Join Dante's Journey Against Cancer

We received several messages from people on how they can help Dante after learning of his recent cancer diagnosis so we decided to open a GoFundMe campaign to collect donations that will go towards his radiation therapy treatment and should we exceed that goal it will go towards all his ongoing care/treatment moving forward as we will be using a mixture of both eastern and western medicine to battle his squamous cell carcinoma. We have already invested about $4,000 towards his care from initial CT scans, biopsies, consultation appointments, and medications/supplements.

We received a quote from PetCute Oncology in Clifton, NJ for the following:

An additional CT scan for them to accurately radiate during treatment + abdominal ultrasound to make sure there aren’t additional surprises growing in his abdominal cavity - $2,790.06

SRS Treatment Estimate which is an intensive 3 day therapy session where he has to be anesthetized for each session while he receives radiation - $10,641.00

Dante is not only a beloved member of our family but he is also the face of Specter K9 and the reason we started our careers as dog trainers to help both owners and rescues alike with their dogs. In his youth he has helped countless dogs become more social and/or tolerant of other dogs as well as served as a great example of how structure, rules, and boundaries can turn around unwanted behavioral issues like resource guarding and separation anxiety. He has touched many and we are so appreciative that there are those who wish to help him.

For those who are interested in the progression of his tumor, these photos were taken July 1st, 2025 - approx one week from when I first noticed the lump on his forehead where it was likely around the size it is today. We had started to see behavioral changes where he wasn’t as energetic and active as he normally was.

The next two photos were taken a week later, July 8th, 2025 where it can be seen that the lump had grown exponentially due to inflammation. It severely impacted his behavior where he spent most of the day laying down and was refusing most of his meals.

With these photos we were finally able to get an appointment the following week at Upstate Veterinary Specialties for a CT scan of his head/chest and to biopsy the mass on July 15th, 2025. We learned that while they cannot determine if the tumor originated in his sinuses or from dermal tissues but it has compromised the integrity of his skull and was causing inflammation in the lining of his brain.

And finally we are at today where he has completely reverted to his normal behavior before this all started all thanks to his carprofen prescription and we are slowly implementing new supplements and medications that are to help combat his cancer. We have also started ozonated glycerine and mistletoe injections that has shown a lot of clinical promise to combating cancer cells.

If you’ve made it through this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read through Dante’s progression and donating towards his care so that we can try to buy more time with him. Dante will be 10 on November 6th.