The Canine Cancer Ambassadors of Puppy Up Omaha

If the weatherman is right, and we hope he is, it looks like it will be a perfect day for Nebraska’s second Puppy Up Walk, which takes place Sunday, October 11 at Chalco Hills Recreation Area, 8901 S. 154th Street, Omaha, NE. Registration Opens at 10:00 AM, and the Opening Ceremony and Walk begin at 11:00 AM. You can register for their walk here.

This year Omaha is pleased to introduce a total of six Canine Cancer Ambassador Dogs. Meet Bella, Louise, Shadow, Sasha, Sara, and Anna.

Bella

Amongst a litter of Labrador pups in a small Nebraskan town, one in particular showed an outgoing personality as she came to greet everyone and everything without wavering.  She was brought into the home of Rob and Charli at 10 weeks old in 2007.  She was quick to be an obsessive retriever, a bit of a chewer, and an absolute lover.  While Rob deployed to Iraq in ’07-08, she was the guardian and companion of Charli until his return.  In 2009 she took the journey to California with her puppy parents.  When Rob and Charli parted ways, Bella ended up being the guardian that Rob needed.  They’ve been on so many adventures together, through many states and seasons.  Mountains and lakes, deserts and forests.  During the late winter/early spring of 2015, Bella began to limp on her front leg.  When taken to the vet, a “shoulder strain” was diagnosed and “kenneling” was the prescription.  After a second and third visit over the next few months and no progress, Rob decided to get proactive and look for a vet that provided physical therapy.  Things looked to be going great, and the prognosis was a full recovery.  However, the x-rays revealed an advanced case of Osteosarcoma along with several lesions on her lungs.  “We need to take her leg, and it’s not going to save her, but it will relieve her pain.  The cancer in the lungs is severe, and we’re looking at 3-6 months.”  After multiple consults with other veterinarians, and other owners of dogs diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, the difficult decision to remove her leg was made easier by the reassurance of others that it was the right thing to do.  “Hopping on 3 legs is better than limping on 4.” The surgery was in mid-May, and Rob has shared much of the journey on social media.  Bella has continued to make more and more people smile along the way, and now, more than smiles, she is offering inspiration.

Louise

Little Louise is now 10 years old and was rescued from the horrors of puppy mill life 2 ½ years ago.  She lived in a cage not much bigger than herself for 8 years.  She never left the filthy cage unless it was to breed and have pups to be sold by the breeders. She never knew grass, warmth, love or trust.  After 8 years the breeder no longer wanted her, because she wasn’t producing enough pups in a litter.  Town and County Humane Society in Papillion then rescued her. The first thing they did was get her to the vet and soon learned she had mammary cancer because she was not spayed early enough after having several litters.  She has since had two more bouts of cancer and hip surgery, as the small cage she lived in for all those years destroyed her hips.
She went into a permanent foster home after they found out she was stricken with the second bout of cancer.  Louise is a fighter and has many battle scars from the hell she lived in.  But in the midst of it all, she has also found love and trust from rescuers with hearts as big as the world. Louise will be with her foster mom until the end.

Shadow

Shadow, a sweet Siberian Husky, was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer and is enjoying his last few months in foster care with the Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue. His foster mom is making sure he gets to do all of the things he likes to do while he is still feeling good. Shadow loves to ride in the car and enjoys play dates with other dogs. He has lived a tough life on the chain before coming to rescue, but is now enjoying the finer things in life.

Sasha

Sweet Sasha is another adorable Siberian Husky who is currently battling Adenocarcinoma, a type of cancer that forms in mucus-secreting glands throughout the body. She was rescued by Taysia Blue Siberian Husky Rescue last May and is currently being fostered near Chicago, IL. She has already undergone surgery and is feeling more comfortable every day in her new home with her foster pack. She enjoys walks and is very smart. She enjoys being very vocal and digging holes. Sasha is being cared for by a holistic vet who is treating her with Chinese herbs and Reiki massage to help with blood flow to her stomach.

Sara

Sara will turn 12 in December. She was born to our Bulldog, Hannah, and she had only one female littermate.  Her sister was adopted by a friend of ours and lived until she was 10.  Sara has always been a source of much joy to us over the years. She lives with two other Bulldogs (one a rescue that we’ve had for 5 years now) and another “brother” who is 10 years old now. She also tolerates our fourth dog ― a Cocker ― who loves to try to play with the others ― to no avail!

Back in February of 2014, she started having bladder problems, which naturally the vets thought was a simple infection.  But after several rounds of antibiotics, she couldn’t overcome the infection. The vet tried to obtain a sterile sample of urine, but couldn’t insert the catheter into her bladder, so we did an ultrasound and found a tumor in her bladder.  Luckily it was not in the urethra and didn’t block her urine flow, so we had surgery done by a soft tissue specialist, and he had to remove about a third of her bladder.  He took as much of a margin as he could, but said that possibly there could be more stray cells still left.  So we decided to go ahead and do 4 rounds of chemo along with meds.  She did well after the first two, but after the third round of chemo she was not eating and was so lethargic that we decided that three was going to have to be all she could tolerate.  It took her several weeks to start feeling more like herself, but she’s now going strong and has such a good quality of life.  She’s a strong little gal, and we’re so happy to still have her with us. She’s a typical character Bully, and she makes us laugh still to this day! It was a good decision for us to continue her treatments, but it was always our goal to let her go on only as long as she was comfortable and happy with her life.

This coming February it will be two years since she first started getting sick.

Anna

Anna, is just 14 years old and a lively little gal. One wouldn’t even know she is ill. She was diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, in December 2014.  In June 2013, I noticed she had blood in her urine and she was squatting several times when she went out to potty.  Due to the slow growth of the tumor at the neck of her bladder we were unable to pin point the cause for 1 ½ years. The tumor is located where it cannot be removed so she is receiving palliative treatment, plus I make sure that she continues to have the ability to urinate. Like a true dachshund, Anna is my loving, strong, independent ol’ gal.