Dogs and cats are identified with cancer day-to-day and without having costly animal insurance coverage, there are animal owners who feel defenseless due to the high expenses of veterinary services. Thankfully there are companies like the Magic Bullet Fund which exist to help animal owners that have a canine or feline who offer funds for those in requirement.
Sergeant, a 6 year-old german shepherd from Long Beach was identified with intestinal lymphoma and required treatment as quickly as possible. His owner, Erwin Dardon needed to collect $5,000 in order to get Sergeant an emergency situation surgical treatment on Thanksgiving of in 2015. Dardon collected whatever remained in his cost savings account in addition to a substantial contribution from another structure which provided him a couple thousand dollars to assist.
The chemotherapy that is needed for Sergeant is called CHOP procedure which is an overall of 16 weeks of treatment. Dardon said each treatment can be in between $600 to $1,000 which is a big quantity specifically if the animal is being dealt with weekly.
“The Magic Bullet Fund is an amazing foundation because what they do is when you apply, if you are eligible, they help you with a certain amount to start with…You have to agree to volunteer to help and bring in donations that way you will be able to utilize the donations that they are giving you,” said Dardon. “It’s a good way to get people involved and not just give the donations because you’re actually helping your pet out.”
He said the MBF began him off with $3,200 which he needed to match with contributions on his own. Veterinary expenses in the United States are extremely high and Dardon said that having companies like this are a true blessing to animal owners who require the help.
“They’re [MBF] providing an element of hope that there’s going to be help. They’re a nonprofit organization so people that donate are donating to a 501C3 that’s actually helping out society,” said Dardon. “It brings awareness to people that there’s actual organizations out there that can help out. There’s a lot of lack of knowledge of resources, so people sometimes just let their pets go because they didn’t have that information.”
Although Dardon needed to do some research study on his own and hound a few of the companies which are aiding with Sergeant’s medical costs, he feels it is all worth it in the end. According to the American Veterinary Medical Associationalmost half of the dogs over the age of 10 will establish cancer.
The MBF was established by Laurie Kaplan, who initially began the organization since her dog called Bullet was identified with lymphoma and made it through over 4 years past his medical diagnosis. After a long remission from the cancer and making it through for such a very long time, Bullet’s vets called him “the magic Bullet,” which is where the name originates from.
There are circumstances like this which affect the lives of animals and their owners daily, companies like the MBF offer a chance at a prolonged life. The website is and individuals can check out to either use, contribute or collect more details on the services and objective that the organization has.
By Andrew Ayala
