Help save Wilbur from bone cancer (Osteosarcoma)

My name is Catherine Rodriguez (Sliva) and I'm doing this GoFundMe for Wilbur, my six-year-old greyhound , my best friend, and my soul dog who has changed the course of my life.

It breaks my heart to come to terms with everything going on and to watch my best friend suffer from this horrible disease. Unfortunately the only thing we can do to stop the pain from the bone cancer is completely amputate his entire front left leg. Originally I wanted to choose palliative treatment and give him pain meds as needed but with this new and fast bone growth that is now visible, I don’t want him to continue to live in pain. Amputation followed by chemotherapy would give Wilbur the best chance of life and would stop the daily pain Wilbur feels from this cancer that is growing in his shoulder.

My family didn't grow up with dogs the closest they had to a pet was a box turtle who lived in our garden that my family had rescued from the side of the highway. Instead of having a pet, I followed bloggers who did. One of those bloggers was a Youtuber named Jenna Marbles and her Italian greyhounds - that's really where my love started.

In the summer of 2017, I adopted Wilbur, but it wasn't till the evening of September 22, 2017 that met him. At the time, I was deployed in Iraq with the Army, but when I heard of Wilbur, after years of looking, I knew he was the one. Wilbur was previously a racer and was formally known as Flying Barr. During that time, Wilbur ran 23 races and won 6. What he learned from that was that he liked to chase things, at first he liked chasing the rabbit, but then he turned his focus to chasing the other runners.

Once Wilbur was retired, he was placed in a foster home, but he wasn't doing well. He didn't have social skills and he didn't understand things as simple as playing with toys, but I didn't care because I knew with enough time I could get him there - and I did.

Wilbur now loves to cuddle and sometimes his curiosity gets the best of him. His favorite toy is a giraffe without legs and he makes the best Halloween partner. Without a short of doubt in my mind, I can say meeting and loving Wilbur has been the best decision I've ever made.

Fast-forwarding to July 2021, I noticed a limp on his front leg that wasn't going away. I took him to the vet after a week and we weren't sure what was wrong but my gut said to get an X-ray it was blurry and in greyhounds that meant he might be looking at cancer, a radiologist later confirmed it as Osteosarcoma, bone cancer, and gave Wilbur 3-5 months to live. I was given two options: pain management or amputation and chemo. I opted for pain management.

This past week the x-ray no longer showed a blur, but a defined and growing tumor. A growth also appeared on his leg and is now visibly growing by each day. The vet is now urging amputations and I want to do it, but the cost is high. The estimate is $4000 for the amputation and $4500 for chemo. With this, his life will be extended to a year or a year and a 1/2. It's expensive, but I don't want to give up on Wilbur because I know we can make it through this.

Wilbur has provided my life with a light and hope when I was at my lowest. He has helped me adjust to life after deployment and after the Army. Wilbur has saved my life many times and now it is my time to save his. Wilbur is the reason I am here today and helped make me a better person.

We are so thankful and grateful for all of the love and support we have received. I cannot find the words to fully express the appreciation I have. Thank you so much for reading and thank you for helping me save my best friend. We love you all.

About me:

I am a combat Army veteran who has done a tour in South Korea and deployment to Iraq during my enlistment. Since leaving the army, I now go to school at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. I volunteer with Greyhound Pets of America where I've been lucky enough to fostered 18 dogs to date. I currently have 2 retired racing greyhounds, Wilbur and Wendy.