Duffy is totally attached to Mark, and they spend every day together.  When Mark was a college professor earlier in life, Duffy was the school mascot and was so loved by the students and faculty that he was immortalized with his image in one of the school’s stained glass windows.

A year before Mark contacted the Pie Fund, Duffy was limping and was diagnosed with arthritis.  Twelve-months later he became lame with some abnormalities on his leg which turned out to be a synovial cell tumor.  His clinic recommended amputation, which offers an average survival time of about 2.5 years with a good quality of life.  Without the surgery, Duffy might only have had about 8 months to live.  His doctor was willing to perform the surgery at a significantly reduced rate.  After payments for Duffy’s X-rays, blood work, aspiration testing and some related costs, his owner could cover part of the surgery cost, but needed assistance as his funds are limited.  We learned that Duffy’s owner sacrificed income throughout his life to focus on work that offered help to others in return for more emotional and spiritual rewards than personal income.  In starting up and running his school for underprivileged kids Mark makes do with a small stipend and had partly exhausted his savings with the costs of Duffy’s care by the time he contacted the Pie Fund.

Immediately after the surgery Duffy was doing great.  His owner described him as “full of life and wagging his tail”…and already adjusting well to the change.  A month into Duffy’s renewed three-legged lifestyle Mark wrote to share with us that “his recovery has been remarkable, and after many months he is once again pain-free.  My gratitude to the Pie Fund is without measure.”

Then Gregor was diagnosed with lymphoma. His people, along with some help from another family member, were able to finance Gregor’s care through partial treatments that resulted in the complete remission of his cancer. But additional chemo was needed to improve Gregor’s chances of remaining cancer-free.

The Pie Fund enabled Gregor to continue his course of chemo for the full period recommended. Gregor’s treatments paid for by the Pie Fund commenced in March of 2007, and he passed away in November of that year. Gregor lived a good life throughout his treatment, and this wonderful dog who had worked so hard for others was able to spend additional time with his new family who absolutely adored him. Gregor was our first recipient, so his memory will always be special for us.

The family had already paid thousands of dollars for Tosha’s tests and cancer treatments by leveraging nearly all of their resources, including selling some personal jewelry on eBay. When introduced to the Pie Fund in August of 2007, Tosha’s owner was offering her wedding dress and engagement ring for sale to raise still more cash for treatments. When she learned that the Pie Fund had agreed to assist with medical expenses her words were:  “A ton of bricks has been taken off my back. For the first time in months I was able to cry tears of joy…I will never forget this for the rest of my life!”

Tosha celebrated her 13th birthday on July 1st, 2009, and led a full and happy life with her family through late December of that year. She was free of the fluid and in remission for nearly three years following her diagnosis, and finally succumbed to a separate autoimmune medical condition on December 27, 2009. She lived cherished by her family and gave much love in return. Her owner refers to Tosha as “my little miracle.”  Today, her owner is an active member of the Pie Fund Board and honors Tosha’s memory through our mission of hope for other needy families and their furry loved ones.

The Pie Fund paid for Stony’s surgery, and it went well. In fact, the staff had a hard time keeping him off his paws at the clinic; he kept unlocking his cage and jumping in the air on his three legs!  Stony is now home and adjusting well to the surgery and treatments. He’s chasing birds in the back yard and is thoroughly enjoying life.

Atlas’s treatments required him to stay in residence at Cornell for an extended period. During that time, he totally charmed the staff who shared pictures of him sitting in on staff meetings and providing his input during rounds! He responded well to the treatments and returned home in April of 2009. His people say they have great plans for their “best friend and family member…all of them involve lots of hugs, open spaces, a few baths and time.” We’re told that Atlas is still doing well and thrilled to be romping in the snow and enjoying life.

There was a strong bond between Reggie and his person‚ “Reggie was my angel on four paws…got me through some tough times…” Reggie’s treatments resulted in a good prognosis suggesting the opportunity to enjoy a good quality of life going forward. The positive results he experienced from the new drug lasted from the fall of 2009 through May of the following year. His owner says, “The treatments helped Reggie get the best out of the last few months of his life. When the Palladia worked it was fantastic, and I know (Reggie) got more happy, healthy time because of it.”

Dudley didn’t fit the standard profile for a Pie Fund candidate, as he was past the help of further medical treatments. But the Fund’s Board took into consideration the fact that his owner had already borne significant costs following his initial diagnosis, and if Dudley had been introduced a few months earlier he would have met the criteria for assistance.

By late 2008 his owner was at a point where the anticipated cost of on-going medical care for Dudley was more than she could manage, but she wanted to bring her “prince” home from Cornell Veterinary Hospital for the holidays so he could at least spend his final days among his loving family and his fuzzy friends.

Little Dudley turned out to be quite a fighter. He held on through mid-February of the following year. The Pie Fund was able to cover the cost of treating his secondary infections and other related medical visits that his owner could not have afforded after ‘s costly chemo treatments. She wrote to tell us, “I want you to know how much I appreciated your help so that he could be with me longer…you truly have been an Angel for Dudley and me.”

We hope you’ll enjoy the new blog, and will be vocal with us in sharing your ideas about additional ways we can improve this web site and what topics you’d love to see us cover.  In the meantime, we’re glad you found us and look forward to helping more needy families stay together with their pets suffering from cancer.

If treatments could be continued, the oncologist gave 20 a very high chance of enjoying a good quality of life for at least another year. 20 and her owner have a special bond. He calls her his “Best Friend”‚ the sweetest dog ever.  With the Pie Fund’s help, 20′s treatments can continue for four to five months, at which point his family will have recovered enough to finance the remaining treatments in 2010. 20 and the caring owner who rescued her will be able to share more of the time they deserve together.