Helping Pets With Cancer

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Beth Viney – Czar’s Promise

 

 

Podcast Overview:

00:00 Pet Cancer Support and Guidance
06:00 A Dog’s Impact on Life
08:04 Commitment to Pet Cancer Aid
11:27 Pet Diagnosis: Factors and Options
14:43 Pet Cancer Diagnosis Steps
17:12 Navigating Pet Cancer Treatment Challenges
23:08 Hidden Illness in Pets
25:00 Pet Health: Vet Visits & Grooming
28:22 Journey Through Pet Cancer Struggles
32:17 Pet Insurance Gap and Czars Promise
35:23 Czars Promise: Young Nonprofit Grows
37:19 Supporting Madison’s Veterinary Oncology Pets
41:08 Veterinary Cancer Support Network Formation
46:17 COVID Impact on Pet Cancer Treatment
47:42 Veterinary Costs Rise Post-COVID
52:15 “Future Goals for SARS Promise”

Podcast Transcription:

Beth Vinny [00:00:00]:
Dogs can be incredibly stoic. They can hide discomfort very well, through their nature. Some dogs more than others, as well as cats. And for the most part, cancer isn’t diagnosed until, okay, all of a sudden it’s there.

James Kademan [00:00:22]:
You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggles, stories, and triumph and successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. And today, we’re welcoming slash preparing to learn from Beth Viney of Czars Promise. So Beth, how is it going today?

Beth Vinny [00:00:46]:
Oh, it besides being a rainy day and muddy paw day, it’s going great. Thank you. Day. It’s muddy paw day.

James Kademan [00:00:52]:
I’m excited. Today, we’re talking dogs. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:00:54]:
We’re talking dogs and we’re talking cancer On both dogs, cats, and people. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:00:58]:
Well, at least that’s half good. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:01:00]:
Yep. That’s right.

James Kademan [00:01:01]:
Tell me what is Czars response?

Beth Vinny [00:01:03]:
So if you have ever known anybody, human or a pet, that has been diagnosed with cancer, that’s what we focus on. Alright. And really our we have two main areas of mission. And one that we do every single day is we work with families throughout Wisconsin and even some other states that come to Madison, Wisconsin for veterinary oncology Czars. Because their pet, their dog or cat has been diagnosed with cancer. And what we do is we help The navigate through that journey. Because when you first hear the words, your dog or your cat has cancer, it’s kinda like you get a glazed look over your face, your your throat sinks down into your stomach, and you have a thousand questions and not a lot of answers. So we’re here to help people go on the path and provide resources and advice and wisdom and guidance, but we’re also here for financial support

James Kademan [00:02:06]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:02:07]:
For, through to help them through chemotherapy and or radiation Czars, that type of thing. So that’s something we do every single day. But the second part of our mission is finding a cure is really important. And over the years, what’s been found is that because the physiological makeup of a pet equals that of a human, is that any research that can be done in either species On regards to oncology or cancer is going to benefit the other. So we partner with our special friends at American Family Children’s Hospital and the UW Call of Veterinary Medicine to help support their oncology research, to help find new means of treatment or new means of diagnosis with ultimately the goal to find a cure.

James Kademan [00:03:00]:
Nice.

Beth Vinny [00:03:00]:
So that’s what we also do. And that’s something we’ve been doing since we started in 2018. And this year, we’re really going to start talking about that partnership and that initiative a lot more.

James Kademan [00:03:13]:
The partnership between The UW Beth School and then American Family Children’s Hospital?

Beth Vinny [00:03:17]:
Yeah. And what we, as Czars Promise, do in terms of looking at their areas of needs for oncology research and finding grant opportunities that we can provide financial support to that will help them advance their research project.

James Kademan [00:03:36]:
Nice.

Beth Vinny [00:03:37]:
Last summer we made a commitment to American Family Children’s Hospital and the UW School of Vet Medicine on a joint project that they’re working on together. And that’s called comparative oncology. And between doctor Christian Cappettini at American Family Children’s Hospital, who is now acting director of UW Carbone, and doctor David Vail of UW School of Vet Medicine, who is world renowned for his veterinary oncology research, They came together and they put together a research project that, will help ultimately children and dogs who have been diagnosed with bone cancer. And we made that commitment to fund that five year research project for them last July, and Czars Promise is supporting that initiative. Wow.

James Kademan [00:04:29]:
That’s incredible.

Beth Vinny [00:04:30]:
It is. It’s amazing.

James Kademan [00:04:32]:
So were these two I mean, these are two pretty big behemoths in their own verticals.

