Chase Away K9 Cancer

05/02/2025

Today is and did you know that 1 in 3 dogs are affected by cancer in their lifetimes and after the age of 10 those odds change to 50/50. One great way to be your dogs hero is to do an at home monthly check for lumps and bumps. You can find our flyer and print it out from our website chaseawayk9cancer.org.

Thank you for all your continued love and support, all of our amazing volunteers and myself continue our fight against K9 cancer in honor of all of our loved ones lost to cancer. My lost loved ones that I will forever honor are Smokey, Chase & GGma Rikki 🐾❤️🐾

Much love,

Olie who is my K9 Cancer Survivor/Warrior 🐾❤️🐾

16/01/2025

❤️❤️❤️

Patrick Swayze once said, "They told me my house smelled like dogs, and I asked them, do you know what a dog smells like? It smells like gratitude, loyalty, nobility, affection, pure unconditional love. And in spite of all they've been through, they smell no resentment. So blessed that my house smells like dogs."

Isn't this the perfect reminder that true blessings can't be measured by society's standards? Patrick Swayze captured what we seasoned dog mamas have known all along - that a house filled with the presence of our faithful companions is really filled with love, not just "dog smell." When our hearts are full of joy and gratitude from our four-legged angels, who cares what others think about our homes? After all, the most precious things in life can't be seen, but they can surely be felt... and sometimes smelled! ❤️

14/01/2025

Olie would like you to please “Be Your Dogs Hero” and give them a nose to tail exam once a month on the 14th looking for lumps and bumps.

Did you know that cancer effects 1 in 3 dogs in their lifetime and after the age of 10 the odds change to 1 in 2 ? Early detection is key to helping your pets live longer and healther lives. ❤️🎗️❤️

Nose - Is it symmetrical? Is there any drainage? Are there lesions? Is the color normal for your dog?

Eyes - Any abnormal drainage? Increased redness? Change in shape or pigmentation around the eye?

Mouth - Are there any lesions or masses? Is the roof of the mouth uneven? How are the teeth and gums?

Jawline - Is it symmetrical? Is the texture consistent? Is your dog more sensitive there?

Ears - Is there any swelling? Any foul smell? Excess or different discharge?

Feet and legs - Any weird lumps or bumps? Marley's poplital lymph nodes were very swollen which led to lameness which is how we found out that he had lymphoma. Are the nails normal? Check between the pads. Do the pads feel excessively hot?

Rump - Check for any masses or swelling. Does the skin look normal in color and texture?

Belly and rest of the body - Any tenderness? Any change in color or texture of the skin?

10/01/2025

Beautiful 🐾❤️🐾

08/01/2025

Happy National Labrador Day, no matter what kind of pup you have they are all the best dogs ever and we are all blessed to get to share our lives and have these beautiful animals enrich our lives.

Back in January of 1997 my first Labrador came into my life and I’ve been blessed to share my life with now 6 generations of lovable Labradors. These two are descendants of Chase, this is Chase’s Great Grandson Olie and his granddaughter Score. They are the Chase away K9 cancer spokesdogs and they love, love, love their job of helping to raise K9 cancer awareness.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all of our friends on the West Coast in California that are dealing with those tragic fire and to everyone that is being hit with the snow and ice across the country. Please be prepared to get to safety and pack up the needs your pups will have if you have to evacuate.

01/01/2025

Wishing you all a Very Happy and Healthy New Year 🥳 my party animals Olie & Score have already called it a night.

27/12/2024

A huge shout out and Thank you to the generous folks from Saint Rocco’s Treats, your donation is so very much appreciated. If you are going to be attending the SEWE event in February lookup our pal Tracy at K9 Trading company and she will hook you up on these awesome treats. Olie and Score love them 💞

K-9 Trading Company

Human-grade dog treats, meal toppers and food. The perfect treats, meal toppers, and foods for dogs who are picky eaters & have a sensitive stomach. Each treat, meal topper, and food we offer is hand-crafted daily in our gourmet dog kitchen in Bucks County, PA.

24/12/2024

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas 🎄 and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

From my pack Olie & Score to yours…… 🐾 ❤️ 🐾

15/12/2024

My heart goes out to Becky on the loss of her beautiful boy Tonka, he lived a great life but sadly cancer took him away from her way too young. Hug your pets closer tonight and say a little prayer for Becky she needs to feel the love of the world right now. 🐾 ❤️ 🐾

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RIP Tonka 6/2/2015 - 12/11/2024
(aka: TM, Trailmaster, The Angry German, H***y Tonk, Tonky, Badonkey, Tonks, Lil Buddy, but most importantly, he was my Best Boy)

It’s taken a couple of days to compose myself to write this, but on Wednesday, Dec 11th, Ed and I helped Tonka cross over the rainbow bridge. We found out on Friday, Dec 6th that even after 13 weeks on the chemo drug trial, the hemangiosarcoma cancer demon was ravaging his body. The tumor in his heart (discovered the 4th week of October) had grown 50% and he now had 6 tumors in his abdominal cavity, including a decent sized one on his liver. When this cancer journey started on August 5th, Ed and I promised each other, and more importantly Tonka, that his last days wouldn’t be filled with pain and his last vision wouldn’t be a cold depressing vet office. His last few days were filled with miles of walks, land retrieves with his Dockdogs bumper, rolling around in the dry, brown grass, treats, and cuddly naps with Ed and I. He left this world: snoring on his bed, surrounded by his favorite toys, the lit Christmas tree, and Ed and I telling him we loved him and to go find Rio who would be waiting for him.

