I’m asking you for your help on behalf of our animal friends.
I’m organizing a fund-raising effort in conjunction with the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine to help pets and companion animals.
The fund is called “Sonny Angel’s Gift of Hope Endowment.”
This endowment fund will help sick animals who have no owners or whose owners do not have the means to pay for veterinary care. For those of you who have pets in your family, you know the joy, friendship and intimacy they bring. You also know the incredible worry and distress when they become sick or injured. And, God forbid, the deep and unfathomable grief when they die. This fund will help prevent unnecessary pain and suffering on the part of animals and/or their families.
 |
|
Why am I doing this?
For me, it is deeply personal, derived from my relationship with Sonny, my eight-year-old golden retriever.
Sonny was my constant companion, unbelievably full of life and affection. No matter what kind of a day I was having, I could always count on Sonny to make me feel good. In fact, I called him “Sonny Angel” because of his sweet and loving temperament.
|
But in November of last year Sonny’s disposition altered abruptly. The change was like turning off a light. One day he was “Sunny” Sonny, and the next he was morose, lethargic and not eating (which for him, meant serious business).
I took him to the local vet thinking that he had eaten something bad, although I couldn’t imagine the vet finding anything worse than what I had seen Sonny devour in the past. X-rays revealed organ enlargement. Not good. I then took Sonny to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman where my worst fears were realized: Sonny was diagnosed with Lymphoma Cancer. And it had spread to his lungs, liver, spleen and blood. Chemotherapy was his only option, and even at that his chances for survival were only 40% at best.
I did everything in my power to save him, as did the wonderful practitioners at WSU. Sonny started Chemo right away and his blood markers actually improved after the treatment, but he had fluid in his lungs and it was obvious he was in immense pain. We were able to remove the fluid in one lung. But ultimately, he was too far along. He died less than a month after his diagnosis. I was devastated.
What I really want to do is transform a heartbreaking incident
in my life into something tangibly positive: To help sick animals and their owners when they have nowhere else to turn. One thing I was struck by during my visits to WSU was the number of people sitting in the waiting room who had no means to pay for critical pet care. And there are many additional animals who are alone, and sick. I’d like to change that, at least in my own small way.
(back to top)
|
|
Click here for a detailed map
of Bill's bike route.
What exactly am I doing in this fund raiser?
I have always been an avid cyclist. And on August 21, I plan to ride my bike from my home in Cle Elum to the veterinary hospital in Pullman that helped Sonny. A round trip distance of 414 miles. My goal is to hopefully complete the ride in two days. My objective of this ride is to bring attention to the suffering that animals go through when stricken with cancer and other horrible diseases, but unlike humans, cannot communicate their condition or pain. More
concretely, I am establishing a fund with the veterinary school at WSU called “Sonny Angel’s Gift of Hope Endowment.” This fund will be used to support and care for WSU animal patients who need life-saving procedures but have no owners, or whose owners do not have the means to pay for the care. In addition, the fund will aid in the training of oncology students and assist in the research of better techniques in treating cancer in animals.
|
 |
What am I asking you to do?
I’m asking you to pledge a per mile amount to my ride. Or a lump sum. My goal is to raise $25,000 to start the fund. I am contributing a sizeable donation myself. Your contribution is tax-deductible.
How to contribute.
Click here for donation options.
I do recognize that there are a lot of demands on you for charitable giving, but your generosity would mean so much to me personally and more to our animal friends who have no benefactors.
Sincerely,
Bill Johnson
P.S. If you don’t like me, there’s another good reason to donate some money: Your contribution will ensure that I’ll be grinding along alone on an extremely difficult bicycle ride (each leg will be almost double the miles of a typical Tour de France stage), in pain and misery for 16 hours a day on a rock-hard bicycle seat, sucking bugs and diesel fumes in the 100-degree Eastern Washington heat and wind, wearing a garish bike outfit that will quite likely induce locals along the way to insult my manhood and throw stuff at me.
(back to top)
|
Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is one of the nation's top veterinary schools.
It has one of the best-equipped veterinary teaching hospital in the world and top faculty who are respected worldwide. The College:
| • |
is fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
|
| • |
awards more than $200,000 in scholarships each year to DVM students.
|
|
 |
| • |
ranks among the top U.S. veterinary colleges in terms of extramural research support. |
(back to top) |
|
Make Your Donation Online
For online credit card donations, go to:
http://wsufoundation.wsu.edu/giving/specify.asp
Enter “CVM - Sonny Memorial” and follow the instructions.
Mail in Your Pledge Form (PDF)
If you prefer, you can download the pledge form to mail in to WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine
|
