By Staff
Canines help in fight against breast cancer
By GREG KATSKI
Staff Writer
This fundraiser in the fight against breast cancer has gone to the dogs.
The canines of Cypress Landing paraded for pledges Wednesday evening at the Cypress Landing Golf Club’s driving range. The dog show is Cypress Landing’s annual fundraiser in support of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Barking for a Cure raised $10,147 in pledges for the foundation. The event is just part of the community’s fundraising drive, which also included a flower sale in April and donations from the Cypress Landing Honors Board. The drive includes a golf tournament, This Game Has Gone to the Dogs, scheduled for Saturday at the Cypress Landing Golf Club.
The fundraising campaign has brought in $19,455 in pledges or money to date, with raffle tickets on sale until the conclusion of the golf tournament.
“People can pledge for who they like throughout the show,” Ann Jones, chairwoman of the dog show, said.
Jones kicked off the show with a bold promise.
The parade began with the small-dog category, highlighted by Sophie, a 2-year-old miniature schnauzer. The dog, owned by Linda and Norm DeCost, jumped agility hurdles and through a hoop on command.
The medium-dog category featured Biscuit, the dog that raised the most money for the event. Biscuit, a 5-year-old cockapoo owned by Carol and Bill Mann, raised more than $2,000 in pledges.
The large-dog category included two dogs that are cancer survivors.
Barkley, a 6-year-old Airedale owned by Bill and Paula Pacella was diagnosed with Stage 4 lymphoma at 14 months old. The dog had its spleen and part of its liver removed.
Barkley was not expected to survive chemotherapy.
The dog, which was sporting a “cancer survivor” T-shirt during the show, has been nicknamed Miracle Dog.
Shannon, a 14-year-old golden retriever owned by Paul and Pat Coakley, was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2001. It has been through five operations since 2001, and had to get it’s front left paw amputated in January.
Peg Bodie, assistant golf pro at the gold club, believes the most important thing about the fundraising campaign is that it educates people about breast cancer.
Not including this year’s event, Cypress Landing has raised $73,470 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Jones believes that with the additional money raised by the raffle, the community should be able to send a $20,000 check to the foundation.