Daisy is a 10-year-old Miniature Schnauzer in Baltimore, MD, who needs $2,000 for Oncept Melanoma Vaccine chemotherapy series [of four vaccines over eight weeks] after Pre-Cancer Treatment Staging with Radiographs, aspiration of lymph nodes, blood tests.

I found straying Daisy on 5.3.18. It was HOT, she was dehydrated and tagless. No response to social media posts for 3 weeks when the owners contacted me. Great couple with young son who left the gate open that day. Two months later, they asked me to babysit her. A year later, her older dog buddy died, and they couldn’t bear to see her in mourning, so they asked me to keep her. Welcome home, Daisy.

Apparently, since 3 to 4 stray and rescue dogs decide to move in at any given time, I’m The Dog Guy in my neighborhood. With all male dogs then, it was the Guy Dog House.
And then, Daisy arrived.
As the only girl in the pack, she wasted little time leading it. First in the door, first out, first to the water bowl. And despite being the newest, the Guys let her, and make it clear they love her.

Freelance writer is a career not immune to the financial ravages of COVID-19. The dogs I’ve had the pleasure of caring for traditionally live 16, 18 years. Daisy is only 10. She does NOT deserve the health she has had, and my work now is to give her the long life she does.

Daisy developed a tumor on her toe, a malignant melanoma called a canine subungual melanoma. The toe and tumor were amputated, but without post-surgery treatment [chemotherapy] for the malignant cancer, as with humans, it can resurface, spread and kill her, soon.
Daisy's being treated by Michelle L. Silver, DMV, DACVIM (O) of Atlantic Veterinary Internal Medicine & Oncology in Columbia, Maryland.

In the 2+ years I've had the honor of ‘owning’ Daisy, after she lost her life-long friend while with her previous owner, she's had extensive, painful dental surgery and more trips to our main veterinarian and veterinary oncology that any five dogs should have to.
And yet, she springs to life every morning and bounces and howls [and wake us up] and lets us all know how happy she is to be alive.