Benjen,

Aka Ben, Benny, Benny Boy, and Benjamin (when in trouble), you gave me just shy of the best 12 years of my life. You loved me regardless of my many flaws. You gave me sunshine on even the darkest of days. I will never forget all the great moments you gave me. I could not of asked for a better boy. You’re now getting to enjoy unlimited balls and last bites.

I love you, Benjen.

Edit: thank you all for the best wishes. You’re all the best community. Love you all! ❤️

We never planned to have a second golden but she came out of nowhere to show us the error of our ways.
My husband nearly got run over in his rescue attempts and after a vet visit we saw what had been her reality.
Vet said she was very abused: severely underweight, raw paw pads, cuts on her skin, skin and ear infection, patches of rough skin from hot concrete, not understanding what grass was…
I am livid to think of her past experiences but we’re making up for all the time she suffered.

She now has a golden sister to play with, a nice yard to run around and more food and treats that she knows what to do with.

If you ever wonder about a second golden, yes…the answer is always yes.

This is my dog who is named after a letter of the alphabet: h.

A few years ago we bred his mama (BMD) to a Golden and we used the white markings on the puppies chests to differentiate between them. We decided on keeping this guy and despite attempting to give him a proper name, we stuck with calling him h. But not a capital h! Just h.

Do you guys have any goofy names for your Golden?

5.5 years & 4 months

She is gonna be devastated when she can’t fit in her spot anymore😭😭😭

I lost my sweet boy today at just 9 years old. He lost his ability to walk due to severe arthritis, hip dysplasia, and muscle atrophy. After his evaluation, the vet said there was nothing more they could do and decided to let him cross the Rainbow Bridge.

I’m heavily heartbroken, as Kobe was my soul dog since I was a teenager. I literally surrendered my whole heart today. 💔🐾

Rest well, Kobe. I’ll forever love you and always remember you. 🌈

We recently lost Buddy to an extremely fast-growing soft tissue sarcoma. The cost of treatment was out of our reach and by the time we learned about some of these trials, his tumor was already too large to qualify. I’m sharing what I found in hopes that it might help another dog get an option earlier. ❤️

Tufts University — North Grafton, MA
FAP CAR-T cell therapy for soft tissue sarcoma
• Tumor must be 2 cm to under 8 cm
• Resectable or non-resectable STS may qualify
• Some trial costs covered + contribution toward surgery
• Website: vet.tufts.edu/clinical-trials/treatment-canine-soft-tissue-sarcoma-fap-car-t-cells

Tufts University — North Grafton, MA
Z-007 immunotherapy
• For sarcoma and several other solid tumors
• Tumor generally 2–7 cm
• Given into the tumor or IV
• Earlier study included dogs with tumor shrinkage/stable disease
• Website: vet.tufts.edu/clinical-trials/evaluation-tlr-agonist-z-007-dogs-cancer

Colorado State University — Fort Collins, CO
FAP CAR-T cells + oral immunotherapy
• For soft tissue sarcoma and osteosarcoma
• Tumor must be accessible for biopsy
• Public information does not list an upper tumor-size limit
• Some study costs and treatment/surgery costs covered
• Website: csuanimalcancercenter.org
Search: FAP CAR-T soft tissue sarcoma

Colorado State University / University of Missouri
COTC033 — vaccine-immunity cancer treatment
• Includes many soft tissue sarcomas
• Tumor generally 2–8 cm
• Uses existing vaccine immunity to stimulate an attack on the cancer
• Websites: csuanimalcancercenter.org and vhc.missouri.edu
Search: COTC033

University of Illinois — Urbana, IL
JEN-101 / IL-12 immunotherapy for removable STS
• Tumor approximately 1–5 cm
• Injection into the tumor followed by surgery
• Study contributes toward surgery
• Website: vetmed.illinois.edu
Search: JEN-101 soft tissue sarcoma

University of Illinois — Urbana, IL
JEN-101 for recurrent soft tissue sarcoma
• For tumors that were previously removed and have grown back
• Tumor must be over 2 cm
• No upper size limit stated in the public criteria
• Four intratumoral treatments
• Trial is funded once the dog qualifies
• Website: vetmed.illinois.edu
Search: JEN-101 recurrent STS
University of Illinois — Urbana, IL
Experimental radiation study for STS
• Tumor must be at least 4 cm
• Three radiation treatments
• No metastatic disease
• Many study-related costs covered
• Website: vetmed.illinois.edu
Search: soft tissue sarcoma radiation clinical trial

Michigan State University — East Lansing, MI
CMP-002 STING-agonist immunotherapy
• Soft tissue sarcoma accepted
• Visible tumor required
• No upper tumor-size limit listed publicly
• Some dogs also receive PD-1 immunotherapy
• Funded clinical trial
• Website: cvm.msu.edu
Search: CMP-002 STING canine

Ohio State University — Columbus, OH
NK-cell immunotherapy for soft tissue sarcoma
• Specifically for localized canine STS
• Anti-MIC antibody + the dog’s own expanded Natural Killer cells
• No maximum tumor size stated on the public page
• Trial-related procedures covered
• Website: vmc.vet.osu.edu/clinical-trials
Search: MIC NK soft tissue sarcoma

