November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month so we’re highlighting Kyle’s Legacy, a non profit doing amazing work to help pet parents see cancer warning signs & support families who can’t afford the treatments their dogs need.
Having had dogs with cancer ourselves, we couldn't be more grateful for her efforts!
We first met the organization's founder, Tina Visalli, through an early PetPocketbook client, Trail Rompers, and are blown away by what she has accomplished since her puggle Kyle passed away in 2016.
“Kyle’s brother Kody was diagnosed with a mast cell tumor when he was 5, which was successfully removed. Four years later Kyle got cancer, but unfortunately, his tumor was by his jugular, and they were unable to get clear margins when he had surgery.”
After 16 rounds of radiation, Kyle was in remission for 4 months until one day he collapsed in front of Tina. He was resuscitated for 24 hours, long enough to say goodbye. But the cancer had turned into Hemangiosarcoma and spread through his major organs.
To honor Kyle, Tina planned a walk-a-thon and eventually decided to go further by creating Kyle’s Legacy as a non profit to raise money for The Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell University.
In year one, they sold out the first walk, did 12 more fundraisers, and more than doubled their fundraising goal!
In year two, Tina expanded the mission by launching Star Light, a financial aid program to help families who can’t afford their dog’s treatment.
“There are cases with an opportunity for a great outcome with clear margins, but if you’re a single mom with three kids to feed, you often can’t afford it.”
Last year, they raised over $20K for The Baker Institute and Star Light, the latter of which helped four dogs get the treatment they needed!
As Tina knows too well, early detection is key for pet parents.
“Skin growths or lumps can be aspirated and tested to tell you if it requires treatment. Other warning signs are appetite loss, weight loss, lethargy, sores that don’t heal, excessive urination or vomiting, and personality change. Sometimes it’s nothing, but you need to pay attention to make sure.”
Visit the Kyle’s Legacy website or Facebook page to get involved.