Petey's Journey to Beat Lymphoma

Hi friends, family and dog lovers everywhere!

I started this GoFundMe for my daughter, Lauren Smith, and her sweet golden retriever Petey.

Lauren and Petey mean the world to me and to so many people that love and know them. I hope you take a moment to read their story...

Petey came into our life during the most terrible time ever. Lauren and her boyfriend, Pete Foss, were in a car accident and sadly he did not make it; he passed away at only 18 years old, Lauren was 16. She was devastated, depressed and so heartbroken. The day after the funeral I surprised her with this beautiful baby golden which she named "Petey"; he saved her life and healed her heart! He has brought her, me and all who know him so much joy these past 10 years. Petey is strong, happy and vibrant today as he always has been, although he has early stages of Lymphoma, he  has a pretty good chance of beating it;  just need to raise half of the funds of the cost of his treatment. 

Any amount you feel lead to donate will help.

Thank you all so very much!

god bless,
Karen
(aka Lauren's mom)

Message from Lauren:
Hey everyone, first off so sorry I have not responded to a lot of you; I've received a lot of calls and texts and I'm trying to get back to everyone! I so so appreciate all the support. I feel so loved by the fact that in your busy lives you have taken the time to reach out and think about us. Today I got the answers I have been waiting for. So now I can tell you all what I know! Starting from the beginning...
Fourth of July weekend, out of nowhere, we realized Petey was having a hard time breathing. He would try to bark but no sound would come out, he would choke on his food, and pant extremely hard for no reason. It got worse over a week period. We took him to the vet and we tried strong antibiotics thinking it was like bronchitis for dogs. That week he got worse; breathing was worse and he would choke and cough a lot. We took him to a specialist and they did X-rays, ultrasounds, blood tests and aspirations to find out what was happening. In the ultrasound of his neck, we saw that he had two mass' wrapping around his trachea (reason why he couldn't breath well). The aspirations were sent out and a day later came back as Lymphoma. A fast spreading cancer in the lymph nodes. Broken, devastated and sick to my stomach, I couldn't think of what could be worse. After the diagnosis I had days until we met the cancer specialist; days that I can truly say felt like forever. That's where we were today. From 3:30 to 6pm we got the answers. Petey is at the early stages of lymphoma and it has not spread to the rest of his body (only his throat) thank god!! He needs 6 months of chemotherapy. Every week we will go to the vet and they will either do an injection, do an IV, or give me medication to give him for chemo. Petey has an 85% success rate with chemo, adding up to 2 years to his life. If we decided not to do chemo, he has up to 2 months to live, or less. That was not an option for us because Petey is telling us, in every way, that he's not ready to go; he is active, strong, healthy and very happy besides this cancer. It was caught early thank god. He is not in pain and he's eating well. So he needs the chance to beat it! Today he started his first dose of chemo, and he is on the journey to remission!

Petey's total cost for chemotherapy is $9,500. :( I have already spent 2 thousand in two weeks for the tests to find the cancer, and we have another 5 thousand! My mom started this fundraiser praying we will raise the other half to cover his treatment. If anyone could donate a small amount or help spread the word we would greatly appreciate it. Any donated amount will help. Love you all!!