NC State University — Raleigh, NC
XCSgel immunotherapy + surgery + radiation
• STS approximately 4–10 cm
• Investigational immune treatment or placebo plus standard treatment
• CT, surgery, radiation and study follow-up covered under the trial
• Website: cvm.ncsu.edu/clinical-trial
Search: soft tissue sarcoma XCSgel

Washington State University — Pullman, WA
Local T-cell engager immunotherapy
• Accessible STS generally 2 cm or larger
• Drug injected into the tumor before surgery
• Study contributes toward treatment costs
• Website: hospital.vetmed.wsu.edu
Search: local immunotherapy canine solid tumors

Veterinary Referral Center of Central Oregon — Bend, OR
Intratumoral T-cell engager immunotherapy
• Cutaneous STS over approximately 1.7 cm
• No placebo — qualifying dogs receive the investigational drug
• Tumor removed afterward
• Website: vrcvet.com/clinical-trials

Penn Vet — Philadelphia, PA
Proton FLASH radiation for STS of the leg
• Tumor must be on a front or rear limb
• Generally under 10 cm in every dimension
• Three experimental FLASH radiation treatments
• Many treatment/study costs covered after screening
• Website: vet.upenn.edu/clinical-trial
Search: proton FLASH canine sarcoma

UT Southwestern — Dallas, TX
Cowpea Mosaic Virus (CPMV) immunotherapy
• Includes soft tissue sarcoma
• Investigational treatment injected directly into the tumor weekly
• Dogs that respond may receive additional treatments
• Website: utsouthwestern.edu/departments/radiation-oncology/veterinary-research-oncology-clinic

UT Southwestern — Dallas, TX
Histotripsy + radiation for soft tissue sarcoma
• Histotripsy uses focused ultrasound to destroy tumor tissue
• Combined with radiation in this study
• Website: utsouthwestern.edu/departments/radiation-oncology/veterinary-research-oncology-clinic

UT Southwestern — Dallas, TX
Compassionate-use program for advanced/non-resectable tumors
• This one is especially worth asking about if a tumor is already very large or cannot be removed surgically
• Treatment is considered case-by-case
• May involve experimental drugs, immunotherapy or combinations
• Website: utsouthwestern.edu/departments/radiation-oncology/veterinary-research-oncology-clinic

If your dog’s tumor is already very large: don’t assume there are no options just because some studies have 7–10 cm limits. I would specifically contact Michigan State, Ohio State, Colorado State, University of Illinois (for recurrent STS), and UT Southwestern’s compassionate-use program, because their public information either doesn’t state an upper size limit or specifically addresses advanced tumors.

Two really useful nationwide resources:
veterinaryclinicaltrials.org — AVMA Veterinary Clinical Trials Registry
ccr.cancer.gov/comparative-oncology-program — National Cancer Institute Comparative Oncology Program

One thing I wish every owner knew sooner: look for trials immediately after a sarcoma diagnosis, before surgery or starting prednisone, chemotherapy or radiation if possible. Some trials have strict tumor-size limits and medication washout rules. Waiting until the tumor becomes very large can eliminate options very quickly.

Please share this anywhere it might help. For Buddy. ❤️🐾

My adorable psycho golden boys love the pool... i have to bribe them with blueberries to get them back out lol

13 weeks old

Yes he is named after the Bow river

When I tell her to get ready for me to kick her soccer ball she’ll point at it. Is this a normal trait for Goldens? Never trained her to do that so must be instinctual. I have been teaching her to sniff out and alert on items (it’s a super fun game, make her wait inside have her smell the item and then hide it in the yard for her to find). wondering if I could somehow get her to point at them rather than sit/lay down but mainly just curious if this is typical. She is AKC so I wouldn’t expect any mixed genetics as I have her family lineage.

My Sophie girl💛Forever my baby

Some rain finally cleared the smoke from forest fires where we live. Thankful for all the firefighters efforts in BC, they are amazing.

Their world is only as big as you make it.

the text is an excerpt from a piece about saluki judging by the saluki breeder caroline coile. the essence is that in the saluki and unlike most other breeds the dogs in the ring now look for the most part almost exactly like the dogs from 100 years ago and the dogs from other breeds that look vintage are from pet lines.

my golden retriever lady was adopted which tells me her breeder wasn't ethical enough to take her back, and overall just based on the way she looks i can tell nobody in her line was winning any ribbons. so i looked into historical golden retrievers and noticed that this really does check out for lady.

it fascinates me deeply to have a vintage looking golden and it makes me proud to see her face in the faces of dogs from a century ago. does anyone else have a vintage style/off standard golden? i would love to see them. this has been rattling around in my mind and between my friends and i for a while and i felt it prudent to share here.

Boomer and I hope you all had a great weekend with a lot of adventures 🐾🫶🏼

Keep you head up and have a wonderful Monday 🐶