For the first time in almost 30 years, my home is dog less.

Tonka came into our world from a local rescue who bought him at an auction in the fall of 2015. He got into Dockdogs because Rio was still actively competing. Tonka had huge physical abilities, but he never had Rio’s heart and drive for Dockdogs. He competed because I asked him to. And when he went into his full Angry German mode, he was fun to watch on the dock. I don’t even know his personal bests. I think it was around 22’ 6” in Big Air and he had a couple sub 7 second speed retrieves.

Tonka’s passion was hiking. And when the world went totally nuts because of Covid, Tonka and I found our mutual love of hiking. Over 2.5 yrs we completed all of the Mn State Park Hiking Club trails and many more miles. Sometimes it was a day trip to a specific park, but many times it was a 2-3 day trip wher we hiked 10+ miles a day. He loved those trips. The more treacherous the trail (rocks, tree roots, elevation gains), the better he liked it. He loved hiking along the North Shore and in SE Mn Bluff country. He even got a chance to hike in Canada, thanks to his best hiking buddy Sherry. We are so blessed that she was able to join us and capture so many memories in her photographs.

I am angry that I had to say goodbye at 9.5 yrs old, I should have had several more years. Even last week, strangers we met on the trails didn’t believe he was 9.5 yrs old based on his physical appearance.

I am proud of Tonka that he stayed with us for 18 weeks after his diagnosis, and for the last 13 weeks he was poked and prodded every Wednesday by the U of Mn Oncology department. I would love to say that we agreed to the chemo drug trial for altruistic reasons, but the reality is, I would have done anything to keep him with me for as long as possible. I wouldn’t wish hemangiosarcoma on my worst enemy.

Hug your dogs
Tell the people you care about how important they are to you
Live in the moment
Dogs choose happy
Chase Away K9 Cancer

To my best boy Tonka.

I loved you your whole life, I’ll miss you for the rest of mine….

14/12/2024

Please spend 10 minutes of your day today giving your dog some extra special attention today by giving them a complete nose to tail exam for lumps and bumps. Make notes, keep track of anything out of the norm. If in doubt don't wait aspirate, if cancer is found in it's early stages you have a much better chance of kicking cancers ass. please share and cross post, raising K9 cancer awareness is priceless if the pup you save is your own. Be Your Dogs Hero !!! ❤ ❤

Cancer is a leading cause of disease-related death in older pets. Just as in humans, early detection can make the difference in treatment options and outcomes. Regular health exams—at least once per year for younger pets and twice per year for pets over 7—can help detect issues while still in the early stages, improving treatment options for your pet.

Your observations of your pet's behavior and health are also important. Do not automatically assume your pet has cancer if they show some of these signs! Symptoms such as bad breath and weight loss can be signs of other health problems, too. That's why it's best to have your pet seen by its veterinarian.

When in doubt, check it out.

Signs to Watch For
* Swelling or changing lumps or bumps — check your pet once per month
* Bad breath or bad smell coming from the body
* Weight loss or gain without diet changes
* Change in appetite
* Bleeding or discharge from anywhere on the body
* Sores that are not healing
* Difficulty or changes in urination or defecation
* Loss of energy
* Lameness or stiffness
* Difficulty breathing, chewing or swallowing

02/12/2024

Today on the anniversary of a dear friend losing her girl, I want to share with you Sangria’s story.

About a month after losing Autumn, Sangria fell into my lap. Meant to be. A friend knew of a beautiful 15 months old red Golden Retriever needing a new home. I made a long trip to get her, and she was so worth it.
So sweet, smart, humorous, a lil mischievous, talkative, so many traits girly. I still remember pulling up to the home late at night and seeing such a sweet girl waiting for me. The entire way home she'd sleep, wake up and kiss me, then go back to sleep. She helped me with the loss of Autumn and in general was such a sweet presence in my life.
Sangria showed Service Dog skills near instantly. She was my constant companion. Loved and excelled in agility until she had to retire and then fell in love and excelled in Nosework. Just a wonderful girl. She loved water and was a master at diving underwater.
Last year, December 1st 2023, my beautiful, sweet, Sangria woke me up and very shortly after that she was gone. Tumor on her heart ruptured. I was blindsided and shocked. She was only a little off that day, but nothing that would say she'd b gone. She was her perfectly happy self that week and in general. She was 9 1/2 years young. I'm still devestated by the sudden and traumatic loss.
I was doing the lump n bumps checks like Autumn before, but
Oh! They both absolutely loved the coast and before they even saw the ocean they'd smell it and get so excited
They both loved snow and especially catching snowballs
Sangria would grab beaches and yank on them hoping snow would fall so she could catch it. She loved just standing in the snowfall catching snowflakes.

