Help my dog, Calvin, fight a Brain Tumor!

 

 

Hi, I'm Chantal and Sir Calvin has been my best friend and furry son for the last 10+ years. I got him as a tiny pom puppy (see picture above), and he is still mistaken as a puppy to this day! We've done everything together from graduating university, starting my first job, and even moving to Europe together. He's been by my side the whole time. The most amazing guy and friend anyone could ever ask for - constantly filling my life with light, joy, and his infectious huge smile. He is still so incredibly happy, healthy, and full of life.

In mid-July I noticed my seemingly healthy forever puppy getting 'wobbly' and being unbalanced/coordinated. After having him see 2 specialists in the UK (RVC and North Downs) I opted for an MRI. I was devastated to find out on September 10 he has a malignant brain tumour located in his brain stem - life expectancy without treatment is 2 months best case.

 

 

Given the extremely high risk and difficult area of the tumour and his size (2 kg), it was determined his only hope for survival is radiotherapy. After spending days researching, I found the University of Edinburgh Royal (Dick) Veterinary School has the most advanced radiotherapy technology available for pets (Vitalbeam by Varian). We made the trip to Scotland this week to have his evaluation and CT scan to plan radiotherapy treatment options.

 

In just the last few weeks I've incurred over £4,000+ in unexpected medical expenses relating to this horrible brain tumor (the MRI + Cerebropinal fluid test for initial diagnosis was £3,000). Because he was already 7 yrs old when we moved from the USA, he is not insured and I've had to pay for all of this out of my savings.

 

The radiotherapy and treatment at University of Edinburgh is going to cost another £8,200-£10,000 depending on the number of fractions and procedures required to carry out radiation. As of Oct 19, his charges are £8,200 bringing it to £12,200 in the last 8 weeks. You can see one invoice below.


Sir Calvin turned 11 on Saturday, October 2, 2021 and I know he has many more beautiful birthdays ahead of him and can overcome this. He has touched so many lives, and it is so beautiful all the kind words and messages of support we have received from friends and insta followers. Because of this and in honor of his birthday on Oct 2, I have started this gofundme for anyone who wants to help Sir Calvin get treatment and fight this brain tumour. Absolutely any donation is deeply appreciated, from the bottom of our hearts and will be the best birthday gift you can give him. He is scheduled to start radiation next week (October 4). You can follow his journey on insta at Sir_Calvin

 

We hope to inspire other dogs battling brain cancer along the way, as until it happened to us we had no idea how common it is for a 'senior' dog 9+ yrs to develop cancer. Sadly many parents find out too late, or decide to euthanise to avoid the extremely expensive and time consuming efforts to fight it, however, I am confident in Sir Calvin's case it is more than worth it.

 

Lots of love and pawsitivity,

Chantal and Sir Calvin (insta: Sir_calvin )