Meet Na’amah (aka Names & Hippo), a 10 year old pitty born into a backyard breeder, dumped at the shelter at < 1 year old, adopted by me, Savannah, almost 2 months later. She has had skin cancer 3 times (squamous cell carcinoma x 1 & cutaneous hemangiosarcoma x 2). Now, she has another cancer called a Mast Cell Tumor, an aggressive cancer. This was diagnosed on a FNA (fine needle aspiration), so the grade (or severity) of the cancer cannot be determined. She needs urgent surgery to remove the cancer and determine the grade to determine next steps. The way the vet explained it to me is Grade 1 is treated by removing the tumor and no further treatment is needed (best case scenario), Grade 2 is treated by removing the tumor and consult with oncology (cancer doctor), Grade 3 and 4 are more dangerous and often require surgical removal and chemotherapy treatments.

Na’amah is a sweet & gentle soul. She greets everyone with kisses and love in her heart, she does not have a mean bone in her body. She is always wanting to say hi to new people when we go for walks, or to events, or even at the vet’s office. Na’amah was trained to be a Psychiatric Service Dog and worked along side me as such for years; she also worked as a Therapy Dog, going to Memory Care Units / Facilities to work with people with dementia and / or Alzheimer.

I have two other pets, Burger (my cat) and Slater (my schnoodle). Slater and I are very dependent on Na’amah as we both have some severe anxiety. We need her to get treated and live a healthy life for many more years.

* of note, I do not have the exact amount that the surgery will cost — just estimating right now (will update when I have it)