Canine Cancer Hits Home at Orvis

Written by: Kevin Phillips, Web Merchant, Orvis

Willow and Riley, 2010

We found out on Christmas Eve that Willow, our daughter Riley’s six-month-old golden retriever, had cancer. She was Riley’s best friend since we picked her up this summer. We waited until after Christmas to break the news. Needless to say Riley was devastated.

Riley asked a couple of times if we were sure that she couldn’t be saved. Unfortunately, the answer for Willow was “no”. All we could do was love her as much as we could in the time she had. Riley did just that, she got up before the sun and took Willow out, fed her, and then played with her all day. The only breaks taken were for Willow to catch a nap while Riley’s snow clothes dried out.

We lost Willow a couple weeks ago, two weeks to the day of getting the news. Riley kept Willow’s toys. Every night she puts them on her bed in the spot where her pup used to sleep.

This was heartbreaking for my family, but it hit home for me as an Orvis associate how important the Orvis commitment to helping end canine cancer is. I’m grateful, as well, to all of you, our customers, for your help in curing canine cancer. Thank you.