Beth Vinny [00:04:37]:
Yep. Exactly.

James Kademan [00:04:38]:
Did you or did Czars Promise connect them or were they connected on their own?

Beth Vinny [00:04:42]:
No. They have always engaged

James Kademan [00:04:44]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:04:45]:
Together in research projects. Certainly stand alone research projects on their own. So up until last year, we would provide support for research at the UW Call of Veterinary Medicine. We’ve supported, research for histiocytic cancer. We have supported research for, one of the machines that they use in diagnosing cancer in a pet. We have supported, research study for feline lymphoma. So we’ve done those as stand alone with the UW Call of Vet Medicine. And then as stand alone for children’s hospital.

Beth Vinny [00:05:25]:
We have supported two studies for neuroblastoma. We have supported a study on immunotherapy. And all the while behind the scenes, both of these entities have been working together. But this is a research project that both doctor Call and doctor Capettini designed and created together from the ground up. And they’re collaborating on it. And because of SARS Promise and what we’ve done, they were able to launch it last year.

James Kademan [00:05:53]:
Oh, that’s that’s incredible. Yeah. That is really cool. Yep. How did you get involved with all this?

Beth Vinny [00:06:00]:
So as with, I would say, a lot of On organizations is they begin with an event that impacted someone’s life. And I have always had a love of dogs. I have had a dog since the day I was born. And in 02/2001, this white Great Pyrenees little polar bear, when I first saw him at four weeks old, had this big smile on his face and jumped into my lap. And I would say the rest is history. And his name was Czars. So he was a Great Pyrenees. And during the course of his lifetime, I knew he had a very, very special gift in working with people and wanting to bring joy and smiles and a sense of calm and a sense of peace, you know, amongst everybody that he met.

Beth Vinny [00:06:52]:
And he became an animal assisted therapy dog with The Beth pals program at American family children’s hospital. And we served there for five years until 2010 when he turned 10 years old and retired. And it was after that, actually less than a year later when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. This was the very first experience that I had had with a pet that had been diagnosed with bone cancer. And I did not know it on that day when I heard those words, you know, Czars has bone cancer, that it would catapult me into a different life. And he underwent a rear leg amputation very successfully at, at, at 11 years old. And after that he did a couple rounds of chemotherapy. And Czars went back to some private therapy work after that.

Beth Vinny [00:07:55]:
And he enjoyed life for another, I’ll say record setting nineteen months post diagnosis.

James Kademan [00:08:03]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:08:04]:
And I certainly ended up sitting in a classroom getting an education during those nineteen months that I didn’t sign up for and Czars didn’t sign up for or ask for. But on December twentieth of twenty thirteen, that was the day that czar, through many people understand the body language and the signals that our best friends will give us when they know it’s time that they need to ask for help. And that day was his day. And on that day, we sat and talked all day and, I made him a promise that somehow, in some fashion, I had no idea when or what it would entail, that I would find a way to help other families who had experienced or were experienced this cancer journey with their pet. And always to, you know, Call I take my last breath is to try and help find a cure.

James Kademan [00:09:06]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:09:06]:
So that was in 2013, and it took a while. And in 2018, Zara’s Promise was born.

James Kademan [00:09:13]:
Alright. Well, I mean, that’s a huge undertaking. You’re talking Promise and figuring out, I suppose, going from The December 20 date to actually what does this look Call.

Beth Vinny [00:09:25]:
Exactly.

James Kademan [00:09:25]:
Figuring that’s not a light switch, I guess, is where it goes.

Beth Vinny [00:09:28]:
It wasn’t a light switch, but the key was people. And the key was engaging the right people to bring this to fruition. And that, you know, that really started with Czars veterinary oncologist, Doctor. Kai Xu. And him and I collaborating and doing a lot of brainstorming. And then engaging people that walked the same path that Czars and I did

James Kademan [00:09:55]:
Mhmm.

Beth Vinny [00:09:55]:
Who had a pet that was diagnosed and experienced a cancer journey. And bringing together those minds and those people with not only that experience, but experience in other areas and walks of life to start the grassroots organization. And so that’s what we did in 2018.

James Kademan [00:10:17]:
So when you first heard that Czars had this cancer, what are some things that you wish you knew back then?

Beth Vinny [00:10:26]:
I would say the right questions to ask

James Kademan [00:10:28]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:10:29]:
Because until you go through this journey and I’m I’m guessing it’s the same way with a human is if a human’s been diagnosed with cancer. If you haven’t been down that path before, it’s hard to know what questions to ask and it’s hard to know what resources are available to help you through it. So I wish I would have known then more of the right questions to ask. But I will also share that since Czars was diagnosed and passed away, unfortunately, I lost two other dogs to cancer.

