Help River Outrun Cancer Twice!

Help River outrun cancer! River was diagnosed with an ultra-rare form of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in 2024 and miraculously beat it! Just when she was healed up, her vets found osteosarcoma in her rear leg. After an amputation, starting chemotherapy, and a few short weeks of healing, she's back to running, playing, and swimming! Now, her family is seeking to enroll her in a promising cancer vaccine trial to keep her healthy for years to come!

River started life as a racing greyhound in Alabama. She had no "call name," meaning she was pushed, pulled, dragged, or herded from kennel to crate to starting box, never given any choices or incentives, forced to run to make money for people who didn't see her as an individual. When she proved too nervous to stay on the track, the kennel owners quickly shipped her off on a truck full of other dogs bound for Philadelphia. Here, all ribs and scars and terrified of people, she was rescued and started learning all the joys and comforts of being a house dog. She got a name, a new life, and slowly shed her fear. She found joy hiking in the woods and wading in streams, helping foster litters of orphaned kittens with gentleness and patience, and learning fun new habits from our foster dogs (like jumping on the couch and begging for pizza).

To give her all the love and joy this smart, gentle, curious girl deserves while still providing quality care for our other rescue animals (including two geriatric cats with diabetes, a young cat with a heart defect, providing TNR for neighborhood strays, and more), our family is seeking financial support to make this treatment possible. Diagnostics, surgery, and recovery for River's hyalinizing pancreatic adenocarcinoma in 2024 cost an unexpected and whopping $14,000 and amputation, 5 rounds of chemo, diagnostics, and travel expenses for the osteosarcoma drug trial will cost about $18,000. River has so much life and joy left to experience and deserves the world! Please consider donating to help her live a happy, comfortable life while advancing cancer research for dogs!