UPDATE 6-19-2010—

In order to tell you Alfie’s story I need to tell you mine so you will know just how much Alfie is needed and loved. My first husband tried to kill me by lacing and Anacin 3 capsule with 10 times the lethal dose of cyanide. It left me with brain stem damage damage and lots of pain. But, my story has a happy ending.

Joe, my new husband brought into my life a little ball of fur named Alfie. He is so full of love and an excitement for life. Everyday he wakes us up with his happy barks, and then he runs out into the yard like he had never been outside before. At night when I go to bed he will lay down by my feet. During the day he is right by my side. When my pain gets so bad and the tears begin to fall, he is right there and licks the tears from my cheeks. When I look into his little eyes I feel my will building back up. That’s not where his love stops. He is Joe’s faithful hiking partner and our grandson’s playmate and protector.

When Alfie was diagnosed with Nasal Carcinoma our hearts sank inside of us. We couldn’t even imagine the void that would be left in our life without Alfie. How do you explain to a little boy that his playmate is no longer here. The treatment for this is very expensive. I live on social security disability. Joe has devoted his life to care for me. Together we live below poverty level. I felt so lost looking at Alfie with the blood coming out of his nose. My heart was breaking. But, I knew we didn’t have much time. Dog diagnosed with nasal carcinoma only live about 95 days without treatment. Alfie was diagnoses on April 2. I called Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital and make an appointment to see Dr Stone the Oncologist the following Wednesday. I didn’t know how we were going to pay for it. The one thing I did know was that Alfie had been there for me through many days and nights of pain, and we were not going to turn our backs on him. Alfie needed a miracle Dr Stone told us that he would need 16 radiation treatments. They would be 4 days a Week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. The cost Low $6,123.88 the high $7,534.56. We will have until October 4 this year to pay it back.

One day while I was on-line I typed in canine cancer. There are many sites that say the will help. So I started filling application after application. All of them came back saying because of the economy they had no Money. Except Canine Cancer Awareness, I went to there site filled out the application. Because of my disabilities I can’t write very well and they could not read my e-mail address. They didn’t toss the application to one side and just forget about it they sent me a letter, to ask me for my e-mail address. I faxed it to them. Then they needed more information from Dr. Stone. I called the Hospital, talked to Scott and he faxed me the information they needed immediately and I faxed it to them. With all the faxing back and forth and the wanting for more information I felt hope beginning to come back. When your waiting for something it seems like time moves so slow. But it was only three days. There in my e-mail box was a letter from Canine Cancer Awareness. My husband and I both set in front of the computer and I open the e-mail. We were both so excited it was better then any Christmas I can remember. They were going to help!!

Thank you Canine Cancer Awareness for helping us give a Alfie the miracle of life. You are truly his guardian Angle. We would be amiss if I didn’t say thank you to Dr. Stone and the oncology staff and Santa Cruz Veterinary Hospital for the exception care, compassion and support you are giving Alfie. Now Alfie’s story has a chance for a happy ending!

— Susie

CCA has donated $1000 in order to help pay the costs of Alfie’s treatments. Any sponsor donations made on behalf of Alfie will be used to pay unpaid invoices and the checks will be sent directly to Alfie’s vet.

Please also give generously to Alfie. 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 ALFIE:

UPDATE 10-06-2009—

Ralph was a gorgeous Labrador Retriever who didn’t know he was a dog. He slept with my husband and I every single night. During the summers when we walked on the boardwalk at the shore he was unlike any other dog in that he chose to sit on the boardwalk benches like a man reading a newspaper and just waited for the attention that he invariably got.

At home he was never more than a few feet away from our children or us. He adored us and we adored him. He gave kisses constantly and begged for food, and never talked back, unlike our children sometimes did.

Another one of our funniest memories were our regular visits to the veterinarian. Ralph was smart enough to be apprehensive and unlike the little brave dogs, this tall 107 lbs Labrador would climb up on my husband’s lap until he was called back to the exam room.

He was such a gift to us and he was such a comfort for us, as our twin children just left for college and we were empty nesters, but we still had our Ralph. Unexpectedly though he had a nose bleed one night soon after our kids left for college and within 24 hrs he was gone. He started bleeding late one night from one nostril. I called our veterinarians emergency service number. He phoned back, and said it sounded like a nasal tumor. He said we could see him first thing in the morning or if we wanted could take him to a hospital about an hour away. We opted to take him to our vet first thing in the morning. My husband and I kept him calm through the night as he bled and sneezed quite a bit. Our downstairs looked like a war zone. Miraculously the bleeding stopped early in the morning making the commute to the veterinarians an easy one.

Our veterinarian wanted us to leave him there overnight so he could observe him, take blood, examine him. It was tough leaving him behind, but he was familiar with the doctor and we just had to do it. We left him off at 8:00 am and the doctor called me at around 3:00 PM to tell me that his hemoglobin level was really low …the number was 13 and when it reaches 10, most dogs succumb. He said he started bleeding from his rectum and that he was gravely ill. He would need a blood transfusion if there was any hope for him…but the nearest hospital was over an hour away and he didn’t think he would be able to make it and if he did, more than likely it wouldn’t help.

I called my husband and met him at the veterinarian office to say our final good-byes. It was heart wrenching…surreal…I couldn’t believe how quickly he deteriorated. He was so weak and could barely open his eyes…but he knew we were there. We kissed and hugged him and told him how much we loved him and to go nite-nite…and he did. He died knowing we were with him and that we loved him.

It is all very frustrating, not really knowing what happened. The doctor strongly feels it was a nasal tumor, but the amount of bleeding was disturbing. We know our veterinarian did the best he could, it’s just so hard to understand.

We are crushed and an absolute mess. We loved him more than any dog we’ve ever had. He was beyond special. He was a true gift to us. My husband always said if there is a heaven, and he could only have one dog there with him…it would have been his childhood dog…until Ralph came into his life. So, hopefully he’ll get to see Ralph again.

I personally think I will see Ralph again…it just has to be. In the meantime, I will cherish the many pictures and memories of that gorgeous, handsome, noble boy of mine. I love you Ralph.

— Cynthia and Michael Fisher and Family