| I’ll never forget my first personal experience with cancer. I had brought my dog, Puma, into the vet for x-rays because he had been limping for a couple of weeks. I had expected to hear that he had either torn the ligaments in his knee yet again or perhaps it was arthritis. The vet called that afternoon to say was almost certain he had cancer in his leg. My first reaction was, no big deal, just surgically remove the tumor and we’ll get on with it. After all, he was only five years old, he could’t possibly have a life threatening disease, right? The vet brought me back to reality, “I don’t think he’s going to make it”. Suddenly, the world seemed to stop. That was 18 years ago. Between then and now, I’ve had two other dogs who were also diagnosed with osteosarcoma. I can tell you from experience, it doesn’t get any easier to hear the “C” word time and time again. I started to think I was jinxed – three dogs in a row all diagnosed with the same type of cancer. Who could image the odds of that happening? When my second dog, Beanny, was diagnosed and given about a year to live, I began to read every book, every medical journal, every Internet site, every clinical trial I could find. I explored conventional therapies and alternative & holistic treatments. Nothing was too outlandish for me to think about and believe me, there are some crazy sounding cancer ‘cures’ out there. Beanny became my personal guinea pig – I wanted desperately to cure him, or at least give him longer to live than Puma had (he died 6 months after diagnosis). And so our journey began. To read our story click here. |
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| We published our initial version of this site in late February, 2007 with the hope to become truly a one-stop place to obtain or be linked to the information you need. We constantly update and add information to the site so check back often. Please contact us with any suggestions – we’d appreciate your feedback for how to make this site more useful. Click here to give feedback. Since the launch of our site, I have lost two more dogs to cancer, Cherish to histiocytic sarcoma and Snuggy to lung cancer. Advances in cancer treatments and cures have been made, but we still have a very long way to go to save our beloved companions from this terrible disease. If you are visiting this site because your dog has cancer, I’m truly sorry and understand the difficult time you are going through. I hope this site will help you by providing the tools you need to choose the right path for you and your dog. The path is not always clear and you may be confronted with choices to which the right answer will not be known. This is but one of the heart wrenching realities of cancer. My advice is to get a caring veterinarian(s) that is knowledgeable about cancer and the various current treatments available, get second or third opinions, be open to clinical trials and alternative therapies, and learn to trust your own instincts. God Bless. |
| Thank you for visiting our website. If you would like to contact us about our website, Click Here, |
Cherish and Blake were adopted
from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
in southern Utah. If you are ever in
Utah. If you are ever in the Grand
Canyon area of the west, I highly
recommend a visit to Best Friends.
It's truly a very special place and the
work they do for homeless and
helpless animals is inspiring.
Cherish recently passed away. She
was diagnosed with hystiocytic
sarcoma, a relatively rare cancer in
dogs. We used both conventional
(chemo) and holistic treatments to
battle this disease and she lived
longer than her veterinarians thought
possible. We love and miss you
every day, Cherry Pie.
Blake is has twice been diagnosed
with liver failure and come back from
the brink. He was given 2 weeks to
live in January 2007 and then again
in December 2009 and miraculously
is still with us and doing well with
regenerated liver. With the help of
some wonderful conventional vets
and medications, holistic vets and
complementary therapies & herbs, I
have been blessed to have more
time with my sweet boy.
Snuggy was a 'foster' dog who
quickly melted our hearts and
become a permanent member of our
pack. Sadly, he passed over the
rainbow bridge in April 2009 after
bravely battling lung cancer. His
spirit lives on with us.
Thank you for visiting the website
and for reading our story.
from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary
in southern Utah. If you are ever in
Utah. If you are ever in the Grand
Canyon area of the west, I highly
recommend a visit to Best Friends.
It's truly a very special place and the
work they do for homeless and
helpless animals is inspiring.
Cherish recently passed away. She
was diagnosed with hystiocytic
sarcoma, a relatively rare cancer in
dogs. We used both conventional
(chemo) and holistic treatments to
battle this disease and she lived
longer than her veterinarians thought
possible. We love and miss you
every day, Cherry Pie.
