Saga's cancer fund
Donation protected
Hello there. Welcome and thank you for visiting my page. My name is Saga, I am 9 years young, and I am a Siberian Husky.
I live near Hershey, Pennsylvania with my two adopted fur siblings, my 10 year old sister, Spirit, and my 1 year old brother, Lu (also Siberian huskies)...
Me (left) & Spirit (right)
Me (right) & Lu (left)
We each have our very own human, but we're also one big pack
This photo is our pack last summer before Lu joined us
Here's me & my fur siblings earlier this year
In early 2017, around my 9th birthday, my humans began to notice some changes in me like excessive water drinking yet always being thirsty, accidents that were spread out in the beginning but became more recurrent, my hips became weak, and my belly became very large and bloated. My humans were worried and took me to our local vet. After a full blood panel and further testing to narrow things down, my humans were told that I had Cushing's disease (pituitary dependent - basically means my adrenal gland produces too much of this stuff called cortisol, so I always think I'm hungry and thirsty even when I'm not). My medicines for Cushing's alone cost one quarter of my own human's monthly check (not including three separate vet visits, some overnight, for the testing).
A few weeks later, one of my humans was brushing me and felt something hard on my belly that obviously wasn't just bloating. They took me to the vet for an x-ray and had to stay over night AGAIN for an ultrasound and they shaved so much of my belly hair!!! My humans were then told that there was a dark mass in my abdomen and I had surgery that night, 5/12/2017, for them to take out the lump and my spleen. The vet told my humans the mass had ruptured and was bleeding into different areas of my belly. The photo of me in a "cone of shame" is after the surgery.
When I got home after a few more scary days at the vet for them to watch over me and make sure I was ok, my humans noticed the bloating was next to nothing and my meds for Cushing's finally seemed to be helping my symptoms! I felt like a million bucks again... But then my humans said the vet called with bad news. The mass was a "malignant splenic carcinoma"(...whatever that means...) Aside from some focal seizures that are unrelated to the cancer and Cushing's, I feel awesome! But the vets also told my humans that it's an "agressive cancer that is likely to result in new growths in the abdomen & surrounding area," so they were pretty upset for a few days. They tried not to let me know I'm sick, but I got extra treats when my brother & sister weren't around, so I knew they were up to something!
Things were really scary for a few days, but my humans took me to an oncologist, where we got some hopeful news! If my humans can afford 4 cycles of chemo treatment, followed by oral medications probably for the rest of my life, I CAN BEAT THIS CANCER, without a doubt in the doctor's mind!!! I would gladly pay for it in kisses and high fives, but that doesn't seem to be enough.
This is where you come in! Here we are on this super huge thing called the internet because I have a lot of life left to live. Some of my hobbies include burrowing my face into my humans for love wherever is convenient for me;knees, bellies, laps (if I can smoosh you, I will!!!), long walks in the PA country air, family camping trips, keeping up with Lu and Spirit, and cuddling up with anyone and everyone in my pack. I LOVE my life, I love my humans and my siblings, and they all love me so much and tell me all the time! But they can't make me better without your help! Please help my humans & help me keep my hobbies and my amazing life. Thanks for listening to me yelp and howl for a while. I hope you enjoy the photos of all of us! Oh yeah, I have quite a beautiful voice too....
I'm the one in the front singing along with my FAVORITE song!!
I live near Hershey, Pennsylvania with my two adopted fur siblings, my 10 year old sister, Spirit, and my 1 year old brother, Lu (also Siberian huskies)...
Me (left) & Spirit (right)
Me (right) & Lu (left)
We each have our very own human, but we're also one big pack
This photo is our pack last summer before Lu joined us
Here's me & my fur siblings earlier this year
In early 2017, around my 9th birthday, my humans began to notice some changes in me like excessive water drinking yet always being thirsty, accidents that were spread out in the beginning but became more recurrent, my hips became weak, and my belly became very large and bloated. My humans were worried and took me to our local vet. After a full blood panel and further testing to narrow things down, my humans were told that I had Cushing's disease (pituitary dependent - basically means my adrenal gland produces too much of this stuff called cortisol, so I always think I'm hungry and thirsty even when I'm not). My medicines for Cushing's alone cost one quarter of my own human's monthly check (not including three separate vet visits, some overnight, for the testing).
A few weeks later, one of my humans was brushing me and felt something hard on my belly that obviously wasn't just bloating. They took me to the vet for an x-ray and had to stay over night AGAIN for an ultrasound and they shaved so much of my belly hair!!! My humans were then told that there was a dark mass in my abdomen and I had surgery that night, 5/12/2017, for them to take out the lump and my spleen. The vet told my humans the mass had ruptured and was bleeding into different areas of my belly. The photo of me in a "cone of shame" is after the surgery.
When I got home after a few more scary days at the vet for them to watch over me and make sure I was ok, my humans noticed the bloating was next to nothing and my meds for Cushing's finally seemed to be helping my symptoms! I felt like a million bucks again... But then my humans said the vet called with bad news. The mass was a "malignant splenic carcinoma"(...whatever that means...) Aside from some focal seizures that are unrelated to the cancer and Cushing's, I feel awesome! But the vets also told my humans that it's an "agressive cancer that is likely to result in new growths in the abdomen & surrounding area," so they were pretty upset for a few days. They tried not to let me know I'm sick, but I got extra treats when my brother & sister weren't around, so I knew they were up to something!
Things were really scary for a few days, but my humans took me to an oncologist, where we got some hopeful news! If my humans can afford 4 cycles of chemo treatment, followed by oral medications probably for the rest of my life, I CAN BEAT THIS CANCER, without a doubt in the doctor's mind!!! I would gladly pay for it in kisses and high fives, but that doesn't seem to be enough.
This is where you come in! Here we are on this super huge thing called the internet because I have a lot of life left to live. Some of my hobbies include burrowing my face into my humans for love wherever is convenient for me;knees, bellies, laps (if I can smoosh you, I will!!!), long walks in the PA country air, family camping trips, keeping up with Lu and Spirit, and cuddling up with anyone and everyone in my pack. I LOVE my life, I love my humans and my siblings, and they all love me so much and tell me all the time! But they can't make me better without your help! Please help my humans & help me keep my hobbies and my amazing life. Thanks for listening to me yelp and howl for a while. I hope you enjoy the photos of all of us! Oh yeah, I have quite a beautiful voice too....
I'm the one in the front singing along with my FAVORITE song!!
Organizer
Tara Bittle
Organizer
Annville, PA
