Skinny Pete is an angel straight from heaven who I rescued from the Lancaster shelter in 2013. And by “rescued” I mean “gave birth to.” He has served me well as a service dog and as my ride-or-die BFF.

In May, his vet found a splenic mass, and we removed the spleen in July. Unfortunately, it came back as an aggressive, malignant cancer, histiocytic sarcoma, meaning it originates in the immune system. We were able to get the localized tumor, but since it’s a full-body issue, he needs chemo to kill off as much of the cancer as possible.

The first big expense is $1800 for cancer staging, and then $1000 for his first round of chemo. He needs six rounds of chemo total, three to four weeks apart. Honestly, I’ve never loved anyone as much as I love him (sorry Grandad) and I want to do all I can to make sure he gets as much time as possible.