Pet Lovers With Breast Cancer

janecj
janecj Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am recently diagnosed and will be having surgery on Tues. Oct. 19. Are there any other pet lovers out there, and how did you take care of your pets while you were incapacitated? My husband and I are animal lovers, and have 4 dogs and two cats of our own. We also are a foster home for 3 dogs and 1 kitten. We are in Pilot Mountain NC, about a half hour north of Winston-Salem NC, about an hour from Greensboro NC, about 2 hours from Charlotte NC and about 3 hours from Raleigh-Durham NC. We are close to the south central Virginia border. My husband is 71, and has his own health restrictions.

We are hoping to find someone in our area who might have a fenced in yard who would be willing to be either a permanent home or a foster home (for 2 -4 months? while I'm incapacitated) to two or three of our foster dogs. We are also hoping to find an indoor permanent or foster home (2 - 4 months?) for the kitten.

My pets are my greatest comfort, I love them dearly, and I know there must be other breast cancer survivors out there who feel the same way.

Comments

  • bettygee
    bettygee Member Posts: 40
    #2
    I, too, am a pet lover, my home is home to 3 dogs, 2 adult cats and 4 kittens. There have been times over the years when I had even more!

    Unfortunately, I do not live near enough to you to be any help. I live in North Central Florida near Gainesville.

    I do hope you will find someone to help care for your pets during your recovery. If at all possible, I would encourage you to keep the ones you feel you can care for in your home, they are such a comfort and give so much love and devotion in return for your loving care of them.

    I do hope you find someone who is able to help.

    Betty
  • krisrey
    krisrey Member Posts: 194
    #3
    Hi Janecj,
    I too am a pet lover, although I only have a cat, pet frogs, and a 40 gall fish tank. Luckly my kids are young (hence the pet frogs) and they were able to care for the pets. It must be very difficult for you to have the worry of your pets on top of everything else. Unfortunately I do not live anywhere near you, I live in Mass. When we go away we always have a pet sitter come. Do you possibly have any kids in your neighborhood that you could recuit to come and walk and feed the dogs? I know if I lived near you my daughters would be loving to have a job like that especially because we can't have dogs. Maybe you could put an add in your local paper, or maybe if you belong to any organzation like church, you may be able to get help that way. I hope it all works out for you.
    Kris
  • inkblot
    inkblot Member Posts: 698 Member
    #4
    Unfortunately I am nowhere near to you either.

    I'd suggest that you contact your local shelter (or rescue organization) for whom you foster the dogs and kitten. They should be able to find new foster homes for them as those animals are legally their responsibility. They typically have restrictions for fostering wherein you wouldn't be able to place the animals anyplace else without their involvement.

    I'm just guessing but since you've been fostering for a while for this shelter, they should be able to help you find a temporary foster home for your own dogs and cats. Worth looking into. I'd be really careful about placing ads in newspaper's etc. as you'd have no idea what kind of people may call/show up or what their intentions may be.

    Another idea is to contact your local Red Cross to see if they can assist you or help you get in touch with the proper agencies who could help. Your veterinarian may be able to help also.

    We adore our animals and they're such a part of our family so I can appreciate how difficult this has to be for you and your husband. Yet a safe, viable answer is out there for the temporary care of your much loved pets.

    Hoping you find homes for them all really soon and that your surgery goes well!

    Love, light and laughter,
    Ink
  • seeknpeace
    seeknpeace Member Posts: 259
    #5
    What kind of dogs are they? Size, sex, etc.
  • lindatn
    lindatn Member Posts: 229
    #6
    We have a kennel plus many housedogs. When we went through our cancer treatments[husband followed me with prostate cancer] our pets gave us a great deal of comfort. Sometimes it was the high point of my day to give them their treats at night. Our daughter came in the morning to do the kennel work. The housedogs we had no problem caring for. My little It Greyhound slept with me every night like always. He did get his foot in my drain tube one night but we managed to get him straighten out. When they pulled the darn thing out I realized it was in very good. Remember this they never cared if I had no hair, didn't feel like getting dressed, had no make up on. We had a hour drive to treatment center but even so they weren't alone as long as a lot of people with pets who work. The lost of my pets would of been worse then any cancer treatment. Don't be in a hurry to place them see how it goes. When I was in chemo after the first three days I groomed at the kennel part time. This was over two years ago and I'm 60. You may not be as sick as you think. Pets give us a reason to get out of bed and make us smile. I have a friend who is a goat breeder she sold half of her goats when she went through cancer treatment, still took care of the 50 she kept and she is 72. Take it one day at a time. Don't put a ad in the paper try friends to come in and help. God Bless Linda

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