We’ve been holding our great Puppy Up! Walks across the country again this year, beginning with the walk in Memphis back in the spring. We’ve had walks in Ann Arbor, Jersey City, Lima, Des Moines, Gardiner, Auburn, Flemington, Monessen, and Pittsburgh.
But November is National Pet Cancer Awareness Month and it’s our biggest month for Puppy Up! Walks. Over the next two weekends, dog lovers across the country will be walking with us to raise funds for canine cancer research, to increase awareness about the growing rate of cancer in our companion animals, and to share information about the common links between canine and human cancers.
Through our Puppy Up! Walks, we continue to build the largest pet and people cancer-fighting community in the world. As you know, just like people, companion animals develop cancer: brain, breast, bone and lung cancer; lymphoma, leukemia, and melanoma. All of these cancers and more are common in our pets, who are exposed to the same environmental factors as we are. Veterinary oncologists believe there are between four and eight million new cases of cancer in companion animals every year. That’s simply unacceptable. So 2 Million Dogs has set about to make a change.
“Comparative oncology has tremendous potential to give us key insights to what’s causing cancer across species,” said Ginger Morgan, executive director of 2 Million Dogs. “Comparative oncology is important and necessary if we want a world in which cancer is no longer one of the top killers of our children, our parents, and our pets.”
To date, 2 Million Dogs, though the hard work of our outstanding volunteers, supporters, and sponsors nationwide, has donated $80,000 for a comparative oncology study of mammary tumors at Princeton University in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania. The project treats shelter dogs with mammary tumors and then studies tissues to understand how breast cancer metastasizes in women. More recently, 2 Million Dogs contributed $20,000 to fund a study on osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and another $20,000.00 to fund a study on mast cell tumors at MIT and Harvard’s Broad Institute. Most recently, 2 Million Dogs also provided $80,000 to Animal Medical Center of New York to study transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), the most common type of bladder cancer veterinarians diagnose, and a difficult cancer to treat.
Be a part of our growing community, and become a partner for a new hope in cancer research. If two dogs can walk over 2000 miles to spread the word about canine cancer and comparative oncology, 2 million dogs can walk 2 miles and spread the word nationwide. Come join us!
To learn more about our walks, how to participate, and the dates and times, please follow this link: http://www.puppyup.org/walks/upcoming-walks/
No walk near you? Want to have one in your city or town next year? Get started now. For more information on how you and your friends can organize their own walk, follow this link: http://www.puppyup.org/walks/start-a-walk/
As the folks from the Auburn Walk said, “We would not be here without the level of love and commitment of our walkers.” Thank you, one and all!
(Children must be accompanied by an adult. Participants may bring up to two dogs each. All dogs must be 4 months or older, up-to-date on vaccinations, and must be on a 6-foot or shorter leash at all times. (No retractable leashes.) Water for dogs and waste bags are always provided.)
