Cancer Treatment For Gus the Good Golden Boy

Hello to all animal lovers and friends and family of Erin Paget, her sweet daughter Delaney, and their beloved pup, Gus, commonly known as “Goose”.

My name is Sara and Erin is a very dear friend of mine and has been for the last 20 years. With her permission, I decided to create this fundraiser for her and her sweet pup Gus.

A few weeks ago, Erin told me that she discovered a visible polyp on Gus. She noticed he seemed to be experiencing some discomfort while using the bathroom due to the polyp and she took him to the vet right away to have him looked at. Pretty immediately, Gus went in for surgery and had the polyp removed and tested. A week later Erin received the news that her 5 year old, best furry friend, has been diagnosed with rectal lymphoma. Erin has carefully weighed her options and has received several professional opinions from specialists who have dealt with this rare form of cancer in Golden’s. She’s trying to remain hopeful since he is only 5 and the fact that there have been several success stories from studies on this form of cancer in Golden Retrievers. She has made the decision to try one round of chemo treatment. This decision has not come easily and she feels that she may regret not giving it a try if it could help Gus live a longer and healthier life.

What exactly does “one round” of treatment look like? Gus will have to go in once a month for the next five months to complete his first round of treatment. The monthly expenses for the treatment alone are $1200. Looking at $6,000 for the first round of chemo on top of his usual care expenses an additional medicine, new diet, etc. is a large expense to suddenly take on.

Erin is one of the hardest working people I know. Aside from being an amazing dog mom to Gus, she is an incredible single mother to her 20 month old daughter. While she is working, her little one is in childcare 5 days a week and she brings Gus to doggy day care to ensure he is being cared for throughout all hours of her working days. Erin is no stranger to hardship or loss, and I always say she is one of the strongest and most resilient people I know. While she handles everything life throws at her and manages to come out on top, with such grace and optimism, she deserves to catch a break this time around.

I really want to be able to help her through this difficult time and take some of the financial burden off of her plate as she continues to navigate through this all. My hope is that each little or big drop contributed through this platform will fill the bucket and take away at least one stressful factor of this heartache.

Gus is a treasured member of Erin’s family unit. She takes him on daily walks with her little one and regular park dates. While Delaney is little, she has big love for Gus. She loves helping Erin with daily tasks in caring for Gus. His name , "Goose", was actually one of her first words, and he will always be her first dog love.

Thank you for taking the time to read through this all. Know that any amount donated does not go unnoticed and we are so grateful for everyone who pitches in. Please consider sharing this fundraiser with your community as well.