James Kademan [00:11:03]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:11:03]:
Another one of them was to bone cancer, and the other one was very unexpected to hemangiosarcoma. But with our second dog, Tundra, that was diagnosed with bone cancer, I knew more of the questions to ask. Alright.

James Kademan [00:11:18]:
What would be some of these questions?

Beth Vinny [00:11:21]:
Well, a a lot of them have to do with options to consider.

James Kademan [00:11:26]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:11:27]:
Every pet is different. Every situation is different. Is once you receive that diagnosis, it’s what your options Czars, are based on a lot of factors. Some of those factors are the overall health of that pet. The age. Do they have any other physical challenges that impact what you can consider for those options? So for example with Czars, is that he was in perfect health despite being a large breed working dog and a senior. He did not have any other health challenges. He also had clear lungs at the time that he was diagnosed with bone cancer, which means that the cancer had not metastasized to his lungs yet.

Beth Vinny [00:12:16]:
So he was a candidate for amputation. He was a candidate for chemotherapy. Tundra, on the other hand, our other great Pyrenees, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. It had not metastasized to her lungs, but Tundra also had arthritis in her legs. If we would have had the amputation done on the afflicted leg that had the bone cancer present, it would have impacted her mobility, etcetera, for her other legs. So that to me, to amputate and take that leg, was not in her best interest because every decision that was made was always in the best interest

James Kademan [00:13:00]:
of the pet. That makes sense. Because it’d be one of those where we got the cancer out. Good news. Yeah. Bad news is the lifestyle of the dog is highly degraded.

Beth Vinny [00:13:09]:
It it it could be especially if other limbs are impacted with osteoarthritis. Or in Tundra’s case, she had had her knees replaced at at a young age. So if you remove one of the back legs, the other leg is already compromised On a little bit of strength. She was also a senior. And based on that, I I did not On do that to her.

James Kademan [00:13:34]:
Fair.

Beth Vinny [00:13:34]:
So the options that are presented to each pet are based on many factors. And knowing the right questions to ask and the local resources that are available, I think knowing that just would have been very helpful.

James Kademan [00:13:50]:
Alright. That makes sense. Because I’m thinking as you’re speaking, cancer is such a broad topic.

Beth Vinny [00:13:55]:
Yeah. It is.

James Kademan [00:13:56]:
The when somebody mentions, hey. This person or this pet that you love

Beth Vinny [00:14:01]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:14:01]:
Has cancer.

Beth Vinny [00:14:02]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:14:03]:
You Call of a sudden have to either know something like, let’s say, space travel or something like that. Like, I don’t know anything about space travel. I never learned about space travel. Yeah. That’s right. Up there. I know roughly what cancer is.

Beth Vinny [00:14:14]:
That’s right.

James Kademan [00:14:14]:
But the the choice is about I suppose you go through the whole thing. Right? How did it happen? Why did it happen? What do we do now? What are the options?

Beth Vinny [00:14:24]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:14:24]:
And then you’re limited, I suppose, initially at The expert at hand, so the current doctor. Do people get second and third opinions?

Beth Vinny [00:14:32]:
Well, usually, initially, a cancer diagnosis comes from a family practice veterinarian. Because as pet owners, and you’re a pet owner

James Kademan [00:14:42]:
Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:14:43]:
If you suspect that your pet isn’t feeling right or you notice something different that has changed on their body structure, You’re going to take them to your family, your family veterinarian. And, through a series of questions or tests or whatever it may Beth, usually your family veterinarian is the one to initially provide that diagnosis. Or in the case of bone cancer, it may be an orthopedic specialist that you have met with, which was On my case, doctor David Ettinger, who was the orthopedic specialist that diagnosed with Xaar originally. But, the the key is is that once you receive a diagnosis of cancer in your pet or a suspected diagnosis from your family veterinarian, the next best step that anyone can take is having a consult with a board certified oncology veterinarian. Because like if you or I, let’s say we’re not feeling Call, we go to our family doctor. Right? If a family doctor provides an initial diagnosis of cancer, it’s not that family doctor that’s going to say, here are your options specific to your case.

James Kademan [00:16:03]:
Mhmm.

Beth Vinny [00:16:04]:
Here are the next steps and I’m going to treat you. No. They’re going to send you to a professional that lives and breathes oncology every single day. So they can make that best recommendation to you. So that your quality of health can improve. And that your cancer can be treated. Same in the veterinary world. So the next best step that anyone can take is have that consult with a board certified oncology veterinarian.

