PETCO LOVE CANINE CANCER FUND –
A PARTNERSHIP THAT SAVES LIVES
For the last decade, SDF has partnered with Petco Love and Blue Buffalo Foundation to create our Petco Love Canine Cancer Fund to provide financial assistance to working dog handlers throughout the U.S. to offset the cost of treatment and palliative care when their dog is diagnosed with cancer. Throughout this partnership, over 25 dogs have been the beneficiaries of this assistance, allowing them to prolong their years and spend their remaining days with a higher quality of life. Disaster search canines Kari and Calie were both diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and received reimbursement for their care through our Petco Love Canine Cancer Fund. Their grateful families, unburdened by the extra debt, could then focus on what was most important: caring for their cherished canine family members.
KARI'S STORY
In 2011, a beautiful, high-energy Golden Retriever named Kari was donated to the Search Dog Foundation by a family in Florida. Upon completing search dog training, Kari partnered with Sacramento firefighter-handler Chris Bergquist of California Task Force 7. Chris and Kari passed their Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Certification Evaluation in June 2012, enabling them to deploy to disasters across the U.S.
Their first call came in 2014 when fatal mudslides devastated communities in Oso, WA, and their task force was called in to assist with recovery efforts. Kari did not have the opportunity to search, but she stood by, ready to lend a paw as needed. In September 2017, Chris and Kari were one of five SDF-trained canine disaster search teams deployed to Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria blew through the area as a Category 4 storm. Chris and Kari stayed, along with their task force, until it was determined that all missing citizens were accounted for.
In 2018, Kari officially retired from her job as a disaster search dog and began to enjoy the next chapter of her life as a pet in the Bergquist home, where she played with the family’s five children to her heart’s content. In the summer of 2020, Kari’s veterinarian discovered a lump in her front left leg. Thanks to the partnership with Petco Love, SDF was able to help make arrangements for the immediate surgical removal of the mast cell tumor, which tests confirmed was benign.
In the weeks following her successful surgery, the most challenging part for Chris was slowing Kari down so that her body had the chance to fully recover. She wanted nothing more than to get back outside and run with the kids! Kari eventually made a full recovery and continues to enjoy retirement with her family in Sacramento.
Chris and his family were grateful for the opportunity to utilize our Petco Love Canine Cancer Fund to keep his canine partner and family member happy and healthy. “It means the world that organizations like yours are here to help in what feels like our darkest hours. On behalf of Kari and myself, thank you for all you do.”
CALIE'S STORY
Calie, another spunky 12-year-old Golden Retriever, began serving with her handler, Tammy Robertson, in 2011. With certifications as a search dog with Oklahoma Task Force 1 and a therapy dog with Therapy Dogs International, Calie responded to dozens of disasters in both these roles, including hurricanes, floods, fires, and missing person searches.
After years of service and numerous commendations (including a Certificate of Appreciation from the Attorney General of Texas), Calie retired from searching. Unfortunately, only a few months after retirement, her veterinarian discovered osteosarcoma in her front leg. To save Calie’s life, her leg would have to be amputated.
As traumatic as this news was on its own, it was exacerbated by coming at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Calie’s mom, already dealing with other pandemic-related problems, was now facing the burden of Calie’s medical bills.
Luckily, due to a generous grant from our Petco Love Canine Cancer Fund, SDF could reimburse Calie’s mom for the thousands of dollars spent caring for Calie through her illness. Thanks to her surgery and aftercare, Calie was able to live with an excellent quality of life for two more years before cancer reappeared. Calie crossed the Rainbow Bridge on January 4, 2022, and we join Tammy, the rest of the Robertson family, as well as communities across the heartland in mourning Calie.
Tammy expressed her gratitude for the extra time Calie enjoyed because of the grant. “We spend our lives looking for the missing because we care about the victims and their families. What a blessing to know, since the tables have turned, that others are there to care for us.”
We are so grateful to Kari and Calie for their years of service to our communities. Having touched so many lives throughout their careers, these dogs deserve the best medical care possible when they face a health crisis. We’re thankful to Petco Love and Blue Buffalo Foundation for making it possible to care for our canine heroes and support their families when they need it most.
If you know a working dog team who would benefit from this resource, please share this article with them, or have them apply for assistance here: https://searchdogfoundation.formstack.com/forms/canine_cancer_fund_app