Hetty's Promise

The joys of owning a dog are many... loved family members, service dogs, companion pets, guide dogs, lifeguards, search & rescue dogs, PAT dogs, the list of what these selfless souls do is endless. These brave dogs give us all so much, yet ask for so little in return.

But there is one huge thing they and everyone does not ask for, and that is cancer.

Canine cancer statistics are shocking and many people reading this may be unaware that sadly,

1. Cancer affects 1 in 4 dogs.

2. 50% of all dogs over the age of ten will, at some-time, be diagnosed with some form of cancer.

3. There is no government funding for canine cancer research.

4. Research is poorly funded

5. Cancer is not breed specific, although certain cancers are prone with certain breeds.

6. Despite aggressive treatments, survival rates remain low with many (not all) cancers.

7. Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in dogs. It's also one of the quickest to spread and kill.

8. Cancer does not only affect older dogs, dogs as young as 12 weeks have been diagnosed with cancer.

9. There are over 325 different types of cancer in dogs.

10. Most research centres rely on donations.

When we decided to get a dog we made a promise, the Hetty Promise, a promise to look after her, to always do right by her and to have fun every day. We thought we had forever - little did we know we didn't have that long

Hetty was just 18 months old when we lost her to stage 5 T-Cell Lymphoma. There is no cure for this cancer, there are treatments that can improve quality of life, but there is a need for more research in this area. We opted for treatment which gave us 40 days of good quality of life, we made a bucket list, we made memories, and we kept the pact to always put her first.

During Hettys life we did keep our promise, we had lots of fun, lots of adventures, she was loved by so many, and we always put her first, and when the time was right we had to let her go. This was an incredibly hard decision, but over her last days we told Hetty that we would carry on the Hetty Promise, that we would do all that we can to improve the outcomes for other dogs. Thankfully we had already found a group who we could join forces with to keep this promise.

Just days into Hetty's diagnosis we found Zoe's Journey UK, an amazing fundraising and support group. They supported us during Hetty's illness and have raised over £210k to date to help further research for cancer in dogs.

They are making a huge difference in the funding of canine cancer research at the University of Edinburgh. The founder's dog, Zoe, beat lymphoma and the group has hundreds of members who have been affected by this awful disease.

We know that we are not the only people who have, and sadly will, face this journey. We aim to raise £18,000 in Hettys name, £1,000 for each month of her life. The money goes direct to Edinburgh University under the Zoe's Journey UK fund. Every penny of this goes towards canine cancer research.

Hetty Rad

10 November 2019 - 8 June 2021