The Doane Grant Thornton Foundation: Giving Us the Gift of Suki

Earlier this month, Free Korean Dogs was honored to be the recipient of a generous grant made by the Doane Grant Thornton Foundation, through the efforts of our dedicated adopters and volunteers Jackie and Nick at Doane Grant Thornton Georgetown.

This endowment will greatly relieve the financial stressors we have experienced in the last few months, and while our struggles have not been limited to a single event, we are happy to announce we are directing the funds to honor the life of one of our foster dogs, Suki, and her outstanding medical bills.

Suki’s Story

Suki was rescued from a horrific, illegal puppy mill where she was forced to produce litter after litter of puppies for profit with no consideration for her well-being. After the operation was shut down and the dogs subsequently freed, she was nursed to a healthy weight and received her necessary medical treatments. Upon passing her physical exams, x-rays, and bloodwork, and being cleared by the vet, she was ready for adoption and eventually found her forever home in Toronto.

Unfortunately, a few days upon arriving home, we were informed that Suki’s energy and demeanor began to decline. Initially suspected to be caused by the stress of her transport and change in environment, it soon became apparent her circumstances had turned into something more complicated than we imagined, and we appreciated that this was a stressful situation both emotionally and financially for her family despite their love and care for her. In the interest of obtaining a clearer diagnosis to move forward with the appropriate treatment, Suki came back into our care where we took responsibility for all financial expenses, including her adoption fee.

After rounds of tests and diagnoses, we found Suki to have inflammation in her GI tract where an ultrasound determined she had enlarged nodes. Having never had a reason to conduct an ultrasound prior to adoption, we continued with the diagnostic process with further scans, gathering samples for cytology. Unfortunately, the results came back with the worst possible outcome, confirming gastrointestinal lymphoma.

Soldiering Forward

We struggled to understand how this could have gone unnoticed, but many canine cancers are diagnosed at a late stage for the reason that dogs’ resilience does not give cause for further medical investigation when presenting normal behavior. In this case, Suki showed no signs of illness until the very late stages of her cancer, while her x-rays and bloodwork gave no reason for suspicion. Resigning ourselves in knowing we could not change the past, we sought to determine the best path for Suki moving forward.

Despite her poor prognosis and her share of difficult days, her good days were filled with so much light and happiness that told us she wasn’t ready to give up. Ultimately, we decided that as long as Suki was willing to fight, we would give her that chance and allow her to tell us when she was ready. Her palliative care plan to keep her as comfortable as possible involved many vet visits and consultations, continued blood work and exams, and a myriad of medications to determine what worked best for her.
Ironically, her first time experiencing the love, peace, and happiness of being a part of a family was also during the most difficult time in her life. Suki was a bright light, and some days one would never know she was terminally ill. She loved her foster family with her whole heart, scurried around the house with her furry foster siblings, joined their daily walks, and showed everyone her mischievous side by stealthily stealing treats when she thought no one was looking.

Just 3 weeks after arriving with her foster, Suki let us know she was ready, and she was helped to the rainbow bridge at home, peacefully in her foster mom’s arms, surrounded by all those who loved her. Although her time with us was short, she made every second count. She was given a private cremation with funds donated by her foster family and remains with them as her forever family in her afterlife.

Honoring Suki’s Memory

Whilst we knew Suki’s time with us was limited, we were determined to give her the best possible remainder of her life. We appreciate not everyone would agree that spending over $10,000 on a dog living on borrowed time is a wise use of finances, but we stand by our belief that every life matters. Although she might have just been a product to her breeder, Suki to us was someone, not something, and a member of our family. We so often hear about how our rescue dogs have brought so much love, happiness, and enrichment into the lives of their forever families, and we wanted Suki to have her chance too. Her case was the first we had faced in our nearly 10 years of operations, and although unprecedented, we have no regrets about our choices.

We also acknowledge this is not the happy success story with a fairy tale ending one would hope for, nor one we would typically share. However, this donation will enable us to persist with our work of rescuing dogs and enriching the lives of both our rescues and their forever families. Despite having cleared our accounts with the vet using our credit card, we have been continuing to pay off debts in monthly installments.

Thank you to everyone at the Doane Grant Thornton Foundation who recognizes the important, invaluable role our furry companions play in lives, and especially to Jackie and Nick who helped facilitate the opportunity. They are the adopters of 3 amazing FKD rescues Bolt, Lulu, and Walter who have also dedicated their time and efforts to volunteering with us in various capacities, including special events, adoption home visits, and fostering (and subsequently “foster failing” with Walter). We look forward to honoring Suki’s memory through continued successful adoptions.