Owners Walk To Fight Cancer

The event held May 4 at Riverside Square Park drew about 1,000 people and their dogs, and will help both humans and dogs battle cancer. - msnty1's blog

The walk raised $160,000, with ten percent going to the non-profit Donaldson Atwood Cancer Clinic in Manhattan to help wipe out canine cancer. The clinic treats more than 3,000 dogs with cancer annually.

Among those walking was Rita Duffy, whose dog, Seaver, is a Golden Mix rescue suffering from a mastic cell tumor. Duffy adopted Seaver after her previous dog, Sundance, died of cancer.

"We're hoping other organizations will become aware of the necessity to get funding for research for animal cancer," Duffy said.

Sundance was diagnosed at age 10 and lived to 13, prompting Duffy to advise owners to continue their dog's cancer treatments until they are no longer an option.

"He survived two years after surgery, chemo and radiation," Duffy said. "Six months after he passed we found out that Seaver has cancer.'

Ellen Schoenfeld attended her fifth straight ACS dog walk. She was diagnosed with breast cancer eight years ago this week. Schoenfeld endured her treatments aided by her therapy dog, Buddy, an 11-year-old Labrador Retriever rescue.

A part-time dog sitter and dog walker, Schoenfeld's best friend's dog died of leukemia two years ago.

"I had a dog that died of cancer right before my husband was diagnosed," Schoenfeld said. "So it's a cause that's close to our hearts."

Another human-dog link to cancer here was epitomized by Clarita Zeppie, whose husband, Laird, died of cancer. He was comforted by a seven-year-old West Highland Terrier rescue that became a therapy dog.

Zeppie's previous dog, Freeway, another West Highland Terrier, died of cancer at age eight, just four months after she adopted him from a shelter. Cancer treatments didn't work for Freeway, one reason Zeppie has vowed to help raise money to ward off the disease.

Also on-hand was Iris Collazo, who lost her father, Hector, and her 15-year-old Porgie, named Spunky, to cancer seven months apart in 2001.

"It's a terrible tragedy when you lose a loved one, a pet, because there are no words to describe the devastation and the grief," Collazo said.

"I have met a lot of dogs that have cancer that have survived, some who have 3 legs. I also have friends who have dogs that have not made it. We're walking in memory of those dogs today."

By 2015, the ACS says it aims to prevent five million unnecessary cancer deaths and six million new cancer cases.