Penndel man plans 3K to raise awareness of canine cancer
Wearing a polo shirt that reads “Greyhound Adoption,” and armed with a folder full of information he found regarding canine cancer, the retired Steve Katz said, “This is what I do.”
It’s probably something that he would rather not have to do, though.
Two of his adopted retired racing greyhounds, Star and Sandy, recently died of cancer. Fighting back tears, the Penndel resident said he felt helpless following the death of his dogs. Prior to Star and Sandy, he and his wife had a Labrador retriever die of cancer, as well. Admittedly not a veterinarian or a scientist, Katz said the only thing he could do was raise money to help raise awareness of canine cancer.
In typical modern day word-of-mouth campaign, Katz reached out to people on a Yahoo! message board, and sold T-shirts with the proceeds going to canine cancer research. It wasn’t very profitable, so Katz decided on something larger — he formed the organization Canine Cancer Research USA.
“I realized I had to incorporate as a nonprofit charity in order to make people aware of canine cancer and its devastating effects,” Katz said.
Cancer hit Katz’s family hard. In addition to losing three dogs, he lost his mother to the disease; his father has been through five cancer surgeries, as have two cousins. “We’re all at risk, and I feel very deeply about it,” he said.
Stressing that fact, Katz said he sent an e-mail to about a dozen of his friends asking if they knew a dog that had died of cancer within 15 years. Holding a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Katz pointed to column “A,” a list of 45 dogs, ranging from “Ava” to “Zelda,” with ages ranging from 3 years to 14 years old. Katz’ dogs Sandy and Star were both 13-years-old when they died — and some may feel that age falls into the “normal” lifespan for dogs. Katz questioned why.
“Why is that the normal age?” Katz said. “It’s been reduced — and how do we know a dog can’t live another seven years? Thirty to 40 years ago, before dogs exploded as house pets, dogs lived for more than 20 years.”
Katz is convinced that environmental factors contribute to canine cancer — things like inferior dog food, pesticides, fluoridated tap water and even vaccines. He’s quick to say that he’s not knocking any veterinarians, but adds that more tests should be done to see if a dog’s immune system needs the vaccines, and that veterinaries aren’t given enough knowledge about nutrition.
To help raise money for canine cancer awareness, Katz is holding the inaugural Canine Cancer Research USA “Paws in the Park” 3K walk Sept. 13 at Core Creek Park in Langhorne. The proceeds of the event will be doled out to the Penn Animal Blood Bank at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Ohio University College of Veterinary Medicine. Katz met an oncologist affiliated with the latter through a greyhound rescue agency, and got in touch with people from all over the country through the Internet.
“I began to worry whether I could get 50 or 60 people out for the walk,” Katz said. “But now, via e-mail and message boards, hundreds will be coming out.” And because of this, he upped his goal from $5,000 to $7,000.
Since the death of Sandy and Star, Katz said he adopted another recued racer — 4-year-old Sapphire, who gets nothing but premium food and bottled spring water, which Katz said isn’t as pricey as one would think.
“Dogs are family members,” Katz said. “They’re as dependent on us as a newborn baby, and it’s our responsibility to treat them as well as we can.”
[LAST GRAF CAN BE PUT IN AN INFO BOX – BUT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE] Paws in the Park will be held Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Core Creek Park, Langhorne. Cost is $20 per person; $25 per family; and admission for children under 12 is free.
For more information visit www.caninecancerresearchusa.org.
It’s probably something that he would rather not have to do, though.
Two of his adopted retired racing greyhounds, Star and Sandy, recently died of cancer. Fighting back tears, the Penndel resident said he felt helpless following the death of his dogs. Prior to Star and Sandy, he and his wife had a Labrador retriever die of cancer, as well. Admittedly not a veterinarian or a scientist, Katz said the only thing he could do was raise money to help raise awareness of canine cancer.
In typical modern day word-of-mouth campaign, Katz reached out to people on a Yahoo! message board, and sold T-shirts with the proceeds going to canine cancer research. It wasn’t very profitable, so Katz decided on something larger — he formed the organization Canine Cancer Research USA.
“I realized I had to incorporate as a nonprofit charity in order to make people aware of canine cancer and its devastating effects,” Katz said.
Cancer hit Katz’s family hard. In addition to losing three dogs, he lost his mother to the disease; his father has been through five cancer surgeries, as have two cousins. “We’re all at risk, and I feel very deeply about it,” he said.
Stressing that fact, Katz said he sent an e-mail to about a dozen of his friends asking if they knew a dog that had died of cancer within 15 years. Holding a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Katz pointed to column “A,” a list of 45 dogs, ranging from “Ava” to “Zelda,” with ages ranging from 3 years to 14 years old. Katz’ dogs Sandy and Star were both 13-years-old when they died — and some may feel that age falls into the “normal” lifespan for dogs. Katz questioned why.
“Why is that the normal age?” Katz said. “It’s been reduced — and how do we know a dog can’t live another seven years? Thirty to 40 years ago, before dogs exploded as house pets, dogs lived for more than 20 years.”
Katz is convinced that environmental factors contribute to canine cancer — things like inferior dog food, pesticides, fluoridated tap water and even vaccines. He’s quick to say that he’s not knocking any veterinarians, but adds that more tests should be done to see if a dog’s immune system needs the vaccines, and that veterinaries aren’t given enough knowledge about nutrition.
To help raise money for canine cancer awareness, Katz is holding the inaugural Canine Cancer Research USA “Paws in the Park” 3K walk Sept. 13 at Core Creek Park in Langhorne. The proceeds of the event will be doled out to the Penn Animal Blood Bank at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Ohio University College of Veterinary Medicine. Katz met an oncologist affiliated with the latter through a greyhound rescue agency, and got in touch with people from all over the country through the Internet.
“I began to worry whether I could get 50 or 60 people out for the walk,” Katz said. “But now, via e-mail and message boards, hundreds will be coming out.” And because of this, he upped his goal from $5,000 to $7,000.
Since the death of Sandy and Star, Katz said he adopted another recued racer — 4-year-old Sapphire, who gets nothing but premium food and bottled spring water, which Katz said isn’t as pricey as one would think.
“Dogs are family members,” Katz said. “They’re as dependent on us as a newborn baby, and it’s our responsibility to treat them as well as we can.”
[LAST GRAF CAN BE PUT IN AN INFO BOX – BUT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE] Paws in the Park will be held Sept. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Core Creek Park, Langhorne. Cost is $20 per person; $25 per family; and admission for children under 12 is free.
For more information visit www.caninecancerresearchusa.org.
