Cejay Mervine-Dykstra
I found my forever home as a matted mess when I was about a year old. I was at an adoption event on a hot August day in 2006, just hoping someone would fall in love with me. I had kennel cough and had to be shaved since my knots were so bad.
My moms let me try agility 6 months later and I competed in my first agility trial in December 2007. What fun and I just love the hot dogs and cheese! In 2012 my family noticed I was snoring loudly. I’m glad they noticed because it kept waking me up. In September 2012, after several different tests I was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal lymphoma. After surgery, I had 8 months of chemotherapy, 2 different regimens. I was allowed to compete in fly ball and agility throughout my treatment. It was a great diversion!
I won my first C-ATCH (agility champion title) 2 weeks after finishing chemotherapy. What a way to celebrate!
Cejay was in remission for 17 months when his moms entered him in our 2015 “Cancer Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down” calendar contest where he won a spot in the calendar and our hearts. He is our August dog.
We just heard from Cheryl and Jeanne: “Cejay lost his battle to cancer last week. It was 2 ½ years since diagnosis and 3 weeks short of being 2 years post-chemotherapy. His bone marrow shut down, his kidneys failed and infections were running rampant. He was no longer our boy and he decided he was done. We are grateful for his 8 ½ years with us, his love for all. ”
Cejay reminded all of us to “Run each run like it will be your last because you’ll never know when you may lose your best friend.”
