Regarding my external heart, Beija Georges

Hello, friends.

Beija Georges was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor today. She has a Soft Tissue Sarcoma.

  I took her to the veterinarian yesterday to test what was then a mysterious lump on her back. 

  I had to drug her for the occasion. She usually dons a muzzle at the vet's office, from which she hyperventilates and yelps and struggles. It's traumatic for everyone, so for the first time in 15 years I planned ahead. I put a pill into her favorite food (the tomato), and as I was feeding it to her I had a moment of guilt for tricking my best friend, so announced out loud "I put a downer in this tomato" as I was handing it to her, and she gingerly accepted it in her velvety Shar-Pei lips anyway.

  As I was waiting for it to kick in she was prancing around the house, approached me several times and gave me a dog kiss, which was nice and a little heart-breaking, since I knew that we were going in for something that was likely cancer. But the prancing and the dog kisses seemed like Beija showing (if not telling) me that she enjoys living. She enjoys this life that she has. She wags her tail, she eats tomatoes, chews kale stalks, hoards dog bones and skids across the floor chasing her tennis ball.

Gnawing Broccoli

ANYWAY, by the time we were seen in the vet's office, Beija Georges was practically asleep, involved in probably the worst stoner daze of all time, in which she got poked, prodded and biopsied. 

  Her very kind veterinarian found a heart murmur, rotten teeth and of course, the cancer.

  The cancer is the #1 thing on my mind.

  This particular kind of tumor is not known for spreading, and is often easy to remove. The placement of it makes things precarious (it's near her dear spine), but the vet (thus far) seemed confident that this was something that, if taken care of, could keep cancer out of the picture either forever, or for a good long while. 

So far, my vet's estimates are that the cancer procedure will cost approximately $1500.
If she needs an MRI to suss out the tumor's proximity to her spine and nerves it could be an additional $1500-$2000.
I do not have an estimate for the heart specialist yet.

  Beija's upcoming bills already outpace my savings account, and so I humbly present a Paypal donation button and ask you, my community of dog lovers (and maybe specifically Beija-lovers) to consider helping us out in this time of need. 
If you are an animal appreciator, a crotchety-dog-depicted-in-comics lover, or have ever met or felt fondness towards Beija or myself, please consider donating even the smallest scrap towards her veterinary fund. Even if it's $5. 
 

  Here are some things I can do to show my enormous appreciation:

If you donate anything at all, I will send you a thank you card.

  If you donate $20 or more, I'll make you a hand drawn thank you card, and I will send you a copy of my dog mini-comic "Muttley Crue" (starring Beija & Wishbone).

  If you donate $40 or more, I'll do those things, and draw a Beija on a larger piece of paper for you, saying "Thank You" to you (by name).

  More than $50, I'll do those things, AND send you a 2013 Invincible Summer calendar when they arrive (late Oct/early Nov).
If you don't want any of these things (besides the Thank You card!), please include a note saying this.




UPDATE: ADDED BONUS

Through extreme, giant, humongous generosity, my favorite chocolatier in the universe, 
Lagusta of Lagusta's Luscious has added a (vegan, delicious, ethical) chocolate bonus incentive: 
  
Toss her (Beija) $100 and I'll send you a free box of a special seasonal chocolate you can't get otherwise--Spicy Croissant Caramels. Just like the Croissant Caramels you know and love, only slightly spicy, to warm you up for fall. Just include a note saying you want the caramels with your donation, and she'll give me your details, ok? Go!

Here is a link to the normal Croissant-infused chocolate caramels. Now add winter spiciness and you have something that will possibly make you fall over with sensory joy. 


 
 Other things I'm doing/going to do  to try and rally funds:

I will be adding over a dozen original art pieces for sale on my Etsy page.

I will be putting up a garage sale section on my Etsy page.

Calendars:
2013 Calendars will be available for pre-order next week. If you donate to this cause now & want to pre-order a calendar in the coming weeks, please use the code BEIJA at checkout to get 20% off your calendar order.

Those are all the things I can think of for now.

Please wish us save voyage on this frightening new journey.

Thank you for considering it, from the bottom of my heart. 

Sincerely,
Nicole J. Georges

Yesterday: Post-tomato, pre-Vet visit, mid-kiss.

P.s. This is what I am imagining as Beija's theme song for beating cancer. I imagine her singing it to me, but if you want to switch our roles and have me singing it to her in your head, you can.