August 5, 2014

#GiveCancerThePaw: Our Beautiful Angels

Today is our last Give Cancer the Paw blog hop. My co-host Peggy of the Writer's Dog and I invite you to join in and pay tribute to a special pet you've known and loved who has/had cancer. You can write a tribute post, share an old post about a beloved pet, or even just share a photo. Today I'm posting about our beautiful angels.

If you've been around the blog for a while, you know we lost both our beautiful girls, Bailey and Abby to cancer. Bailey had hemangiosarcoma, and Abby had osteosarcoma.

They both had such a big impact in our lives that I took their real lives/personalities and fictionalized them for my second novel, Rescue Me, Maybe

While the book touches on how much we loved Bailey (but told via the main character Jane's remembrances of her beloved beagle, Barnum), the true hero of the story is Abby ("Maybe" in the book). She taught us so much about dealing with adversity!

 

Abby was my heart dog, and she would have turned 5 this month. We'll never forget her. Here's a small selection of some of my fave pics of her, that tell a little something more about her.

She was definitely a warrior princess if ever there was one. 

She loved to go to the beach. (And pick up sticks!)

She loved to try new things...

... even weird things, like persimmons. 

She loved to pounce on bugs...

....and kill her stuffies!

She loved to hug her daddy.

But she wasn't crazy about dressing up...

She knew how to sparkle!

It's in her honor that I donate part of the proceeds of the sale of Rescue Me, Maybe to Morris Animal Foundation to support their canine cancer research efforts. Although the book deals with loss and cancer, it still has a lot of humor in it and is, ultimately, happy and hopeful. Here's hoping that someday researchers will find a cure for this horrible disease!

Hope you'll join us in the hop. The linky will be open for a few days. Thanks to all of you who supported Give Cancer the Paw with a comment or a post of your own!

BTW, if you missed it the first time around, here's my first GCtP post, which lists things we do to try to help Rita avoid getting cancer. Hopefully she'll be our first dog to avoid The Big (and Evil) C.

I'm also joining the BlogPaws Wordless Wednesday hop, since this is mostly a pictorial tribute to our beautiful Abby. (Sorry - I know... I was wordy AGAIN.) Thanks to BlogPaws for hosting!

33 comments:

  1. I have lost two cats to cancer. I hope your campaign is wildly successful.

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  2. I loved getting to know Rita even better through these pictures. Just love those ears! I can tell she was a special girl. And I think everyone who loves any dog should get your book!

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  3. Bailey looked as if she lived her short life to the fullest. I agree they were both adorable puppies! I saw that we have another thing in common on a comment that you left. MY first dog as a child was a Beagle named Barney!!

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  4. We lost Captain Nemo (a shetland sheepdog) to cancer of the pituitary gland. We didn't have enough time - within a month of being diagnosed he was gone. We miss his sweet nature and the way he knew to get matching slippers throughout the house. WOOF!

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  5. Thank you for doing this. Abby looks so amazing. I will try to do a post on Matilda tomorrow.

    Terry, from MatildasJourney.com

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  6. Thanks for sharing your heartwarming story - what wonderful photos and memories of such precious doggies.

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  7. Abby was so adorable! We just pray that none of us get cancer. Mom's first dog died from it. It was fast, but that doesn't help matters. How can we go to the moon, but can't cure a disease on our own planet. So sad. Abby and Bailey will never be forgotten and will live in your heart forever.

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  8. This was a beautiful tribute for the last day of GCTP. Thank you so much for this hop. These animals really touched our lives and it's sad that cancer had to get them. Hopefully one day that will be no more.

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  9. Our family has been hit by human cancer not the animal variety, but it is a brutal enemy. Great cause.

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  10. Beautiful tribute with some wonderful photos.

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  11. She is so beautiful. It's hard to lose them so early. Thankfully, we haven't experienced cancer in our family, but I did lose a dog at 2 to a blood clot. It's never easy.

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  12. Beautiful thanks for sharing this tribute.

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  13. Beautiful angels indeed. Those photos really capture her essence.
    *Cairn cuddles*
    Oz

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  14. Mom's been very lucky, she's never had to have a pet treated for cancer. The photos are beautiful thanks for sharing such a worthy cause. Love Dolly

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  15. Abby was a beauty. I'm sorry she died so young. Bailey looked like a sweetheart too. I lost a German shepherd to Hemangiosarcoma. We fought with chemo, but the cancer took him very quickly. I hope they find more cures for all of the dog cancers soon.

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  16. Wishing you the best with your campaign! I am sorry that Abby passed away so young. It looks like she had a very rich life though!

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  17. Cancer took my terrier Rosie when she was only four years old. I still can't talk about it without tearing up. It's been almost five years and the hurt is nearly as raw. I'm joining the hop with her page from my website.

    Wags (and purrs) and a giant PAW to cancer from Life with Dogs and Cats.

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  18. Well, I don't blog (and I am not inclined to hop), so I'll just mention my sweet Casanova here. If I could post a photo it would be the one of him joyfully jumping up, ears flying, to see ever-so-briefly what was on the other side of our back fence -- just one week before we found out his lungs were filled with that big and evil C. He was my first pup, and a very brave, strong, funny boy. We still tell Cass stories over and over, and we will always miss him.

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  19. What wonderful, precious photos!! Each one shows Abby's beautiful personality. I'll say the same as I said to Peggy....cancer cannot take those memories away from us. And I also hope for a future where far fewer pets are lost to this awful disease.

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  20. Such a beautiful post for your sweet babies. We have been lucky so far to not have had to face this with our pugs. Love seeing Abby's personality shine in these photos
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel, Greta & Mom

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  21. Sweet Abby. The big "C" has taken so many precious lives and hope for Morris to find a cure. Sending you Lots of Golden LOVE

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  22. Both of your babies were beautiful and your tribute to them was also beautiful. Hopefully, some day there will be a cure for that terrible C word. Sending hugs.

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  23. Bless you and I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful babies. :-( I loved looking at your pics. Just wonderful. :-)

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  24. I love the photo of the bug pouncer! So cute!

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  25. Bailey and Abby were clearly angels. Thank you for sharing this with us today.

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  26. Love the pouncing action shot. Sure miss those girls. And Dani.

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  27. Wow, I didn't realize Abby was so young. So sad to lose her so quickly. I"m holding on to your image of her and Becca romping around somewhere OTRB.

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  28. Thank you for sharing your amazing story. Abby was so beautiful and so young, it's a terrible disease and hopefully we'll have a cure someday soon. I admire the fact that you're giving back, supporting cancer research is such a great cause. So sorry to hear about Bailey & Abby.

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  29. A beautiful tribute. I love Abby's eyes - they are captivating. So sorry to hear about your loss - if you ever need to talk, please don't hesitate to contact me. WE must find a cure, and quickly. Hugs, and prayers to you.

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  30. These photos are beautiful as are your words for your beloved pets <3 We lost our first dog Abby to cancer. She was a beautiful soul and I still miss her everyday. Thanks for all that you do :)

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  31. Abby was beautiful. Well all dogs are beautiful. Would not trade mine for anything in the world. Thanks for sharing. Now off to Amazon to buy the book.

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  32. I'm so sorry to hear that you have lost two beautiful Furbabies to that dreaded disease. Losing a pet is so heartbreaking. Abby certainly seems to have lived her life to the fullest! Thanks for sharing your special dogs' lives with us.
    Love & Biscuits,
    Cathy, Isis & Phoebe
    www.dogsluvusandweluvthem.blogspot.com

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