Sampson was adopted at age 3 1/2 from Norcal Golden Retriever Rescue. Sam had an amazing zest for life. His world was all about the journey, not the destination. Everything was an adventure. He wagged and his whole body wagged. He had a wonderful smile. He adored puppies and was nicknamed Nanny Sam.

Sam was my foody. He made sure we knew it was tummy time. He would put his paws around my neck, smile and wag then back up and shake his head and talk.

In November he started to vomit and couldn't keep anything down - we tried various things for three weeks then decided exploritory surgery was in order. It was cancer.

He was diagnosed with Low Grade T-cell Intestinal Lymphoma, which is a cancer that only cats get. They didn't have a protocol to treat him with so they treated him as a really big cat! Unfortunately the cancer didn't respond to treatment and I lost my boy in April.

Learn about early detection. Spend the money on organic human grade food. Stay away from plastics and use filtered water when you can. I know this is more than one, but education is the key. Know that 1 in 4 dogs over the age of 2 will die with a cancer diagnosis. Those of us that love our golden retrievers know that the statistics are much worse, it is 63% of goldens over the age of 2 will die from cancer.