My Service Dog RIPLEY needs your help to beat cancer!

Co-organized

Rosalind Webster Shaw and 2 others are organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Hi, I'm Rosie. I'm more often referred to as "Ripley and Rosie" because I am part of the most amazing team.

You might have found this page because you know me, or you might know my husband/Ripley's Dad, Donnie. You might be a degree or two from us, you might be a kind stranger (soon to be friend), or you might have encountered my Service Dog Ripley yourself.

She does therapy animal visits at Charlottetown, PE’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital and London, ON’s University Hospital Health Science Centre, among other clinics). You may have met Ripley in Brooklyn at NYU Langone Health Centre while we were there with her dogmother/canine medical consultant Rebecca. Maybe you know Ripley from her favourite stores and restaurants around Charlottetown and Stratford.

When we aren't travelling, we live in a little cottage on the water in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is quiet, serene, and a perfect place for finding peace while being very sick.

I know this because I am facing a terminal combination of complex illnesses, and Ripley is essential in managing my day-to-day functionality.

We find ourselves in one of the worst-case scenarios. My service dog has cancer.

Ripley saves my life every day. I am not exaggerating. I don't work anymore. She is my constant companion. She takes all my anxiety, pain, and frustrations, and turns them into love. She is comfort incarnate. She makes everything hurt less.

She never leaves my side. If I nap all day, she naps all day. If I'm in the hospital, she's with me. We can fit on any chair together. She is familiar with ambulances, long waits, infusions, and me being in many different states of consciousness and crises. She accompanied me on 10 flights last year for medical treatments in Ontario and New York City. She MIGHT even love heated hospital blankets more than I do.

Now it's time for us to take care of her.

A month ago, we had a regular vet visit to update her annual vaccinations before travelling to Ontario for my medical treatment. We asked about lumps on her neck and chest, which were biopsied. The results came back a week later, at the end of February. The chest lump was a benign lipoma, thank goodness.

However, Ripley's neck lump is a mast cell tumour. She has cancer.

We have since found another similar lump on her forehead.

This is why we are appealing to our community. Please help us. Please don't let Ripley suffer because we don't have the money to pay for her treatment.

We are lucky to have the Atlantic Veterinary College at UPEI in Charlottetown, which means we can access some of the best animal medical treatment. If the case takes a turn for the worse, there are other options off-Island. We are hoping additional travel will not be necessary.

On Thursday, March 13, Ripley is scheduled for a "comprehensive workup" at AVC, which will include multiple types of imaging to check for metastasis (if the cancer has spread elsewhere from the neck tumour). A tissue biopsy of her neck tumour will be done at that point as well. The estimate for this first step is $2,000-$3,000.

We already know the neck tumour will need to be surgically removed, with extremely wide margins. It will be a tough recovery, but she is already an expert in being tough in the face of medical adversity because she has been by my side through all of mine -- flights, ambulance rides, surgeries, hospital stays, scares, and everything in between.

The estimate for this surgery is approximately $3,000.

This is all assuming nothing has spread (please send us love, prayers, positive power, whatever you can), that the head tumour is benign, and that the cancer has not affected any other areas of her body.

At this point we don't know what else might be required - chemo, radiation, further surgeries - the current goal reflects the "best case scenario", but we are ready to do anything it takes.

We have changed her diet (in consultation with her vet) to a low histamine diet with (shockingly expensive) supplements. Her meals now cost much more than our own.

We have no financial reserves left after my own deteriorating health has completely wiped our savings AND so much of the resources of our family (we also need to be careful and not forget about funds needed for my current care and interprovincial travel needs, as well as end of life planning).

COST BREAKDOWN

Why we are asking for CAD $8,000 right now:

The “full work-up” at AVC on March 13 ($2,000-$3,000)
Neck tumour removal surgery ($2,500-$3,000)
Two post-surgery appointments in March/April ($750)
Medical supplies: bandages, medications, speciality recovery clothing/cone alternative ($500)
Two months of new supplements + food ($500)
Fees + regular taxes + room for American-made pharmaceuticals and other supplies + contingency ($250) As an example in this catch-all category, it’s $150 if Rosie needs to take one round-trip cab to Charlottetown if Donnie is at work

We need your help. Any donation will receive a physical or digital thank you card from us including Ripley’s paw print as a thank you. We welcome $2, $20, $200, $2,000. Every dollar makes a difference. Sharing widely across your social media networks also makes a huge difference. We also welcome the simple sending us positive energy and love with great gratitude.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU.

xo xo xo xo xo xo

In closing, here is one of Ripley’s star turns on film as ambassador and spokesdog for The Charlottetown Festival’s Sensory-Friendly Performances.