Post by Nani on Sept 12, 2012 7:05:58 GMT
Hi everyone,
I am going to post Hunter's story:
I wrote this letter to the newspaper..hoping..hoping.
"Our family dog has recently been diagnosed with cancer. He is a German-Shepherd Labrador mix.
His name is Hunter. He is our first family dog. Hunter has been with us since he was 11 weeks old. He is now 10 1/2 years old. He has given us all his love unconditionally and continues to do so. He's been with us through thick and thin. We have moved and rented several houses in that time and though we faced many home owners who did not allow pets, we simply moved on in our search until we found the right home that permitted a 4 legged family member.
We went through all the special events that every dog owner fondly remembers: That first day of bringing home that wiggly roly-poly furball and watching him/her running through the house and crashing into furniture and running under table legs. We hold dear to our hearts the memories of training Hunter the pup; going through potty training, teaching him English commands first, then when he had those 100% we taught him the same things but in Spanish; the adolescent pup who tried to chase after every female, and getting neutered (I don't think he was very happy with us that day) we went through the "I'm not going to listen to any commands today, because I just want to play and make you pull your hair out haha" stage. He still enjoys partaking in those days sometimes.
The first day we brought him home, he vomited in the car, and then left his gift on the floor as soon as we got home. The first time we went to the off leash dog park MacDonald beach, he decided he would never go in the water fully. Not even to retrieve toys or sticks. Hunter prefers to 'talk' to the toy. He will bark at the toy, almost commanding it to come closer so he can gingerly step in the water and retrieve it. He absolutely loves following beside us when we go bike-riding. And who could forget the time he wanted to play with the skunk? Or when as a pup, he rolled around in who-knows-what, it earned him the nickname "my little stinker"?
He has the spirit of a young pup and is truly a people pleaser. He loves nothing more than to be stroked and talked to whilst sitting next to you. Whenever we go out to Safeway or nearby shopping centres and he waits outside for us, he looks at everyone and wags his tail hoping to get some sort of scratch behind the ears. Every stranger is truly a friend not met yet. And everyone is always surprised when they learn how old he is, simply because he doesn't act like an old dog. If he didn't have the tumour in such a visible area as his mouth, you wouldn't know he was sick at all.
He understands Spanish and English. He understands which paw is left and which is right and will shake a paw depending on what paw you ask for. He can play dead and roll over when you play-shoot him "bang bang!!" and when he is in disagreement with you he will grumble and moan about it.
He is truly a part of our family and it breaks our hearts we are facing financial difficulty at this time.
At a time when he needs us most, we are unable to help him. I lost my job and I've had an extremely difficult time finding another one. I have had to use my savings, as only my husband works, but we struggle and it is not enough to save Hunter. We tried applying for pet insurance years ago but were declined as Hunter was already 7 years old at the time and was deemed ineligible. Our vet has quoted us approximately $2000 for his surgery. Our vet diagnosed him with a tumour, located on his top right lip: a Mast Cell Tumour.
We always enjoyed going on hikes at Lynn Canyon, and on camping trips with him. It is difficult to imagine a hike or a camping trip without him. I can't even remember how life was before Hunter.
Every year we always show our support and walk/run the Terry Fox Run. It is a heartbreaking feeling, seeing a loved one suffer from cancer and not be able to do anything- whether it is a 4-legged family member or a 2 legged member. It's time cancer was beat. Too many young and precious lives have been lost. We will see fellow supporters at the run, this Sunday.
I humbly ask if any community members are able to help Hunter out, our family and Hunter would forever be thankful.
We have made a modest website for Hunter and are accepting contributions at:
helphunter.weebly.com/
Thank you"
I am hoping it will be posted in this week's newspaper. Fingers crossed for Hunter's sake.
Hunter pics:
P.S. All the puppy pics of Hunter were taken via film roll-not digitized!! LOL. So I'd have to scan them..will do so at a later date.
I am going to post Hunter's story:
I wrote this letter to the newspaper..hoping..hoping.
"Our family dog has recently been diagnosed with cancer. He is a German-Shepherd Labrador mix.
His name is Hunter. He is our first family dog. Hunter has been with us since he was 11 weeks old. He is now 10 1/2 years old. He has given us all his love unconditionally and continues to do so. He's been with us through thick and thin. We have moved and rented several houses in that time and though we faced many home owners who did not allow pets, we simply moved on in our search until we found the right home that permitted a 4 legged family member.
We went through all the special events that every dog owner fondly remembers: That first day of bringing home that wiggly roly-poly furball and watching him/her running through the house and crashing into furniture and running under table legs. We hold dear to our hearts the memories of training Hunter the pup; going through potty training, teaching him English commands first, then when he had those 100% we taught him the same things but in Spanish; the adolescent pup who tried to chase after every female, and getting neutered (I don't think he was very happy with us that day) we went through the "I'm not going to listen to any commands today, because I just want to play and make you pull your hair out haha" stage. He still enjoys partaking in those days sometimes.
The first day we brought him home, he vomited in the car, and then left his gift on the floor as soon as we got home. The first time we went to the off leash dog park MacDonald beach, he decided he would never go in the water fully. Not even to retrieve toys or sticks. Hunter prefers to 'talk' to the toy. He will bark at the toy, almost commanding it to come closer so he can gingerly step in the water and retrieve it. He absolutely loves following beside us when we go bike-riding. And who could forget the time he wanted to play with the skunk? Or when as a pup, he rolled around in who-knows-what, it earned him the nickname "my little stinker"?
He has the spirit of a young pup and is truly a people pleaser. He loves nothing more than to be stroked and talked to whilst sitting next to you. Whenever we go out to Safeway or nearby shopping centres and he waits outside for us, he looks at everyone and wags his tail hoping to get some sort of scratch behind the ears. Every stranger is truly a friend not met yet. And everyone is always surprised when they learn how old he is, simply because he doesn't act like an old dog. If he didn't have the tumour in such a visible area as his mouth, you wouldn't know he was sick at all.
He understands Spanish and English. He understands which paw is left and which is right and will shake a paw depending on what paw you ask for. He can play dead and roll over when you play-shoot him "bang bang!!" and when he is in disagreement with you he will grumble and moan about it.
He is truly a part of our family and it breaks our hearts we are facing financial difficulty at this time.
At a time when he needs us most, we are unable to help him. I lost my job and I've had an extremely difficult time finding another one. I have had to use my savings, as only my husband works, but we struggle and it is not enough to save Hunter. We tried applying for pet insurance years ago but were declined as Hunter was already 7 years old at the time and was deemed ineligible. Our vet has quoted us approximately $2000 for his surgery. Our vet diagnosed him with a tumour, located on his top right lip: a Mast Cell Tumour.
We always enjoyed going on hikes at Lynn Canyon, and on camping trips with him. It is difficult to imagine a hike or a camping trip without him. I can't even remember how life was before Hunter.
Every year we always show our support and walk/run the Terry Fox Run. It is a heartbreaking feeling, seeing a loved one suffer from cancer and not be able to do anything- whether it is a 4-legged family member or a 2 legged member. It's time cancer was beat. Too many young and precious lives have been lost. We will see fellow supporters at the run, this Sunday.
I humbly ask if any community members are able to help Hunter out, our family and Hunter would forever be thankful.
We have made a modest website for Hunter and are accepting contributions at:
helphunter.weebly.com/
Thank you"
I am hoping it will be posted in this week's newspaper. Fingers crossed for Hunter's sake.
Hunter pics:
P.S. All the puppy pics of Hunter were taken via film roll-not digitized!! LOL. So I'd have to scan them..will do so at a later date.
