For All Dogs

Emmi and Halie

I will rarely use this platform for fundraising, but this is something I feel really strongly about so I am posting it for my birthday. This is something that affects all dogs and it is heartbreaking. Hemangiosarcoma. It strikes with no warning and is always deadly. Halie walked 3 miles the day before we knew she was sick. She collapsed the next evening and was gone soon after. No warning. She had a tumor in her heart that burst. The cancer had already metastasized to her lungs. It left us stunned and heartbroken. She was the sweetest dog you could ever meet. She was only 10.

We adopted Emmi and I felt sure that wouldn't happen again. How could the universe do something like that twice? Well, it did. Emmi was active and happy. We took her to the coast, and that night she didn't eat dinner or want to run on the beach. We knew something was really wrong. We headed home. Our vet did tests and found she had something on her lungs. It couldn't be hemangiosarcoma again. We were sent to the Veterinary School at OSU, so hopeful it was a fungus, but it wasn't. She also had a heart tumor that hadn't burst yet and it had metastasized to her lungs. We were able to work with our amazing vet to give her more quality time but hemangiosarcoma cannot be beat and we lost her 8 weeks later. She was 8 years old.

Hemangiosarcoma strikes many golden retrievers, but it is indiscriminate and no dog is safe from it. Please help in the fight to find a way to stop this deadly cancer. Morris Animal Foundation is one of the non-profits attempting to end hemangiosarcoma as well as other cancers and health threats in animals.

If you can, please donate to my birthday fundraiser. Izzy and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. https://www.facebook.com/donate/1422497752946412/