Dogs aren’t our whole lives but I do believe they make our lives whole.

You will never be forgotten Sangria, I know your momma misses you dearly and thinks of you today and everyday since you left her side.

26/11/2024

Love this 💞

Patrick Swayze once said, "They told me my house smelled like dogs, and I asked them, do you know what a dog smells like?" It smells like gratitude, loyalty, nobility, affection, pure unconditional love. And in spite of all they've been through, they smell no resentment. So blessed that my house smells like dogs.”

💙

17/11/2024

My beautiful Golden girl.... it’s hard to sum up how wonderful she was to me, how much I loved her and miss her dearly.

Autumn was my first dog, she was a beautiful Golden Retriever. I got her at 8 months from a rescue. She helped me so much, in so many ways. She was my Service Dog and opened the world for me. She was so sweet, smart, cute, humorous, too many wonderful attributes to list. All around great girly.

She loved and excelled in agility. She loved getting ice from drive through and knew all the routes we took to get there.
Because of Chase Away Cancer I learned to check for lumps n bumps and caught at least 1 before it turned bad (besides the neck lump).

In 2012 she had a weird lump on her neck. Tried taking cells to check for cancer, but it disappeared in the process. A short time later the lump came back. We removed it and found out it was hemangioma sarcoma, but in the skin/cutaneous form. We had got it in time, had wide margins, and she was happy and healthy girl until pancreatitis hit her in 2013. Long story short cancer came back, unbeknownst to me, and 15 days shy of her 12th birthday in 2015 l lost her to hemangioma sarcoma in the more common form-internal/liver that had ruptured.

Love you always…. HB

14/11/2024

Please spend 10 minutes of your day today giving your dog some extra special attention today by giving them a complete nose to tail exam for lumps and bumps. Make notes, keep track of anything out of the norm. If in doubt don't wait aspirate, if cancer is found in it's early stages you have a much better chance of kicking cancers ass. please share and cross post, raising K9 cancer awareness is priceless if the pup you save is your own.

Be Your Dogs Hero 🐾 ❤ 🐾

When in doubt, check it out.

Signs to Watch For
* Swelling or changing lumps or bumps — check your pet once per month
* Bad breath or bad smell coming from the body
* Weight loss or gain without diet changes
* Change in appetite
* Bleeding or discharge from anywhere on the body
* Sores that are not healing
* Difficulty or changes in urination or defecation
* Loss of energy
* Lameness or stiffness
* Difficulty breathing, chewing or swallowing

07/11/2024

I was so excited when Missy contacted me and that she had found a new special girl to share her life with. Sadly their time together was way too short but the 16 months they spent together they filled it with so many great adventures.

Please let my dear friend Missy Gordon introduce you to her sweet girl Prada. 🐾 ❤️ 🐾

🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️🐾

I got Prada shortly after losing my Libby after almost 16 together. Prada was 6 years old when I got her. Within three months of having her she had a lump removed that upon initial inspection was not suspected of being cancer at all. A week later I got the worst news I could ever fathom. Prada’s tumor ended up being a high grade 3 soft tissue sarcoma. It took about a month and a half before we could get into oncology. Prada was such a trooper going through chemo like a champ. Unfortunately the tumor continue to grow and was in her lungs. We were going to try to remove the lung lobe but the cancer had metastasized. We tried two different types of oral chemo drugs but to no avail.

This sweet girl fought so valiantly for the 16 months we were together. She lived her best life every day. She loved dockdiving, agility and fastcat. Performing tricks for treats was one of her favorite pastimes. She was just an all around best girl and my life was so much better for having her in it. Unfortunately we had to say goodbye just two weeks after her first and last dockdogs World Championships. She was just 8 years old when she left us but so wise beyond her years. She was simply the best. 🩵

Missy ❤️

05/11/2024

When I receive notes from people who are currently going thru one the hardest times in life that their dog and best friend has cancer my heart breaks. Please join me in sending out special prayers for Becky and her boy Tonka as he is currently fighting for his life.

Becky’s best boy Tonka was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma on Aug 9th 2024. The prognosis is not good with this type of cancer which is why Tonka is participating in the Ethos Push chemo drug trial. Hopefully this trial will help find better treatments and/or better diagnostics to address this aggressive Cancer.
Tonka was 9 yrs old on June 2nd and he is an avid hiker, Dockdog and Becky’s best friend.

He’s currently being spoiled more than you can imagine and we are praying he will stay with us through the holidays.

Becky and Tonka

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Over the past 18 years Chase away K9 Cancer has funded many studies in Hemangiosarcoma and I hope and pray that the Ethos Push Chemo Drug trial is successful and he continues to have more good days than bad.





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