It is with the utmost sadness and heartbreak that I am here to tell you that Apex is back in the battle with cancer. The current diagnosis is as follows: spindle cell sarcoma tumor (high grade) and pulmonary carcinoma in the left lung lobe. While the carcinoma is of lesser concern than the sarcoma, he will be needing very serious and aggressive surgery to address these issues and give him a better quality of life, and hopefully a few more years with us.

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to meet Apex, I’m sure you understand exactly how beautiful of a soul this boy has. Full of love, empathy, and radiating affection, Apex is the epitome of “man’s best friend.”

Apex is, however, more than just a pet. To me, he is part of my heart. I got lucky enough to stumble across him at the Denver Animal Shelter on 2/10/2016. Ever since that chance encounter, he has been by my side. I raised him to be my service dog, but he ended up becoming so much more.

Throughout the years, he has taught me more than I ever would have expected. I simply do not have the words to explain how much this dog means to me, and if I am being honest, I do not feel I need to explain our bond. If you know me or have met him, I think you can see it plain enough. If you haven’t met me or him, then I hope you can understand that the lack of desire to explain such a bond is within itself a testament to the quality and depth of that bond.

All of that being said, I always promised Apex that I would do right by him. After numerous vet visits, consultations, X-rays, second opinions, third opinions, and countless hours of research, the unthinkable has become real. Unfortunately, the real is also very costly.

I am here, humbled and afraid, asking for your help. In an attempt to do right by Apex, we will be moving forward with the surgery. If you can contribute anything to help offset the cost and help us save the sweetest of boys, it would be so very, very appreciated.