Lucky Paw Foundation Newsletter - December 1, 2025

Dear Friends of the Lucky Paw Foundation,


As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to thank all of YOU who make our mission possible and share with you another story that celebrates what is possible! We are working very hard to build relationships with veterinarians so that we can connect with them at the critical moment when life-saving help is needed. Our recipients count on us to be dynamic and to act quickly so that OUR HELP truly arrives in the nick of time! YOU have all become the LIFELINE that we offer to Northern Michigan animals in life-threatening situations. We are truly grateful for your continued support.


Tracy Dulak, Director of the Lucky Paw Foundation

Meet Buddy


He has had quite a journey. Buddy is a 12-year-old Labrador who was having persistent and debilitating pain in his foreleg. After a thorough workup by his local veterinarian, no cause was found. He was referred to a specialty center where he got a whole-body CT scan. The specialist determined that his shoulder pain was due to severe osteoarthritis and tendon inflammation. Although that may have been good news, they unfortunately uncovered 2 masses in his spleen.

A new discussion emerged. Instead of being focused on the shoulder, the tumors in the spleen became the priority. A big concern was that many of them are malignant and even with surgery, the patient may live only a few months. The only way to be sure is to remove it surgically and test it. The shoulder surgery to “clean up the joint” was affordable, but when you added on the cost of the splenectomy, it was impossible.  Deflated, they took him home to live out his life as comfortably as possible.

And so it went. His family worked with his veterinarian to adjust his pain medications, try new ones, anything to keep him comfortable and active. Everyone expected that he would likely succumb to the cancer within a few months … but no, Buddy continued to thrive despite his pain. After 5 1/2 months they elected to return to the specialist to re-evaluate the situation. The specialist performed an ultrasound on the spleen and the shoulder.


In a shocking twist of events, he now believed that there was a tumor in the shoulder joint (Not osteoarthritis) AND the tumors in the spleen were looking more benign.  Unbelievable!! Even more surprising, the surgeon was fairly confident that if they removed the leg and removed the spleen, that Buddy could make a full recovery! Excellent news, but still frustrating for his owners. They had already spent around $4,000 on diagnostics and support. Now they were being told that they could save him if they could do both surgeries for an additional $6,000. 

Thankfully, the Lucky Paw Foundation had been in contact with the family and their veterinarian along the way. We try very hard to support cases that have a reasonable chance for a good outcome. But as you can see, that decision making process can be a little murky. Sometimes, the diagnosis is difficult to make and even more difficult, if not impossible to guarantee that an animal will thrive as expected. So, we agreed that if the specialist felt that Buddy had a pretty good chance to do well, we would approve the application and help! And, 9 months after beginning his journey, Buddy had his left foreleg amputated and his spleen removed. The margins were clear on the leg tumor and the splenic tumors were benign, which means he should make a full recovery. What an amazing turn of events!


As you can see by the photo, Buddy is looking good. His family reports that he is running around with enthusiasm and is completely off pain medication. The Lucky Paw Foundation is so proud to have stood by him throughout his journey, taking a chance on an imperfect case, but celebrating a BIG WIN in the end. Hooray for Buddy and his family!

Special Donations

IN MEMORY OF: (PETS)

  • “Bailey” Everest - donated by Elizabeth Fergus-Jean
  • “Bailey” Everest - donated by Pat and Robert Hall
  • “Sammy” Schneider - donated by Anita and Hank Schneider
  • “Rosie” Wallace - donated by Anne Wallace
  • “Dozer” Janeck - donated by Anne Wallace
  • “Lily” Cummings - donated by Gay Cummings
  • “Buster” Crissman - donated by Mary Ann Ralph and family


IN HONOR OF:

  • Cindy Doyle, an Animal Lover - donated by Diane Rekowski


IN MEMORY OF: (PEOPLE)

  • Ron Dulak - donated by Melissa and Carter George
  • Ron Dulak - donated by Kathy Lott
  • Ron Dulak - donated by Mary Bragg
  • Ron Dulak - donated by Pat and Robert Hall
  • Ron Dulak - donated by Barb Liddle
  • Ron Dulak - donated by Scott Gordon


*A special and heartfelt thank you, to all of you who donated to the Lucky Paw Foundation in memory of my Dad. He was truly a great inspiration to me in all things that I do. I know he would have been proud to have been remembered in this way.

** May everyone who is grieving and those who are honored find some happiness knowing that the donations in their loved one’s names have given a Northern Michigan animal a second chance on a happy and healthy life. It is truly the GIFT OF LIFE. Thank you from the Lucky Paw Foundation. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you from the Lucky Paw Foundation.

Please remember us as you plan your end-of year gifts. We will continue to update you on the great impact of your support through our website and via our newsletters.  If you're not already receiving our newsletters, we encourage you to subscribe here.
CHEERS!