Frankie’s Fight- Cancer Care Fund

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~Anatole France

Frankie Is our amazingly sweet, silly and loyal lab-pit mix. She wants nothing more in life than to be right by our sides. She is a lazy girl who is happiest when she is cuddled up, lounging on a hammock or sprawled out on top of any pillow she can find. We adopted her a couple of years ago after she had suffered through a long and terrible ordeal. We knew she needed a soft place to land and opened our home and our hearts to her. We fell in love with her instantly and we can’t imagine our lives with out her.

Frankie’s journey is quite a tale of spirit and perseverance.  Frankie spent her first 8 years with a family that unfortunately had to give her up, through no fault of her own. She was being looked after by one of their family members and one day Frankie got scared and took off. She was lost and on her own for a year, through one of the most brutal New England winters on record. Missing Dogs of Massachusetts worked with the owner tirelessly to try to locate Frankie.  There were a few sightings, but then the trail went cold. They never gave up hope, then one day, finally, they received a call that a dog resembling Frankie had been "living" in someones back yard, but when approached, the dog would run off.  Missing dogs of Massachusetts sprung into action and went to this house to set up a trap. On Easter Sunday, a year to the day from when she had gone missing, 55 miles away from the area she took off from, Frankie was safely trapped. She had lost 40 pounds, was coved in ticks and tested positive for Lyme disease, but was otherwise okay! She fought and survived then and deserves that chance again now.

I recently noticed that Frankie was straining to urinate. I immediately took her to Tufts Animal Hospital where she would spend the next six days. It was determined that her urinary flow was blocked, a potentially life threatening emergency. After many diagnostic tests, we were devastated to learn that she has bladder cancer. We were given some options and decided to go with a procedure called ultrasound guided endoscopic diode laser ablation (UGELAB). This procedure would help in debulking the tumor masses-enough that she would be able to pee on her own. The procedure was very successful and we were able to bring her home the next day. The suggested treatment moving forward is chemotherapy. This will hopefully slow the progression of the disease and give us more time with our girl. At the moment Frankie doesn’t seem sick. She still seems like her old self...playful and silly. Her quality of life is still good, and she hasn’t yet had any other symptoms. As long as this remains true, we will do whatever we can to help her fight this battle. Frankie is a fighter and a survivor and she wants to be here...as her past has proven.

We are humbly asking for donations to help us with the cost of Frankie’s cancer care. The initial hospital bill was very costly and the estimated medical expenses going forward are just more than what we can manage on our own. We greatly appreciate any help you can offer. Any donations received above what we need for Frankie’s care-will be donated, in her name, to an organization dedicated to helping animals.

Please share Frankie’s story and keep her in your prayers. We are forever grateful and thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Krista, Henry and Frankie