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Vanessa Bettencourt

Vanessa Bettencourt

Miles for Trek and Welker

Trek was "that" dog. You know that dog that was extra special? In the four years I had the honor of being Trek's human mom, we developed a strong bond. I just started in triathlon and I had a fear of swimming. So he would get in the water with me when I trained. He would swim after all the buoys in the water, thinking they were balls, but it got me in the water to go after him. After every bike ride, I would stretch and he would drop the ball in my face to throw so he could retrieve. And he would run and walk with me for miles. He was with me while I explored triathlon.

Welker, our first dog was my running buddy. He was such a great dog, always ready to run for miles and cuddle for hours. He was with me while I found triathlon.

I lost both of these guys to cancer, lymphoma (Trek at 4 years) and hemangiosarcoma (Welker at 8 years).

When we found out Trek had lymphoma, I cancelled the rest of my racing season to care for him. Three types of chemotherapy did not help his aggressive lymphoma and he died within weeks.

I usually start booking races a year in advance, but this year I just couldn't. I had no clue how to continue training and racing without my guy. So I did some research. I may not be able to have Trek or Welker with me, but I can race for cancer research in his memory.

So this is my journey. While racing this year, I will be raising money for The Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study in hopes to figure out to protect our fur babies.

The Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study is one of the largest, most comprehensive prospective canine health studies in the United States. The Study’s purpose is to identify the nutritional, environmental, lifestyle and genetic risk factors for cancer and other diseases in dogs. Each year, with the help of veterinarians and dog owners, the Foundation collects health, environmental and behavioral data on 3,000+ enrolled golden retrievers. Please help me support advancing the health of dogs everywhere by contributing to my fundraiser and sharing this page with your friends and family. Every dollar we raise will advance this great cause!

If you can donate, awesome. If you cannot, please share.

Thank you for checking out this page.

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$820
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