I have a family that lives here in Michigan (at the Ohio boarder) with a child with Brain Cancer. She is one 3 kids (she also has a twin sister). The family is on limited funds due to the mom taking a leave of absence (she is a teacher) to care for the girl and the dad works full time. They have 3 girls a 9 year old (Grace, very protective of her younger sisters) and the Twins who are 4, Isabella and Ava. Ava has the brain tumor(s). Ava will finish this round of Chemo in May & they hope to have a puppy & be a real family for a while, before Ava starts chemo again. Here is the email the mother sent me:
I'm writing you this email to inquire about your reduced doodle program you generously offer. My husband and I live in Erie, Michigan with our three girls; Grace (9yrs.), Ava (4yrs.-twin) and Isabelle (4yrs). We looked into getting a puppy for the girls in the fall but decided it may be better to wait until warmer weather in the spring. We owned a yellow lab for 13 years, he passed in 2009. We have a fenced in back yard and were completely ready for a new puppy. Then on November 30, 2011 our lives were turned upside down. Our daughter Ava was diagnosed with a PNET brain tumor. She has been receiving Chemotherapy at CS Mott's Hospital in AnnArbor. I'm a teacher at Huron Schools in NewBoston, Michigan but took a leave to care for Ava. After her third round of Chemo and an intensive stem cell harvest we learned that 2 tumors had returned. Ava is now undergoing radiation. She just completed her 12th visit as an outpatient. She has 19 more to go. Ava has become very withdrawn and sad. She has little energy. However, she always perks up when visited by the therapy dogs at Mott's. Two of her favorite dogs are both labradoodles; Cosmo and Lola. We spoke with her oncologist and she said a puppy would be fine to get. Mental health and happiness paves a road to recovery as well. We decided to get a labradoodle for the same reasons you did for your son. We felt a labradoodle was the most appropriate dog for Ava. Unfortunately you too know how cancer can quickly consume your entire family. Our girls were very excited to get a puppy. On Thursday, April 26, 2012 I surprised the girls with an 8 week old labradoodle. However, in my rush, I didn't really investigate the breeder, rather based our purchase on a price we could afford. (Now looking back, and reading your website, I'm not even sure we purchased a true labradoodle). We owned the puppy for 3 hours when the puppy started having violent seizures. I took the puppy to the "Animal ER" in Toledo. The vet told us that the puppy had some severe problems, perhaps a tumor or liver issues and that we should return him to the breeder. Obviously, my children were devastated. As were my husband and I. We haven't seen Ava smile in weeks, now with this puppy tragedy, it was just horrible for our family. Our nine year old took it the hardest. She always worries about Ava and does understand the seriousness of her illness. We did return the puppy to the breeder and they did refund our money, but not the $365 we spent in vet bills. It was just a horrible experience. Then we found your website and read your story. As a mother in a similar situation, you know how much it hurts to see your children so sad. We certainly would be very grateful to learn more and discuss with you personally your reduced labradoodle program. Thank you so much. God Bless! Sincerely, Nancy

I offered them any pup from any litter, but I won’t have pups to go home until September & I know from experience (my son is a survivor) that you never waste a minute waiting when there’s cancer. They would like to stay at $1500 or lower. Anyone that could be so generous as to help this family out, know that you’ll have changed lives, literally & make a very sick girl back some laughter & happiness.
Sorry this was so long, I just want to do all I can for this family. They are looking for great temperament, medium to standard. I would think they are looking for a love-bug of a pup, easy to play with and cuddle & dress up. :O)
Jen
Labradoodle Dreams