Jethro was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma, an extremely aggressive cancer at the age of 3 in 2019. He had his leg amputated and was given only 6–8 months to live. That's what the doctors told us, but Jethro had other plans!❤️

Jethro has beaten cancer twice—and now he is fighting it for the third time in seven years. OUR plan is to give him another fighting chance.

Here is Jethro's journey and how he has made it a lifestyle of defying all odds.

In October 2015, we went to Tri-County Rescue in Boca Raton, Florida, and adopted Jethro, the puppy love of our life. We knew as soon as we met him that he was coming home with us—he was running all around, jumping in and out of our laps, licking us, and completely out of his puppy mind (and still is!).

In 2019, on February 14th, at just 3 years old, Jethro was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of hemangiosarcoma. After finding our dream team at the University of Florida, he had to undergo an amputation, followed by chemotherapy and the Yale immunotherapy vaccine. He was given 6–8 months to live, but in September 2019 he was deemed in remission, defying all odds!

In March 2023, at the age of 7, during a routine follow-up, a tumor was found on his kidney. It turned out to be renal carcinoma. His kidney had to be removed, and he again underwent chemotherapy. After continued follow-up staging, he was deemed in remission 16 months later again defying all odds!

In August 2025, at the age of 10, Jethro was diagnosed with cancer for the third time. His hemangiosarcoma had returned, this time with six tumors (target lesions), and was considered metastatic. Needless to say, we were devastated. At this point, he received the Yale booster vaccine and, after not responding to a standard chemo protocol, He was started on a non-standard chemo protocol. During follow-up scans while being continuously monitored, we were ecstatic to find out that the tumors were responding to treatment and that one of them had actually disappeared!

On March 13th, Jethro underwent cryosurgery to freeze a tumor in the muscle between his ribs in hopes of shrinking it, as there were concerns it could become uncomfortable if it grew too large. A scan in late March showed the tumor was responding and getting smaller. However, on his most recent scan on May 21st, though most of his tumors were still stable the one in his muscle between his ribs had suddenly doubled in size.

After consulting with his surgical oncologist, we discussed the next best step: surgery to remove the tumor in the muscle between his ribs, as it is no longer responding to treatment. After surgery, Jethro will also need five rounds of radiation therapy. We have attached the estimates for surgery and radiation for transparency in the update section. His doctors feel comfortable proceeding given how resilient he has been—time and time again he has bounced right back after every surgery and procedure.

We are reaching out for assistance because, after seven years of continuous care as Jethro has fought cancer on and off, the out-of-pocket expenses have finally caught up with us. We are incredibly grateful that the University of Florida has recently started collaborating with the amazing team at Animal Cancer Care Clinic right here local to us, allowing Jethro to receive his chemotherapy treatments nearby and saving him from the exhausting 3.5-hour drive each way. However, UF remains his primary oncology team and they still oversee his overall monitoring, manage his care, and will be the ones performing his upcoming surgery. We are transparent that we do have pet insurance; however, with chemotherapy treatments over the years, three surgeries, multiple long-distance drives to the University of Florida (3.5 hours each way), countless CT scans, MRI's, bloodwork, regular and specialty doctor visits, medications, holistic pills, prescription medication, specialty food etc., insurance does not cover everything—and what it does cover is not reimbursed at 100%. When Jethro turned 10, the monthly premium increased and reimbursement amounts decreased, making it increasingly difficult to manage the costs.

We are keeping his insurance strictly as a worst-case safety net for unexpected future complications. If we reach our full $12,000 fundraising goal here, we will not need to rely on the insurance reimbursements for this treatment. Every dollar you donate goes directly towards his surgery, radiation, and post-op care. (See estimates in update section) Hitting this goal allows us to pay the University of Florida upfront and bypass the exhausting insurance claims process entirely.

We have heard that because of Jethro’s age, it may be harder to receive assistance, as he is considered “old.”

The truth is, Jethro is old because we fought for him.

When he was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma at just 3 years old, he was given a grim prognosis. We pursued every treatment available because at the time it was feasible and we wanted him to have the chance to grow old and he did! A matter of fact this past May he made it past another prognosis date!

Today, Jethro is almost 11 years old and has no idea that he has cancer. He just knows he is a happy puppy who is completely loved and cared for.

That was always the goal—and we are not ready to stop fighting for him now.

He is still doing all of his “Jethro” things and has the same—if not better—quality of life than he has ever had. Still showing no symptoms, still being his crazy, out-of-his-mind puppy self. Barking at bunnies, squirrels, geckos, birds—anything living and breathing. He loves his long walks and sniffing everything. He still does his happy puppy rolls, chases the vacuum, and barks at anything with a nozzle (not sure why!). He is still a food bully and makes it very clear when his meals are not prepared quickly enough. He still takes apart our bedding to make it “just right” for him. He still loves sitting on the patio and taking in the world (when he’s not barking at his arch-nemeses!)

Any amount is truly appreciated. Please help us continue to give Jethro the gift of getting older so he can keep defying all odds and blessing our world with his crazy, lovable, delicious out of his puppy mind presence.❣️

We cannot imagine our world without him. As we always say: “This is Jethro’s world, and we just live in it!” And we hope to keep living in it for many years to come. ❤️