10/05/2023
Hi! My name is Bennie and I am a black lab/beagle mix (I'm the size of a beagle but look like a black lab puppy). I am also a patient here as well, maybe you have seen me! Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma on December 16, 2022 and started oral compounded chemo (melphalan) right away. Unfortunately, my medical bills have been pilling up. My humans have been looking at different animal resource groups and foundations, but many have paused funding due to lack of donations, are location based, or will only pay for the chemo medication itself. I still need to take other medications every day: (1) prednisone which is a steroid, 2) telmisartan to reduce the amount of protein in my urine due to the cancer, 3) Cerenia to help with nausea and vomiting that can happen with chemo, and 4) a liver supplement to prevent liver damage that can occur with my current chemo treatment), and I still need frequent blood draws to check my counts before (and sometimes during) chemo because I became anemic with the old chemo so we had to try to keep finding a way to fight the cancer without my other labs being affected - and which is also why I now switched to a new chemo), CT scans and x-rays to see if the tumor in my chest has decreased in size (my tumor is in operable), and to see if any lesions in my bones have started (usually that's how dogs are diagnosed, but I’m lucky because my humans caught the cancer semi-early). All of this cost adds up pretty quickly. We have applied for CareCredit as well so hopefully my humans don't get too far in credit card debt. My quality of life right now is still REALLY good, I still act like a little puppy and love to play, you can’t even tell that I have cancer, and is the reason why my humans keep moving forward with treatment. I love running around playing with my toy duck and my 2 human siblings, and sunbathing.
A little more about my story - My humans adopted me on February 4, 2012 from CISAR just outside of Bloomington, IL. I am so glad I finally found my forever home because they are my 6th owners/places I’ve lived. I was originally born in Kentucky, then went to a shelter, who transported me up to CISAR when a man adopted me and kept me in a cage with another dog who didn't share food and didn't follow up with my neuter, I was then returned to CISAR. Another family with kiddos adopted me but didn't have time for me even though I was supposedly a really good dog, and back to CISAR I went where my mom found me to actually help teach her other dog to be a dog :) if you knew Jacob, you know why!
The link to the GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/d4756522 (even if someone can’t donate, even just sharing it would be appreciated).
