A dog’s love lives forever: How a new nonprofit aims to help other families cover canine cancer treatment costs

by Alex Rivero

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - A Savannah woman is turning her grief over her dog’s death into a nonprofit organization aimed at helping other families afford canine cancer treatment.

Lori Cafiero’s dog, Capone, fought cancer for two and a half years. Cafiero is the CEO and founder of Fight Like Capone.

“It helps me grieve and I talk to my daughter about it, and I think you know it was so expensive and it took so much for me to find the money to help him, and we heard so many stories about other families that were experiencing the same thing and a lot of people had to say goodbye to their dogs because they did not have the resources to do that, and I just thought maybe we can just do something about that,” Cafiero said.

Diagnosis brought unanswered questions

Cafiero said Capone’s battle showed his family something many pet owners may not realize until they experience it themselves. Canine cancer treatments can come with a high price tag and unanswered questions.

“We first found out about Capone’s cancer it was heartbreaking. It was like what was the next step. Where do we go from here? It’s how long can we keep them with us. The best thing having the information, reading up about it so we’re not only the financial side of things, but we would like to do is be the information,” said Carly Morales, chief operating officer of Fight Like Capone.

Organization recently received nonprofit status

Fight Like Capone recently received its official 501(c)(3) status. The organization plans to hold fundraising events and share-it nights to raise funds.

Cafiero described the criteria for families seeking help through the organization.

“During the application process, a person has to give us their dog’s vet records, and the phone number for the vet with permission to speak to the vet. We will be calling each vet to verify, and any money that’s awarded will be paid directly to the treating veterinarian. It’s not gonna go to the family. We want to help the dog and we need to make sure that it gets to where it’s going,” Cafiero said.

Capone is no longer with Cafiero but continues to be part of the organization through every dog it plans to help.

The organization’s Instagram and Facebook accounts are listed as fightlikecapone.