Update: Thank you to all who have donated to this site so far, including those of you we don't know. Our training is going well, and we appreciate your support. On February 21, The Post and Courier ran a story about our effort. Click here to read it. The same story ran in The Georgetown Times in March, and a pet-friendly blog also picked up the story. Unfortunately, since launching this site, canine cancer has taken another life of a four-legged friend. Shaman, the golden retriever of our friends Kim and Mike, passed away on February 29.

Thank you for visiting our fundraising page, and for considering making a donation. Our goal is simple: to raise money to fight canine cancer.

Before you proceed, please know that donating through this website is simple, fast and totally secure. First Giving does charge a small service fee; however, after researching the alternatives, we felt it was the most efficient way to support our efforts.

So, what are we doing?

Well, running a marathon has been a goal of ours for some time. After making the commitment to train for putting our bodies through agony, we were left with two questions: where to run, and what to run for.

We chose Alaska because it had always been on our “must visit” list. We’re going to spend six days after the race taking in the sights of this beautiful place.

We chose the National Canine Cancer Foundation because we have been seared by the pain that losing a dog causes. Last year, we lost our first dog, Anfield, to a very aggressive form of canine cancer. It took only 16 days from the initial diagnosis to the day we had to put him to sleep (click on the video and photos to the left to see what a sweet dog he was).

This is a pivotal time in cancer research for dogs. The entire genome of the dog has been mapped; this is going to open up new research and new ways of thinking. Perhaps most importantly, scientists believe that finding a cure for canine cancer will lead to finding a similar cure for people. As we have both lost loved family members to the disease, this is very important to us.

Since undertaking the decision to raise money for this cause, we have learned that dogs get cancer at the same rate as humans, which make them ideal candidates to study to help find a cure for people. Sadly, we also learned that canine cancer takes the lives of 50 percent of all dogs over the age of 10 – and many, many more under 10 (Anfield was only seven).

We hope this information helps you to make an educated decision about your donation. If you would like to learn more about the National Canine Cancer Foundation, please visit www.wearethecure.org.

Thank you again for considering making a donation. We, and our dogs, Isis and Huxley, really appreciate it. We think Anfield would be proud.

Matt & Kelly