Hi, my name is Jane and I am fundraising for my border collie, Kima. I can still hardly believe I’m writing this. My precious Kima, my little soulmate, my perfect dog, my agility star, has been diagnosed with hemangiosarco. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is a very aggressive cancer in dogs with a prognosis of only a few months. My heart is broken into a million pieces.

On Sunday, Sept. 24th, Kima and I were training agility as per our normal Sunday mornings. One of our training group said she looked “off” in the weave poles. My good friend, Julia, was walking towards us when Kima came out of a tunnel and appeared lame. Just as Julia got to her, she collapsed. She actually stopped breathing and her heart stopped. I was terrified and helpless. Fortunately, Julia knew just what to do and started CPR compressions while another friend, Debra, breathed for her and they brought her back to life. I later was told there’s only a 3% chance of bringing them back. Kima was rushed to the emergency vet and specialty hospital, VESH.

The next day, Kima had an electrocardiogram that showed bleeding in her heart and a shadow that could be a possible mass. She then had an ultrasound that showed no masses in her abdomen. I read that as she didn’t have hemangio. It was decided to do surgery to remove the periocardial sac around her heart so that if she had another bleeding incident, it wouldn’t cause her heart to stop. She was scheduled for surgery Oct 3rd with Dr. Heather Millard, whom I have come to love. Prior to surgery I learned that hemangio was still very much on the table and was, most probably, the diagnosis. That was a huge blow. During surgery, a mass was found in her heart. I elected to have it removed. She did well with the surgery and came home that Thursday. She has recovered really well at home and is ready to go for some extended walks after 2 weeks of short, slow ones around the neighborhood.

Oct 18th, I got the final pathology report. It is hemangiosarcoma. As I write that noxious word, I feel like a hand is wrapped around my heart and is squeezing it so it can’t continue to beat. After conferring with my former vet and friend, Dr Lori, who unfortunately experienced this with her beloved Golden, Forbes, I am going to do chemo with Kima. Our first appointment is Oct 30th at K State Veterinary Hospital in Manhattan KS. I’m hoping it gives us some extra time together, good time like it did Lori and Forbes.

This fund raiser is for Kima’s medical bills. So far, we are just over $7,500 for the electrocardiogram, ultrasound, heart surgery and, of course, hospital stays. Then there will be the chemotherapy. I don’t have an estimate on that yet, but I will update this fund raiser when I do. Regardless, I will be getting the chemo for her. I could really use some help with the financial burden. I would also appreciate all the positive energy and love you can send Kima’s way. I can’t tell you how much I love, and will always love, this little girl. Thank you.