA has donated $500 to help pay the costs of Rebel’s treatment. Please also give generously to Rebel. To help sponsor 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

DONATIONS RECEIVED FOR REBEL:

07-04-2010 $50.00 Donation from Patricia Robinson

Thank you Sharon Adams for your generous donation!

This donation is in loving honor of my two beautiful Angels Jessie & Nikita!!!! Love you girls!!!!

Thank you Sue Ingham for your generous donation to CCA. Your donation will go directly to dogs whose families need help paying for cancer treatment. Thank you for helping us fight this disease!

Hannah

UPDATE 06-12-10 —

Dear Hannah:

This month marks your 14th birthday, our sweet girl. Not a day passes that Mommy and Daddy don’t think of you, or wish you were here with us. Its been two years since you went to the Rainbow Bridge, and we miss you and know you are waiting for us. Life moves on and brings many changes, but you need to know that you are loved, and will forever be in our hearts. There are some new faces in the house! Bailey and Cleo needed someone to care for them and love them just like you, and have joined the family. We know you would welcome them into your pack! Rest peacefully, Hannah-bug. Chase all the birds you can find, and dive deep for the best rock in the lake. We love you always!

— Mom and Dad

UPDATE 03-31-09 — Donated today in memory of Hannah. It’s been a year since you left us for a better place. We think of you every day, and love you with all our hearts. You will always be with us, our beautiful black lab.

— Mom & Dad

UPDATE 04-05-08 — We lost our beloved Hannah to hemangiosarcoma of the spleen and liver in the early hours of April 1st, 2008. She was nearing her 12th birthday. Her loss was so unexpected, it still seems like a bad dream. She had spent the weekend competing in something she so loved: a Dockdogs competition. Although she could no longer jump as far as she once could, she was so excited to leap into the water after her retrieving duck. She brought home seven ribbons that weekend. The very next day, as I was preparing her and our four other dogs’ dinner, she was conspicuously absent from the nightly lineup of hungry eyes watching my every move. I called out to her, and finally found her lying on the living room floor. She was lethargic, and could not get up to walk. As I was on crutches from an injury three weeks before, I called my wife, who had just left to volunteer helping cats find forever homes. She returned immediately, and knew instantly upon seeing Hannah that something was very wrong. A neighbor was summoned to help load Hannah into a blanket and into our van for a trip to the vet ER. She was losing blood, and an ultrasound found a splenic tumor. She was stabilized, and transported to another ER where surgeons were on-call to operate. As my wife drove through a rainstorm, I lay on the floor of the van holding her for the 35 minute trip. Through tears, I told her she was the best dog in the world, and how much we loved her, and how special she was. I prayed that she would be spared any pain or suffering. On arrival, we made the decision to have the surgery, just in case there was any chance to save her. After an agonizing wait, the surgeons came out to tell us the bad news; that it had spread to her liver, and she would not live much longer, even if they were able to remove the cancer. In the most difficult moment of our lives, we made the decision to say goodbye to our precious Hannah. Although it hurt us terribly, it was no longer about us, but about her quality of life. She left us peacefully at 1:45 in the morning.

We took her home wrapped in a blanket, and made sure that her canine brothers and sister had the chance to say goodbye to her. In the order that they came to our family, we showed them her body, and in the way only dogs can, they said goodbye. We took her the next day to our friend and hometown veterinarian, who cared for her since we were blessed with her entering our lives, and would take care of her one last time through cremation. A few locks of fur were collected, and our friend said she would take a pawprint for us. We will scatter her ashes in her hometown near Lake Michigan, where she learned to swim and dive for rocks. Her spirit will run free, unencumbered by any pain, soreness, or effects of old age. She will always be with us, till the end of our days, when we will be reunited once again.

We love you and miss you, our sweet girl and punkin’—

Mike & Cindy, Bandit, Muffasa, Chompers and Peanut.

Thank you Paula Jones for your generous donation on behalf of Jaxon Jones, who is still doing well!

That’s great news, thank you so much for donating!

Laney
12 years old
1998—May 5, 2010

UPDATE 05-14-2010—

Laney died of Splenic Hemangiosarcoma. About 1 month before she passed away, she seemed to be slowing down — she didn’t want to go on long walks anymore and had trouble climbing up on my sofa or bed. I took her to the vet the week before she died to get some labwork done, and I never in a million years thought she would be gone 1 week later. They found 5 tumors — 3 on her spleen and 2 on her liver. I decided to do surgery even though they only gave her a 10% chance to make it thru 24 hours after surgery. But I really had no choice because the tumors were bleeding so the vet said they would have ruptured and killed her soon. She had surgery Monday, May 3rd. I was thrilled on Tuesday because she ate 3 bowls of food and was wagging her tail, exploring in the backyard, and she even had the energy to greet my friends at the door who came over that evening. The next morning she got up when she heard me feeding my other dog and ran into the room for breakfast so I thought that was another great sign. But then she passed away 6 hours later. The vet thinks a blood clot might have killed her. It was horrible. I adopted her when she was 5 because her old owners gave her to a shelter. She was the sweetest and most lovable dog. She loved to rest her head on my yellow lab’s back and cuddle with her and cuddle with me. She was one tough dog too. One time she got into a bunch of Christmas cookies and ate 100 cookies (some with chocolate) and survived that. Another time she jumped out of my Jeep as I was driving down the street when she saw a cat she wanted to chase. She didn’t even break a bone! And 1 1/2 years ago, a pit bull attacked her and she survived that attack. She got 50 stiches and the vet said one of the puncture wounds was a millimeter away from killing her instantly. I guess this was one battle that was too much for this tough dog to handle. I love her and miss her.
— Tara