Morris Animal Foundation 2010 K9 Cancer Walk

I am gearing up for Morris Animal Foundation’s 2nd annual K9 Cancer Walk to be held in Elk Grove, California (www.curecaninecancer.org/) on Saturday, April 24th.  Just as was the case last year, I will be a speaker at this fabulous event along with Dr. Michael Kent, a staff oncologist at the UC Davis veterinary school.  The actual walk will begin at 10:00 am and the speakers program will be at 11:30 am.

Care to join me there?  If you cannot participate in person, I hope you will consider joining my virtual Speaking for Spot Team (http://maf.convio.net/site/TR/Events/CCC?team_id=1260&pg=team&fr_id=1040).   And if you are able to attend, please come introduce yourself to me.  I would love to meet you!

Here is the blog I posted one year ago after the very first K9 Cancer Walk.

Walking to Cure Canine Cancer

This past Saturday, I saw four three-legged dogs- each one having lost a limb as part of their treatment for bone cancer.  I met another sweetie pie with a shaved patch over one side of his chest.  His mom told me this was the site where her pup’s chest cavity was drained of fluid produced by a cancer growing at the base of his heart.  Yet another dog I encountered had an orange-sized tumor on the bridge of his nose. 

Believe it or not, I met none of these dogs in a veterinary hospital setting; rather, we were all gathered in Elk Grove, California, the site of the very first Morris Animal Foundation Walk to Cure Canine Cancer. Morris Animal Foundation has launched an unprecedented $30 million fundraising effort with the following goals in mind:

1.  Provide new treatments for dogs currently suffering from cancer
2.  Establish a high-quality tumor sample bank that can be used by cancer researchers
3.  Develop prevention strategies so that cancer might one day be eliminated or, at the very least, drastically reduced in incidence and severity
4.  Train new researchers who will work towards discovering preventions, treatments and cures

An important part of the fundraising effort will be in the form of “Walks to Cure Canine Cancer.”  The Elk Grove Walk raised $17,945!  I had the honor of speaking at this fabulous first-of-its-kind event-what a thrill to be part of it all!  More than 300 dogs and their humans gathered together in the fight against canine cancer.

As unfathomable as it sounds, cancer will be the cause of death in one out of every four of our beloved canine companions.  There’s so much we don’t yet know about what causes canine cancer and how best to treat it.  I’m thrilled with the Morris Animal Foundation plans.  They are an incredibly ethical and effective organization, and I am expecting great things. To learn more about the Morris Animal Canine Cancer Campaign, please visit www.curecaninecancer.org/. I encourage you to participate in any way you can.

Best wishes to you and your four-legged family members for abundant good health, 

Nancy Kay, DVM
Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Recipient, American Animal Hospital Association 2009 Animal Welfare and Humane Ethics Award
Recipient, 2009 Dog Writers Association of America Award for Best Blog
Recipient, 2009 Eukanuba Canine Health Award
Author of Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life
Website: http://www.speakingforspot.com
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Please visit http://www.speakingforspot.com to read excerpts from Speaking for Spot. There you will also find “Advocacy Aids”- helpful health forms you can download and use for your own dog, and a collection of published articles on advocating for your pet’s health. Speaking for Spot is available at Amazon.com, local bookstores, or your favorite online book seller.