Meet Piggy: One Pit Bull's Fight Against Cancer

The rising cost of pet healthcare is having a profound effect on pet parents and their ability to care for their animals. Affording proper care for a healthy pet can be difficult enough, and according to our Pet Healthonomics study, 

costs increase an average of 53%

when a pet develops a chronic condition or devastating disease like cancer.In honor of

Pet Cancer Awareness Month

, PetCareRx has partnered with the

National Canine Cancer Foundation

to sponsor pets in need with a free subscription to 

PetPlus

, a prescription plan for pets that will help pet parents save up to 75% on their pet's prescriptions.

Meet Our First Sponsored Pet

Katie, a vet tech from Ashville, North Carolina, knows all too well the struggle to care for an ailing pet.It all started a few years ago when she fell in love with a Pit Bull named Pig. Pig had come to the shelter along with her litter of 9 new-born puppies, struggling to recover from being hit by a car.The passionate staff nursed Pig back to health, and despite a long history of medical issues and large vet bills, Katie knew that she had to take Pig home.A year after the rescue, Katie discovered small bumps covering parts of Pig’s body. A trip to the vet determined that the pooch was fine, and she'd simply developed “old dog bumps.” For the time, Katie’s worries were assuaged.A few months later, Katie started vet tech school. On the first day of her third semester, the class was covering skin diseases and conditions. The moment a photo of

mast cell tumors came onto the screen, Katie knew that Pig's bumps were more than old age.A trip back to the vet and a biopsy later, Pig’s condition was confirmed; she had cancer.Katie was referred to a veterinary oncologist who determined that surgery wasn’t an option for Pig. Instead, she was immediately started on doses of prednisone, famotidine, benadryl, and a chemotherapy drug called chlorambucil, as well as holistic supplements.Katie says, “I have made peace with the fact that I might someday lose my sweet Pig to this horrible cancer, but until then I will do everything in my power to keep her as healthy and happy as possible.”We're confident PetPlus will help ease some of the financial burden of Katie and Pig's journey through canine cancer. We look forward to staying in touch with them.

Do you know a pet fighting cancer?

 and our friends at PetPlus would like to help. Please contact social@petcarerx.com. Tell us about your experience, and include a photo of your pet. You could be given a free PetPlus subscription, and your story could be featured on the

Wet Nose Press

!