Meet Handsome Hank! Hank is our almost 7-year-old 'Dorkus Shepherd'. Hank loves life and is exuberant almost to the point of annoying...almost. He has a sweet tooth like you have never seen in a dog, and he loves everyone he meets! Hank has been a part of our family since he was seven weeks old.

In early November, we noticed Hank was urinating blood and he was in a good amount of pain. We took him to the vet and had some tests run; there was nothing conclusive, so it was a suspected UTI even though his urine test didn't prove anything. He was put on a ten-day regime of antibiotics and it cleared up. But just a couple of weeks later, he was urinating blood again and we took him to the vet with the same results. Once again, the antibiotics cleared it up, and once again, it came back. The third time he was urinating blood, including clots this time, he was put on a one-month regime of antibiotics and had X-rays done. The X-rays didn't show anything, so we were recommended to a specialist an hour away. The specialist did an ultrasound and discovered a rather large tumor on Hank's left kidney. The ultrasound specialist then referred us to an oncologist. We had a biopsy done and on May 8th, Hank tested positive for renal carcinoma. On May 23rd, Hank had a CT scan done that confirmed the mass was rather large to the point that his kidney could not even be seen. He had surgery on May 28th to have his left kidney and the cancerous mass removed. The histopathology report afterwards showed that Hank's mitotic count was greater than 100 and anything above 30 is considered very bad with a poor prognosis unless followed up by chemotherapy.

Which brings us to now. We have decided to move forward with chemotherapy for Hank. He would be put on a 6-8 month regime of Palladia. Palladia is an oral chemotherapy drug that was developed specifically for dogs, and it would be administered three days a week here at home. It is almost always tolerated well with very few side effects and it could potentially add a couple to a few more happy and qualitative years to his life.

The only drawback is that it is very expensive at about $1000 a month, and we have already spent approximately $13,000 to diagnose and treat Hank up to this point. The chemotherapy isn't just a matter of giving him medication, either. It also includes monthly vet visits, blood and urine rechecks, and periodic ultrasounds.

So, we have decided that we would humbly like to ask for help to treat Hank from this point forward. We ask for your monetary help to help us pay for his chemotherapy.

Above all of this, we ask for your prayers. This has been a very stressful chapter in our lives, but we remain ever thankful to God for His abundant blessings and even just for gracing us with this dog to begin with, and the joy that he has brought into our lives. Pray that we can hold this cancer at bay for as long as possible before it takes Hank from us too early.

No donation is too small and we thank you sincerely for any help you can give us as we move forward with Hank's treatment.

Proverbs 12:10 The righteous care for the needs of their animals.

God bless, and thank you!