We Are The Cure Blog | Canine Cancer Information

50 teams….check

500+ Bark and Bowlers….check

$42,000 for Canine Cancer….Literally…One BIG check!

The South Florida Chapter of the National Canine Cancer Foundation was proud to host their 2^nd annual Bark and Bowl on Friday May 13^th, an un-lucky day for Canine Cancer!

These teams went all out this year!

Returning to the place that started it all, Palm Beach Strikezone, the Bark and Bowl almost doubled in size from the 2010 event.  50 teams and over 500 people joined this must attend annual fundraiser that generated over $42,000 for Canine Cancer Research.  The Bark and Bowl is made possible by presenting sponsor Florida Public Utilities, Budweiser, the Petco Foundation and HALO, the only dog food to receive the National Canine Cancer Foundations Seal of Excellence.

The 2011 Bark and Bowl recognized working dogs in our community that are susceptible to this awful disease.  We were joined by the Palm Beach County Sheriff K9 unit with Officer Ontario, a German Shepherd, and Officer Clue, Bloodhound Unit.

K9 Unit

Three teams from Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control bowled for a cure and brought their 4 legged mascot,  a victim of a recent cruelty case.  We also had a special visit from Red Ruff from Petco!

Red Ruff Petco!

Barbara Masi, Technical Specialist with the PBSO Animal Kindness Unit, attended the Bark and Bowl with a heavy heart and an all too familiar story to tell.  Just 2 weeks earlier she had lost one of her 2 very special Greyhounds, Comet, to Osteosarcoma.  The Comet and Bullet Team were the ambassadors of the Sheriffs Animal Kindness unit attending special events, schools and summer camps, not to mention appearing as “Bowerina’s” in A Midsummer’s Night Dream.   Comet lived a full life and had more accomplishments than many people, but to all of us we know he still left too soon.   You can visit Comet’s Rainbow Bridge Page:

http://rainbowsbridge.com/residents/COMET007/Resident.htm

His brother, Bullet, was diagnosed with extraskeletal soft tissue Osteosarcoma just a year ago and has undergone 2 surgeries and 5 rounds of Chemotherapy.  Recently we discovered that the Cancer had moved into Bullet’s lungs.

The National Canine Cancer Foundation presented Barbara with one of our Pink Paw WeAreTheCure.org hats personalized for Comet and Bullet, in appreciation for the work she has done and the fight she continues to wage against Cancer.

Our top team this year was Spunky Doodle Velcro Strips who raised over $3,100!  That is the top team fundraiser from ANY of the NCCF events and goes down in the Bark and Bowl record book!  For the first time, teams that raised over $1,000 received free Pawgarita’s and Strawberry Dawg-iri’s all night long with over 10 teams hitting that goal.  Top team shirts went to “The Cure Hunter’s,” top team name to “Barkers Bellevue” and because it’s 5 O’clock somewhere, best lane decorations went to “Barkeritaville.”

Thanks so much to all of our teams, sponsors and volunteers.  Together, We are the Cure.

Everyone is looking forward to filling all 64 lanes in 2012!

Join us for our next Bark and Bowl on October 7 at Bowlmor Lanes in Bethesda, MD!

On March 26th Westbrook Lanes gave us the thumbs up and Bowled for a Cure!

The second stop on the NCCF’s Bark and Bowl was organized by Kim, Amy and the Delaware Valley Chapter of the NCCF and led us to Philadelphia PA. Over 20 teams registered to join the fight against Canine Cancer, some coming from as far as 2 hours away!

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