Each year I spend time reflecting on how much we've accomplished with this labor of love called Brown Dog Foundation. To think that after 17 years we're still one of the most respected agencies is probably what I'm most proud of. To know that we continue to provide assistance to families who need us most is vitally important to me.

This year, we celebrate receiving our first major Grant. The Candis Stern Foundation has gifted us $22,000 to achieve our Mission! This is a miracle as it finally affords us the ability to the work we need to do in a shorter amount of time. The Board agreed to allocate more than half of these funds to our VetBilling Program, so we are able to recoup some of the money we grant, which helps us stabilize our Program for the long-term.

Earlier this year, I lost my fourth pet to the dreaded cancer. Each of them experienced a different type and with each of them, I experienced a different decision-process thrust upon me. As I revisit each situation, I am amazed by how much I've learned. With Chocolate Chip, the original Brown Dog, his cancer recurrence happened while I was unemployed and could not provide the care he would have needed to attempt to save him. Perhaps the universe knew this because it turned out that his recurrence was end-stage and nothing we could do would actually have saved him. Still, without the help of a dear friend, I could not have afforded the testing that told me this, which is also what inspired me to create Brown Dog Foundation.

Goldie Goo Goo Cluster experienced crisis quickly with a ruptured splenic tumor during the weekend. Emergency surgery was the only thing that could have saved her, but at 13.5 years old, it was a major risk and a significant cost, $3-5,000. At the time, I did not have the money available to me, so I made the decision to end her suffering with her in my arms and surrounded by all of the people who loved her most. We sang to her. I cradled her gently and told her I would never forget her. That one haunts me. She is the only pet I've ever had to euthanize because I couldn't afford treatment that could have actually saved her. It would be a few years before I learned the term "Economic Euthanasia" and exactly what that means. It would become a phrase that cuts me deeply each time I hear it.

In 2017, Toffee Nut was diagnosed with an aggressive Mast Cell cancer in his lower back. We operated, but it came back. So, we applied Eastern & Western Medicinal approaches - a little chemo and some Mushroom / Chinese Herb Therapies. He lived a reasonably happy and comfortable 7 months before succumbing to that dreaded disease. I spent more than $35,000 over the course of those months attempting to save him because I could, postponing my Birthday Trip to France. I have no regret.

In 2022, Beignet was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor in the Retroperitoneum. Surgery was not an option, but Radiation had shown some level of success with certain types of tumors in this region. Without performing the expensive diagnostics to determine if this tumor was of that type, I proceeded with Radiation to see if it would work. We onboarded a CBD / THC protocol and ultimately also added Chinese Herb support. Again, I spent more than $30,000 over the course of 5 months attempting to save her because I had the means... but it didn't work.

I sometimes wonder if I went over-board attempting to save Toffee Nut and Beignet because I wasn't able to save Goldie?  But I know deep down that I would have spent that money regardless simply because I had it... because I could. My pets are my family. They are my life... my children. So, when it's time to save their life, I will do whatever I can. I'll do everything to avoid Economic Euthanasia.

This is why it's critical that organizations like Brown Dog Foundation exist. No one should be forced to make the decision I made with Goldie. And, that is why, every day, for seventeen years, I get up... open our database, process through the requests and help as many people as we can. It's never enough. And, we always have to say "no" more than we get to say "yes." But at least we're doing something.

Our goal is to eradicate the term Economic Euthanasia. Will you join us?