Dogfather's Fight with Cancer!
Donation protected
Friends, Animal Lovers,
My Dad has a saying that he doesn’t like attention for himself, “unless it’s for the animals,” which has made it very hard to bring us to ask for any help for him, but time is of the essence. My Dad, native Englishman ‘Tony the Dogfather,’ has been running his Dogfather Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Bahrain for the past 20 years. Entirely funded by the good hearts of outside donors and animal lovers, with no government sponsorship or subsidies, he’s managed to bring second chances to thousands of animals of all types. Goats, baboons, birds, and yes the dogs and cats, all have been given shelter, nourishment and cared for by him and his staff (paid for by donations as well). A majority of the arriving animals come injured, missing limbs, abused and neglected, but he has not turned them away. My Dad has truly given his life to the animals- rehabilitating them, allowing them to live the rest of their lives in peace.
So it’s rare for him to ask for something he needs, until now. A little less than a year ago, my Dad was diagnosed with advanced liver and colon cancer. A shock as he’s been one of the healthiest guys we know. He hid the real diagnosis from my brother and me for months, not wanting to alarm us or rush out to see him ill. Only a few of friends knew how serious it was, and understood that without healthcare, how costly it would be for him to have the life-saving surgery. A dear group of friends sponsored the first 6 months of chemotherapy and paid for the 8 hour surgery (around $55,000). The first surgery was a success and the cancer has been ‘cut’ out, but in order to remove the remaining tissue from the liver, he has to go back into the hospital very soon to complete the “Hepatic Resection” surgery and finish treatment. Without this surgery his health is in jeopardy. He’s weak, has lost a lot of weight, and is in pain from the first surgery which resulted in a pinched nerve in his shoulder (try feeding 450 animals morning and night with a bum shoulder!) causing debilitating pain.
We are concerned and alarmed that not only will we lose our father, the entire animal community will lose the rescue center and man who has become a beloved fixture of Bahrain. There will be no one to take over the center with its current count of 450 animals, no one to go to the elementary schools to speak and provide education on animal awareness and abuse in Bahrain. Most importantly the animals themselves will lose the voice of someone who has spent the last 20 years as an advocate for their rights and proper humane treatment so often overlooked in the Middle East.
Tony’s never used a dollar of any previously donated funds for his health issue, which is why we have set up this GoFundMe in all transparency, this is to not to save the animals, but it’s also saving my Dad who saves the animals.....something my brother and I wanted to be clear about.
Any donation you can give, will go directly to the hospital bill of around $39,000.00 (the balance of the care and the anticipated cost of the final surgery), not to us, not to the center. We hope to raise enough to make a large dent in the funds needed, which will persuade the doctors to perform the surgery and then we can work on getting the rest of the money needed after.
I invite you all to take a look at the links for additional information below and thank you all for your support.
Warm Regards,
Sarah Waters
https://www.facebook.com/Tonythedogfather/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
My Dad has a saying that he doesn’t like attention for himself, “unless it’s for the animals,” which has made it very hard to bring us to ask for any help for him, but time is of the essence. My Dad, native Englishman ‘Tony the Dogfather,’ has been running his Dogfather Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Bahrain for the past 20 years. Entirely funded by the good hearts of outside donors and animal lovers, with no government sponsorship or subsidies, he’s managed to bring second chances to thousands of animals of all types. Goats, baboons, birds, and yes the dogs and cats, all have been given shelter, nourishment and cared for by him and his staff (paid for by donations as well). A majority of the arriving animals come injured, missing limbs, abused and neglected, but he has not turned them away. My Dad has truly given his life to the animals- rehabilitating them, allowing them to live the rest of their lives in peace.
So it’s rare for him to ask for something he needs, until now. A little less than a year ago, my Dad was diagnosed with advanced liver and colon cancer. A shock as he’s been one of the healthiest guys we know. He hid the real diagnosis from my brother and me for months, not wanting to alarm us or rush out to see him ill. Only a few of friends knew how serious it was, and understood that without healthcare, how costly it would be for him to have the life-saving surgery. A dear group of friends sponsored the first 6 months of chemotherapy and paid for the 8 hour surgery (around $55,000). The first surgery was a success and the cancer has been ‘cut’ out, but in order to remove the remaining tissue from the liver, he has to go back into the hospital very soon to complete the “Hepatic Resection” surgery and finish treatment. Without this surgery his health is in jeopardy. He’s weak, has lost a lot of weight, and is in pain from the first surgery which resulted in a pinched nerve in his shoulder (try feeding 450 animals morning and night with a bum shoulder!) causing debilitating pain.
We are concerned and alarmed that not only will we lose our father, the entire animal community will lose the rescue center and man who has become a beloved fixture of Bahrain. There will be no one to take over the center with its current count of 450 animals, no one to go to the elementary schools to speak and provide education on animal awareness and abuse in Bahrain. Most importantly the animals themselves will lose the voice of someone who has spent the last 20 years as an advocate for their rights and proper humane treatment so often overlooked in the Middle East.
Tony’s never used a dollar of any previously donated funds for his health issue, which is why we have set up this GoFundMe in all transparency, this is to not to save the animals, but it’s also saving my Dad who saves the animals.....something my brother and I wanted to be clear about.
Any donation you can give, will go directly to the hospital bill of around $39,000.00 (the balance of the care and the anticipated cost of the final surgery), not to us, not to the center. We hope to raise enough to make a large dent in the funds needed, which will persuade the doctors to perform the surgery and then we can work on getting the rest of the money needed after.
I invite you all to take a look at the links for additional information below and thank you all for your support.
Warm Regards,
Sarah Waters
https://www.facebook.com/Tonythedogfather/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE
Organiser and beneficiary
Sarah Waters
Organiser
Henderson, NV
Mark Schopp
Beneficiary
