Onyx lived in a house with someone who abused her and two pit bulls that often fought with her.  She had been in the shelter for almost a month and since it was a kill shelter, she was scheduled to be put to sleep within days.

When we first met Onyx she had scars on her legs, face and body from the various fights and she was very nervous.   Thankfully it didn’t take her long to fit in at our house.  After a short time, she really started to open up and become very friendly.

After a couple of years living with us and our two other Labs, we noticed Onyx was favoring her left front leg when she walked.  We made a trip to the vet and after a set of x-rays everything looked fine, so we assumed it was only a sprain.  A few days later she was lying on the floor not moving and her stomach was swollen.  We raced her to the emergency room where we learned that she had bloat.  They operated immediately – turning her stomach back – saving her life.  During the operation, they found something unexpected in her stomach – a red rubber ball.  It was a small ball we had never seen before and the vet suggested it might have been in there for years.

A few days following her bloat surgery she was up and walking around.  She went outside to go to the bathroom and ended up falling down in pain.  We realized her leg was bothering her worse than we suspected.  It had only been about a week since her first x-ray but we took her back to the vet for a second x-ray.  The second x-ray clearly showed that her femur had doubled in thickness – it actually looked like a golf ball was bursting in her leg.

Onyx was diagnosed with bone cancer (Osteosarcoma).  We didn’t know what this meant to her and after reading up on it and discussing it with our vet and a few referrals, it seemed that if we did nothing, she would be in intense pain and the bone in her leg could burst.  We also learned that if we did nothing, her life expectancy would most likely only be a few months and chemo may or may not add a few months to that.  Removing the leg was almost a necessity, but chemo was an uncertainty.   We decided to go with the surgery only to relieve the pain, and opted against the chemo.  We scheduled her surgery for the following day.  It turns out, that she was operated on one week to the day from her surgery for bloat.  Onyx had two major surgeries within 7 days.

After the surgery to remove her leg, she fully recovered within a week or so and quickly adapted to life on three legs.  She was doing well and passed the three-month mark, but four months after her amputation, we noticed swelling on her shoulder joint.  So back to the vet she went.  The tumor had spread to her scapula and clavicle so we considered removing those as well.

Our vet sent us to a specialist at North-Star Veterinary Hospital in Clarksburg, NJ, for this surgery.   The surgeon had concerns about the surgery though and didn’t want to do it.  Her thought was that since the tumor reoccurred in the shoulder, it had most likely spread to her lungs and possibly other organs.  They took several x-rays – and to our surprise – she had no signs of additional tumors. We decided to operate again and follow it up with chemotherapy this time.

They removed her scapula and clavicle and we met with their oncologist a week or two later and started her on a regimen of chemotherapy.  The plan was to alternate her every month between two different chemotherapy types, Doxorubicin and Carboplatin.

That was seven months ago and she is doing great!

She has one treatment left in October and she hasn’t been sick once.  She has not let the treatments slow her down at all.  In addition to Onyx’s chemotherapy we also changed her and our other dogs’ diets, giving them natural/grain free foods.  We also began giving them all supplements to help improve their immune systems.

As you can tell by her story, Onyx has been through a lot in her life, but she has a very strong will to live.  We want to reward her love for us by giving her every chance to live as long as possible.  Hopefully one day there will be a cure for cancer for dogs and humans.  Until then, all we can do is continue the fight, give love and support, and live life.

-Patrick and Natalie Stano,
(Onyx’s parents)

A special  Thank you to Linda Hogan and all our wonderful sponsors.

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Save the Date: It’s the Inaugural Walk for Pink Paws for Life

Philadelphia, PA (August 16, 2009) Pet cancer is a top priority for Pink Paws for Life; a 501(c) charitable organization. For this reason, Pink Paws for Life has selected MLK Drive in Philadelphia to be the destination of the Inaugural Walk to raise funds for the purpose of pet cancer research, treatment, education and prevention. In a major announcement made this week, the founders and University of California-Davis Veterinary Hospital has joined forces and outlined its plans to change the lives of pets that suffer from cancers.

With one in four dogs and one in eight cats, likely to develop tumors in their lifetime, the work of the University of California-Davis Veterinary Hospital is seen as vital. “I was shocked to learn that this year alone more than 1.4 million animals will be diagnosed with cancer and only 25 percent of those are expected to survive. In this age of information and technology, it is my opinion that a 25 percent survival rate is unacceptable! I’m optimistic that through research and education, a cure will be discovered,” says Hogan. Linda Hogan is a Reality TV Star, Dog Lover and National Spokesperson for Pink Paws for Life.

But on Sunday, August 16th 2009 you’ll have an invitation to get involved and fight against pet cancers. After loosing pets to cancer, the concept was born in the mind of the founders with four major programs: Pink Paws for Life Walk, Educational Scholarship, Pretty in Pink Celebrity Charitable Gala, and Community Forums with leading physicians to discuss recent technological advancement for pet cancer research in areas where operable. The founders plan to host four walks in four major metropolitan cities (Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York) to bring awareness to issues that plague pet lovers and seek opportunities for the furthering of research. They wanted to give back to a community that often cannot speak for themselves; “Because they’re Our Best Friends.” This year’s theme is “Dogs Bark… Dogs Fetch… Dogs Die of Cancer” and the founders have been working diligently to secure that inaugural the five mile non-competitive event will be successful.

As part of the inaugural walk in Philadelphia with an estimation of 1,000 attendees, Pink Paws for Life will have promotional give-a-ways, DJ’s, and special invited celebrities as well as radio personalities. Overall, each walk in each city where operable is expected to have at least 3000 – 5000 attendees. A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit the University of California-Davis Veterinary Hospital with the purpose to support the Comparative Cancer Center at the UC Davis Center for Companion Animal Health. The inaugural walk is to be held rain or shine on MLK Drive in Fairmount Park on August 16th at 9:00 AM in Philadelphia, PA and those that wish to participate in the walk or volunteer can register by going to www.pinkpawsforlife.org.

“If Pink Paws for Life fundraising activities are successful, then next year can mean even more support for pets, owners and veterinary physicians,” says Marco Nunez (Executive Director of Pink Paws for Life).

Support the fight against Pet Cancer today by visiting www.pinkpawsforlife.org.

Early registration starts at 7:00 AM

Race begins at 9:00 AM

Start line: Lloyd Hall proceed to MLK drive (AKA West River Drive)

Your browser may not support display of this image. Programs geared to achieve our mission:

The Pink Paws for Life Walk Against Animal Cancer is a non-competitive canine
and human walk geared to raise awareness and funds for pet cancer research, resources and educational programs.

The Pretty in Pink Gala is a celebrity invited gala that raises contributions through silent auction and kennel fashion show.

The Pink Paws for Life Scholarship is a merit based scholarship given to one qualifying applicant each year.

Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Applicants must attend a middle school, high school or college and be enrolled in a full-time course of study. Applicants must submit an essay describing financial hardship and his/her experience with pet cancer.

Applicant must also commit to six hours of community service and participate in the Pink Paws for Life Walk.

January 15th is the application deadline for the next academic year. Forward all essays to essays@pinkpawsforlife.org

* A portion of the proceeds will go to benefit The University of California Davis