Magic Bullet Foundation helps defray canine cancer costs

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Jennifer Augustus of Gurnee has raised $815 toward her goal of $1,500 to fund mammary cancer treat for her dog Princess.

Updated: July 16, 2011 2:09AM

As a cancer survivor herself, Eugiene Augustus, 56, was devastated to learn that her dog had cancer.

She adopted Princess when she was 6 months old from Lambs Farm in Green Oaks. Now, the playful, loving Pomeranian has mammary cancer.

“It felt just like when I had cancer,” Augustus said. “It was like the same thing happening over again — you go to denial.”

Her 9-year-old canine companion was diagnosed with cancer about a month ago. Augustus said she was concerned how she would afford the $1,100 to $1,500 bill for treatment.

She is on disability and cannot work because she also has congestive heart failure. She was hospitalized in April and is still fighting to recover.

“I’m dealing with that and I’m thinking positive, taking one day at a time, but Princess is the one I’m really concerned about,” Augustus said. “I don’t know what I would do without her … my dog is like my child.

“I’m willing to sell all my possessions if necessary,” she said. “It’s very hard for people to understand unless they’re (dog owners).”

Her daughter, Jennifer Augustus, 21, found another solution so they didn’t have to empty their Gurnee home of all their possessions.

Jennifer, a college student at DePaul University in Chicago, immediately went online and found Magic Bullet Fund, a charity offering financial assistance to families who cannot afford canine cancer treatments.

Depending on the treatment — surgery, radiation or chemotherapy — a dog owner can spend between $600 to $20,000 or more, according to Laurie Kaplan, MBF founder and administrator.

Since she started the New-York based fund in 2005, MBF has spent between $250,000 and $300,000 funding the treatment of 143 dogs, Kaplan estimates. Princess was the 142nd dog MBF has helped, she said.

“In the past year, the number of applications has doubled and number of donations that have come in has halved, so it’s a struggle to stay alive here,” Kaplan said.

To make the most of every contribution, MBF only helps in cases where it is reasonable to expect treatments to add at least one year to a dog’s life, she said.

Cancer in dogs is “very common,” she noted. About 50 percent of all dogs will get cancer, she said.

One in every three dogs will get some form of cancer. Of these, more than half will die, according to National Canine Cancer Foundation, which funds canine cancer research.

Princess has one of the more preventable forms of cancer, she said.

“If a dog is spayed at a young age, chances of getting mammary cancer go down to practically zero,” Kaplan said.

Augustus said she was unaware of this and planned to spay Princess once the cancerous lump is removed. She also said she felt guilty once she learned this, but that her vet assured her that Princess could have still gotten cancer if she had been spayed as a puppy.

Augustus is working with MBF to get the funding for Princess. Because of MBF’s assistance, Jennifer said she will start volunteering for the non-profit.

“Once I realized how much they are truly helping .... I want to help show people that there’s help out there — all you have to do is ask,” Jennifer said.