Colt’s Fight Against Cancer

My name is Jessica and I have a 5 year old Doberman named Colt who is my everything. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime dog, my soul dog, my heart dog.

If you know anything about Colt and I, you know that Colt means the absolute world to me. Colt has been my constant companion throughout so much. He's gotten me through loss and grief, celebrated my wins with me, been with me at my lowest lows and my greatest highs. He’s been there through my ongoing battle with depression and anxiety. Colt is my entire world and I’m not ready to say goodbye.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am always ready to help anyone around me. I’ve been involved in rescue for years contributing my time, love and money for rescues. Whether that be through fostering, being active in the community and helping find homes or donating in any way that I can. Asking for help is not an easy thing for me to do, but I can't deny Colt the chance for a better quality of life without at least trying.

Why I’m starting this GoFundMe

It breaks my heart to share that Colt has been diagnosed with lymphoma, a devastating form of cancer. Having a Doberman and knowing their multitude of health issues always had me preparing for the worst, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. The idea of losing Colt so soon is unbearable, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give him a fighting chance.

Canine lymphoma is an extremely fast moving form of cancer. If left untreated we are looking at only a few more weeks and I can’t let that happen without exploring his options.

Colt still has so much life in him. If you saw him, you would never be able to tell that he has cancer. He greets me every day with the same wagging tail and spark in his eyes, as if he’s telling me he’s not ready to give up—and neither am I.

The recommended treatment is chemotherapy, which can help him fight this disease and give us more precious time together. The cost, however, is overwhelming, reaching thousands of dollars that I simply don’t have on hand. In between the rising cost of life, household, insurance, car payments… I will inevitably have a hard time keeping up with what will be a large amount of vet bills as a single income household. Lymphoma has no cure, but we can get more time and that’s my only wish. More time. Money comes back, but he doesn’t. He’s my everything and I’d sell my soul for him if I could.

This is where I humbly ask for your help. Any donation, no matter how small, will go directly toward Colt’s medical bills, medications, and care. Your kindness and generosity could make all the difference in giving him a chance to beat this and continue being the loving, playful dog he’s always been. If you can’t donate, please keep us in your thoughts and share our story!

Colt has given me unconditional love every single day of his life. Now, I want to give him the chance to keep living the full, happy life he deserves.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story and for considering helping Colt in his fight against cancer. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

I will be updating the GoFundMe with updates, results, estimates and invoices.

You can also follow us on Instagram for regular updates @coltthedoberman.

What’s been done?

I’ve consulted my regular veterinarian to have him examined. We got radiographs done and sent a cytology to the lab that unfortunately confirmed the diagnosis of Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Colt saw the oncologist on 02/12/25 and we decided to move forward with single-agent Doxorubicin as a chemotherapy treatment.

What’s next?

Colt will be starting chemotherapy. His Doxorubicin treatments will be given by IV every 3 weeks for a total of 5 treatments. The cost per treatment is about $922 totalling at around $4610 for the entire treatment. He will also require blood work a week after his first treatment which is $170.

What is lymphoma?

Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymph nodes and lymphatic system. This cancer may be localized to one region or spread throughout the entire body. Lymphoma is a common cancer, accounting for 15-20% of new cancer diagnoses in dogs. There are four different types of lymphoma in dogs, varying in severity and prognosis. Colt’s presumed to have Multicentric (systemic) lymphoma. This is, by far, the most common type of canine lymphoma. Multicentric lymphoma accounts for approximately 80-85% of cases in dogs. In multicentric lymphoma, lymph nodes throughout the body are affected. This cancer responds very well to medical management.

What is the life expectancy for a dog with lymphoma?

On average, dogs who are treated with Prednisone (steroid) alone have an expected survival of four to six weeks. Combination chemotherapy is the gold standard, 80-90% of patients respond with median remission times of 12 months (20% of patients will still be alive at 2 years). Single agent chemotherapy has a response rate of 75% and 6 month median remission. While lymphoma is never truly ‘cured’, remission is a term that is used to describe the temporary resolution of all signs of lymphoma.

Why chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a very scary word, but luckily it is very well tolerated in dogs. We are often quick to dismiss this option because of the side effects we see in humans. Dogs rarely lose their hair or seem to feel ill during chemotherapy. Less than 30% will experience mild side effects, most of which can be managed at home. Patients that present well like Colt, have a better prognosis and better response to chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is our best bet to give him an excellent quality of life during his final weeks, months, or hopefully years.