HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) – The Hattiesburg community seeks to support a furry friend who needs help following a cancer diagnosis.
Local golden retriever and therapy dog Cash Money recently announced on Instagram that he has cancer. According to Melinda Lowery, Cash’s owner, the cancer has yet to be identified. However, his tumorous cancer is fairly large and impacts his breathing. Radiation treatment on Friday dramatically affected Cash’s energy level.
As a result, Cash Money is too weak to continue working as a therapy dog. According to Lowery, even simple tasks are hard for Cash.
“He’s just tired and he’s kind of acting like an old guy when he’s only three,” Lowery said.
Cash not being himself is also a hard reality to face for Nichol Green. Cash and Green’s therapy dog, Blaze, often worked together. Knowing how much Blaze means to Green, she knows that their animals are more than just pets.
“Most of my heart is for Mel, because I truly cannot imagine my life without Blaze. And so that just really upsets me for her, personally,” Green said.
The news also affected the village of people around Cash: the Hattiesburg community. Sarah Swan, a nursing student at The University of Southern Mississippi, has known Cash and Lowery for years.
“Despite all of the ups and downs that I experienced at college, I always looked forward to running into them while walking to class or on the way to campus activities,” Swan stated.
But despite all the sadness surrounding Cash’s diagnosis, the community eagerly responded.
Shortly after the diagnosis, Green started a GoFundMe to help raise money for Cash’s cancer treatment. Since it began Friday, it has raised more than $4,500 of its $5,000 goal. For her, the outpouring of love and support from the local community for Cash is inspirational.
“He’s always there for us, like now it’s our turn to be there for him,” Green said.
For Lowery, the community investment is both a testament to Cash’s impact on others and therapeutic.
“Everybody that he’s met have just been amazing. It just shows the good in people,” Lowery said.
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