Birdie is a beautiful, sweet 10-year old girl who desperately needed our help. She was found as a stray, then held for three days in a shelter so her family could come for her. No one came. The poor girl had mammary tumors and an open sore the size of a golf ball. There seemed little hope for her survival. That’s when DLRR stepped in and I became her foster Mom. The first course of action? A mastectomy to remove the cancerous tumors. Surgery meant being cut from side to side, yet sweet Birdie didn’t complain. She gently wagged her tail, grateful for a chance to live. Her eyes were filled with hope. Soon afterwards, several lumps appeared under her armpits. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. I wish I could say that Birdie will recover, but that is not her fate. Chemotherapy was started to target the new lumps and shrink them, but it did not work. Today, she is under our care and will live out her days happy and loved by my husband and me. We will give her everything a girl like her deserves—a family to love, a yard to wander, a soft bed to sleep in, good food to eat, and plenty of toys, hugs, and kisses.UPDATE: Sadly, Birdie succumbed to cancer and crossed the Rainbow Bridge Total Medical Costs: $5,658