Thanks for your interest in Jack!

Posted: Friday, March 30, 2007 3:49 PM by Jen Brown

A note from Jill Rappaport after the amzing response to her post about her dog's battle with cancer...

(By Jill Rappaport, TODAY Entertainment Correspondent)

First of all, I want to thank all of you for your countless compassionate letters of love for Jack. Each comment was so heartfelt and personal, so filled with your private experiences with our four legged and three legged “children.”

Just as my story (video) brought many of you to tears, I spent the day wiping my eyes as I read each of your incredible stories. Many were about dogs with the same cancer as Jack’s. It was so encouraging for me to hear that 2 and even 3 ½ years later, those dogs are still thriving! I was also so happy to know that I made people feel good about their decision to amputate.

I cannot stress enough, though, that every situation is different and what is right for one animal may be disastrous for another.

The one piece of advice I would like to give you all, is to follow your heart with your pets. No one knows them better than you do.

Jack told me, with his eyes, that he was not ready to give up. The follow-up tests proved his instincts were right. In fact, you will be happy to know, right after the segment aired on TODAY yesterday, we went for Jack’s 3-month follow-up visit to the vet and he is still cancer free! He had a clean chest x-ray and great blood work results. Yay!!! I can finally breathe again.

I wish I could answer every one your touching emails individually. Believe me I am working on it. So, please be patient. In the meantime, keep writing and sharing your words of hope and great love that each of you feel for your “fur-angels”.

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Comments

Thank you so much for telling Jack's story. We are delighted that he got a great report yesterday! Your story greatly touched our hearts as we just lost our little girl, Kassie, a wonderful 13-year old Bichon who we adopted from a shelter only 4 years ago. We really don't know what happened, whether it was cancer or pneumonia or maybe the recalled pet food. The test results from the Florida Veterinary Specialists were inconclusive. Thankfully, her ordeal only lasted a few weeks and she didn't suffer. Many people thought we were crazy for spending the time and money to try to save her life. But she told us with her eyes, just as you mention about Jack, that she wasn't ready to give up and neither were we. But in the end, she told us it was time and she thanked us for what we had done. We would do it again in a heartbeat; but only hope for a better outcome. Thank you again for sharing your story. We wish you and Jack and all your furry family all the best!

Val Marriott, Washington Twp., MI (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 7:10 PM)

I AM SOOO SORRY ABOUT YOUR DOG JACK. I HAVE TWO DOGS MYSELF AND THEY ARE A BIG PART OF OUR FAMILY. I LOVE MY DOGS TITO (GOLDEN RETRIVER) AND TOBY (WINNIE DOG)WITH ALL MY HEART. I WISH YOU AND JACK ALL THE LUCK...TAKE CARE OF JACK... GINGER

GINGER VISE, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (Sent Friday, March 30, 2007 7:17 PM)

Hi Jill, I was glad to hear that Jack's 3 month check up went great and he is going to be with you and his other friends for a long time. Losing a pet has got to be one of the most difficult things a pet owner goes through but when we did lose pets through the years I tried to tell myself that they had a great life with us and if we wouldn't have adopted them or took them in from the freezing cold they would not have made it as long. Jack is lucky he has you for his Mom, he has to know that, that is why he let you know with his eyes he wanted to be around for a long time. It is always nice to hear there are other people out there who love animals as much as the rest of us. Hope you have many, many years with Jack

Joan Kohls, Two Rivers, WI (Sent Saturday, March 31, 2007 9:45 AM)

Dear Jill, I was very touched by your story. I am so happy that Jack is doing well. We have a black lab mix (Jasmine) that developed this disease almost three years ago. When she was first diagnosed we thought we would just let her live out her life with no treatment (2-6 months), but after one year she was still with us, but her leg was no better. We did amputate (the worst night of my life)because she is my baby. It has been almost two years since Jasmine had her leg removed (left front). She is a large dog (85 lbs) and she is doing great. She does everything she did before she had her leg removed (execpt jump on people). She is a very big part of our family and I don't know what I would have done without her these past three years. My vets office calls her their little mircle dog. I am so happy I had this procedure done.

Rodrigue, Bowdoinham, Maine (Sent Saturday, March 31, 2007 10:11 AM)

I know where Jill's heart is. I myself have 8 cats. All rescued cats that are very special to me. My family is grown and the cats are very much company for me. I have rescued numerous cats over the years. After spaying/neutering I have been able to place many of them in good homes. The ones I have kept were extra special to my heart and stayed with me. One set was a litter of 4 that I raised from a week old and another set I have was a litter of 3 that were on their own without a mother cat. They were the biggest challenge. They were to the point that I had to use a humane trap to capture them. Some of the ones that stayed with me have passed on from old age. Their final resting place is near a large perennial garden next to my home. What peace I get when I am working in the garden knowing some of my best friends are there with me.

Phyllis Frederick, Charleston, WV (Sent Saturday, March 31, 2007 10:50 AM)

My 8 year old golden retriever, Ginger, was diagnosed with cancer just six weeks ago. The only option was to amputate her leg in order to stop the cancer from spreading. Initially, we were devastated at the thought of having to have her leg amputated and didn't know if we were making the right decision. However, after watching your show and seeing how well Jack has done on his three legs we have hope for Ginger and believe she too will recover and do as well. Thank you for sharing your story and for giving us hope and a better understanding of this procedure. I took Ginger in today to have her surgery and her doctor just called an hour ago to tell me she's doing well. I hope and pray she bounces (hops)back and is able to handle her new life on 3 legs. I know she still has some years left in her, she has such a beautiful spirit and zest for life. Ginger's favorite thing to do is fetch our newspaper every morning and she's well known for that on our street (my neighbors are jealous, ha!) I only hope and pray she's able to do that again one day! When she does I'll film it and share it with you :-)

Annette Gough, Wellington, Florida (Sent Tuesday, April 10, 2007 10:42 PM)

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