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That is why all greyhound owners live in fear of ever
finding their greyhound limping. That is
usually the first sign that your life is about to take a big turn for the
worse. Usually you can convince yourself
that it’s just a regular limp. Maybe
arthritis. Maybe he or she hurt
themselves playing. Or running. Or stretched wrong. Anything.
Usually the limp goes away and you firmly put it out of your mind. A couple weeks or even a month later, the
limp returns.
Now you’re sweating.
Can you rationalize it any more as a normal limp? Sometimes you can and sometimes you can’t. But either way, by the second or third round
of limping you end up at the veterinarians for the x-rays.
This sounds familiar to so many of you I’m sure. All anyone has to do is post that they are
worried because
they found their greyhound limping and immediately everyone
knows why. Sometimes you don’t catch the
limp and the first notice you have that something is wrong is when your baby’s
leg breaks out of the blue. Having
caught Girly Girl’s cancer fairly early on, I often wonder if it would have
been somehow easier if my notice had been a leg fracturing unexpectedly. Either way it feels like a Sophie’s choice.
Many of us have lost more than one beloved hound to
cancer. Most of us have been touched in some way by
cancer. And lest you think that
osteosarcoma is the only type of cancer that can affect greyhounds, that is not
the case. Lymphoma, hemangiosarcoma and
a whole other host of “omas” can affect your hound. And to add insult to injury, I’ve read of
hounds who survived one type of cancer only to succumb to another type later
on.
This is why a cancer awareness month is so important. Research is happening every day that is aimed
at curing canine cancer within the next 10 years. That is the goal. And along the way they are finding new and
better treatments. I hope to see the day
soon where cancer of any sort becomes a manageable chronic disease. Then ultimately, curable.
There are all kinds of ways you can join in the fight but I
will single out two here. The Morris
Animal Foundation funds research into all sorts of canine diseases. A major focus of its research is canine
cancer. Your donations go directly to
help fund this essential research. Visit
their website (www.morrisanimalfoundation.org)
and you can see all the research projects they are funding as well as learn
about the results of these studies and the breakthroughs that have been
made.
![Blue's Blue Buffalo trading card Blue's Blue Buffalo trading card](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUeXdODBnek-G06faGeqMbZb2G6m1DACLkJYkHug2JUK4R6FYzNwOsdrbo0QUz_05Amtbp3AXHKX3kXdUOoyyTfpDmAdU3SJ_fsMaoTasyritoz54lkxULyAhsnLWNhR9SjO782V8eHP8/s1600/Buddies-Trading-Card-22449.png)
I absolutely believe that one day cancer will not be a death
sentence for our furry children. I
intend to help wherever I can to make sure that happens in my lifetime. It’s too late to help my Girly Girl, but not too
late to save Blue, or Bettina or the hound laying next you. Please consider donating to these worthy
causes in honor of all the dogs we’ve lost.