Help Murphy Stay Comfortable and Loved Through Bone Cancer

Our loving dog and companion Murphy is 9 ½ years old, and he is one of the bravest, goofiest, and most joyful souls I’ve ever known.

A few months ago, he developed a limp that wouldn’t go away. I brought him in thinking it might be a strained muscle or arthritis, but instead we received some heartbreaking news:

Osteosarcoma, a severe bone cancer that had already spread from his shoulder to his ribs.

The options presented to us (amputation, chemotherapy, painful biopsies) felt like too much for his body to endure. Even with such extreme measures, his survival time would only extend out to about 8 months, according to our vet.

And so, with a heart full of love, I chose the gentler path: to care for Murphy as long as he’s comfortable, to let him live his remaining days at home on painkillers and NSAIDS, surrounded by the ones who love him the most, for as long as he has left.

According to some sites I've found, Murphy could live for a year or more even with this diagnosis, although more than likely he only has a few more months. It has gotten noticeably worse since his diagnosis.

The pain is real (osteosarcoma is a deep, aching pain), and it requires powerful and expensive medication, given every 8-12 hours. The costs are adding up...

How You Can Help

I'm humbly asking for help with:

If you’re unable to give financially, sharing this page or sending a kind message means the world to me.

Murphy is not just my dog. He’s my best friend, companion, my protector, and my teacher in joy and presence. Every tail wag, every soft sigh, every goofy expression reminds me that love doesn't disappear when life gets hard. It deepens.

Thank you for reading, for caring, and for helping me give Murphy the peace, comfort, and dignity he so deeply deserves.

With gratitude,

Mike

Baby Murphy:

I will keep an updated list of vet bills for transparency:

May 28: $434.44 (diagnostics and medicine)

June 2: $20.16 (medicine)

June 6: $22.68 (medicine)

June 13: $131.25 (medicine)

June 26: $96.60 (medicine)

July 14: $225.33 (medicine)

July 29th: $237.58 (medicine)

August 12: $37.17

August 21: 209 (euthanasia)

Total so far: $1414.21

UPDATE (6/16): Everyone is being so generous! We already raised enough money to cover ALL of his expenses so far during this process. I can't believe it! I didn't expect that to happen so quickly. Thank you all SO MUCH for helping us out so we can get on with our lives financially and focus entirely on making Murphy as comfortable as possible.

UPDATE (6/17): We have smashed our goal to bits! It's amazing. I love you all so much. As of now we don't have any additional expenses to add to our total, but I know that there are more to come, so the extra money that's been given will go toward those expenses. I wish I could give each and every one of you big hugs!

UPDATE (6/26): The medicine that Murphy is on is giving him less painful days. So much so that he is sometimes running around (but not too much!) in the backyard, wanting to play. It's heartbreaking knowing that we need to keep him calm as he's becoming more fragile, and these pills can lead to an injury if we're not careful (as he doesn't realize how much pain is really there). I had no idea how many people would contribute and care about this, and it truly is very touching.