Hope for Noa! Help with her cancer treatment.

Noa is a gift, in all meanings of the word. It was just a couple days after I lost my second mother, my grandmother, to heart failure, that I was told a family friend’s rescue had puppies. It was accident; a stray got inside the fence before she could get spayed, and the result was Noa.

Her mother wasn’t very good at being a mother, so Noa came home early at just 4 weeks. Caring for her was an around the clock, full time job—feedings at all hours, being alert to her needs, but it was exactly what I needed as I mourned my grandma. In a way, she saved me—without caring for her, so little and helpless, I don’t know how I would have coped. But she got me through one of the toughest times of my life, and would get me through several more.

Now it’s my turn to return the favor.

Early September, my husband when you scoop her into his arms as he does everyday—but this time, she screamed. He found a lump on one of her upper nipples, and told me immediately. We rushed her to urgent care and a cytology was taken, which revealed an abscess. But they couldn’t conclusively say it was ONLY an abscess, and so she was given antibiotics and scheduled for a retest once the swelling went down.

A couple weeks later, we had the lump retested—and the results just came back on September 26th.

A 1cm carcinoma.

So now we are in the process of scheduling with an oncologist. It will have to be surgically removed, but first we have to figure out if it has spread.

Money is tight. We’ve already spent close to 3k on her X-rays, urgent care visit, two cytologies, bloodwork, and fecal work. I am setting a goal of 3k currently until we know actual numbers, as the surgery can cost anywhere in that range. Any funds not used for her treatment will be donated to a local animal shelter.

Noa is an amazing dog. She is wickedly smart—she knows all her family member’s names, all her toy names, and we are constantly having to create new code words for various things (which she will eventually figure out). She loves playing in the water at the beach, long walks and hikes, and RUNNING like the wind! Ball is life, ball is love, and she adores squeaky toys. And she WILL learn any trick you teach her-provided the food reward is acceptable. ;D

Any help is appreciated. My husband and I live paycheck to paycheck; Covid made things hard, and having to move during the pandemic (not our choice!) when rent spiked has made it even harder. No matter what, we will do everything we can to help our fur-child. Aside from this issue, she has always had (according to her vet) the health of a dog half her age and she is full of so much life and energy and love.

Mi love and good health to all of you. <3