Blake is has twice been diagnosed
with liver failure and come back from
the brink. He was given 2 weeks to
live in January 2007 and then again
in December 2009 and miraculously
is still with us and doing well with
regenerated liver. With the help of
some wonderful conventional vets
and medications, holistic vets and
complementary therapies & herbs, I
have been blessed to have more
time with my sweet boy.
Snuggy was a 'foster' dog who
quickly melted our hearts and
become a permanent member of our
pack. Sadly, he passed over the
rainbow bridge in April 2009 after
bravely battling lung cancer. His
spirit lives on with us.
Thank you for visiting the website
and for reading our story.
Beanny and Weenie in front of the
Washington Monument in Washington,
D.C. at sunrise. They loved living the
capital lifestyle. Both fought
osteosarcoma.
Washington Monument in Washington,
D.C. at sunrise. They loved living the
capital lifestyle. Both fought
osteosarcoma.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Blake, Snuggy, Cherish, and I on vacation
in northern New Hampshire.
in northern New Hampshire.
| Comments from our Site Visitors NO matter what is going on in my life, I always come back here to see my Maggie and read what I wrote about her after she was gone. I always think about lucky we are to have a website like this and people like you that allow this to remain forever. A special grave to visit. Honestly, I love this website. I see all the wonderful dogs people have lost and you find comfort in knowing you're not the only "nut" that will never get over losing your friend Cindy, August 2012 Before I jump into the story of our dog, I wanted to thank you for your website. We have only been without her for two days and the grief has been suffocating. I found your website and after reading about what others went through with their dogs and cancer and that what they are thinking and feeling is similar to how we feel, it just made me feel better. I had never heard of the rainbow bridge, but I loved it and just typing it now and thinking of her waiting for me brings tears to my eyes. Chelsea, August 2012 I was truly grateful when I found your sight after finding out she had cancer. Your sight gave me a lot of information that I needed. I also found a lot of comfort in the prayer list, memorial, rainbow bridge. Elizabeth R., September, 2011 Hi, I have just across your site and it is fantastic! I am so thankful I found your site. John M., August, 2011 Thank you again sooooooooooooooooo much. It sure helps to have someone who understands what you're going through. You have been a Great Blessing to me. Ann P, August, 2011 You are doing an AWESOME thing for so many! Susan, August, 2011 Thank you for publishing all of the information on your site. It was very helpful by allowing me to decide the best course of action for my dog who just passed from multicentric Lymphoma. The section on end of life was so helpful and made me feel at peace with my difficult decision. Thank you. Ed G., August, 2011 Thank you for your kind words and posting his memorial. I visited many sites and this was the only one which seemed compassionate whilst clear. Your site was very helpful through this difficult time. Hi. I first wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your site. Sharing this helpful information to those in need is very inspiring. Shannon F, August, 2011 Well you are an inspiration, to have gone through all that you have with your wonderful dogs and yet be brave enough to give that information out to the world to help so many people = incredible! Jan W., August, 2011 You are an absolute marvel – thank you so much for going to the trouble of contacting the Essiac company and clarifying things for me. Jerry S., August, 2011 Love your site it is very educational and well done.... August, 2011 Cynthia B. , July 2011 I just wanted to thank the developer and contributors to this site for creating such a sensitively written and very thorough information source on the topic. You've included information on every aspect of this time in a dog's and his/her owner's life and I feel better knowing I have a resource to come back to as my information and support needs shift during the remainder of my dog's life. K.K., July 2011 Just wanted to thank you for the information and check list to determine the right time to euthanize your dog when they have cancer. I have an 11 yr old yellow lab, I needed something to help me gauge when my dog was suffering. S.W., June 2011 Good afternoon - I just wanted to say Thank You for your Web site. It has come up in searches I have done in recent months for my dog's neurologic symptoms that are seeming to point towards a brain tumor (knock on wood it isn't!). The information you have here is awesome, and Beanny's story is moving. Thank you again! Jennifer, May 2011 |
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