Beth Vinny [00:16:35]:
And they can assess the dog’s over dog or cat’s overall health. They take into all kinds of consideration other factors. They can provide you with options. They can provide you with projected potential outcomes. They can provide you with what that will look like financially. So that Call, you can, at that point, make that best decision for your pet. And everybody’s decision criteria is going to be different. Because with pets, you have so much to look at.

Beth Vinny [00:17:12]:
You have to look at their overall quality of life. There’s a logistical aspect to treating a pet where, okay, the recommendation is x amount of chemotherapy treatments On x amount of radiation treatments. How am I going to work this into my day job? Mhmm. How am I going to how am I going to navigate this? How am I going to make this this happen? What about if there’s side effects of the treatment? Can my dog or cat be left alone after treatment? How much is this going to cost? And that’s something else we can we can chat about. Those are the things that are almost at the forefront of everyone’s mind when they hear your pet has cancer, but that doesn’t touch how it how it impacts us emotionally. Oh, that’s huge. Whole another category.

James Kademan [00:18:07]:
Yeah. Because I imagine you’re used to just like everything else. The day to day is moving along. Yeah. You’re chugging along, and there’s probably if you’re like me, which I don’t necessarily recommend people doing The, but I I have a 14 year old dog. I love her to death. Mhmm. And it’s interesting because she was the first dog I ever had.

Beth Vinny [00:18:25]:
Okay. We didn’t,

James Kademan [00:18:27]:
we didn’t have dogs when I was a kid. We had goldfish.

Beth Vinny [00:18:30]:
That’s a little different.

James Kademan [00:18:31]:
Yeah. A little different. A little different. So there wasn’t so much remorse when they died. It was just an expectation Viney. But I remember thinking pre me having a dog, somebody admit On a buddy or family or something like that mentioned that they had to spend $5,000 on their pet. And I’m like, they’re giving dogs away. What are you spending $5,000 on this dog for? But now that I have a dog Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:18:55]:
I mean, on day one, I was like, okay. Well, that argument’s out the window.

Beth Vinny [00:19:00]:
Right.

James Kademan [00:19:00]:
And she actually had cancer, a little thing.

Beth Vinny [00:19:03]:
Okay. Okay.

James Kademan [00:19:04]:
It cost us $5,000 to get that removed.

Beth Vinny [00:19:06]:
Sure.

James Kademan [00:19:07]:
And there was no question. Yeah. It’s it’s a family member.

Beth Vinny [00:19:10]:
It’s it’s a family member. It’s a companion. Mhmm. Many people refer to their pets as their children, you know. I certainly do.

James Kademan [00:19:19]:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Beth Vinny [00:19:20]:
A lot of others do as well. They’re an integral part of the fabric of our family. Go on vacations with us. We celebrate their birthdays or their gotcha days or holidays. We plan hikes, you know, with them. Let them go to doggy daycare.

James Kademan [00:19:38]:
Yeah. Every week. You got it.

Beth Vinny [00:19:40]:
Yeah. Things like that. They are a very important part of our lives.

James Kademan [00:19:44]:
Yeah. Huge.

Beth Vinny [00:19:45]:
And, again, when you hear those words and you’re sitting there kind of in a fog thinking, you just told me that my child, my baby, my best friend has cancer. And a lot of times where the mind goes first and I’m just going to say it, but the mind goes first is when are they gonna die?

James Kademan [00:20:07]:
Oh, fair. Totally fair.

Beth Vinny [00:20:09]:
How long do they have? That is a very natural reaction to have. Meanwhile, you’re being told all of these other additional details about your pet and what to think about. And again, it’s kind of like being in a fog in that very first appointment. But I On to emphasize how fortunate we are again to live where we live within the Dane County and Madison and actually Wisconsin as a whole. To have one of the most, experienced professional and world renowned veterinary oncology experts here. And we have got to cross all pause and and give just high praises to them that we have those resources.

James Kademan [00:20:52]:
Wow. I didn’t even know that.

Beth Vinny [00:20:53]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:20:53]:
I did not know that.

Beth Vinny [00:20:54]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:20:55]:
You know, it’s it’s interesting because when my pet got diagnosed, it was one of those they were doing The anal gland expression.

Beth Vinny [00:21:02]:
Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:21:03]:
And the tech had found this little tiny growth. And it was one of those things where the veterinarian had to go back in there and be like, I didn’t notice it. But Sure. They go in, so it’s super tiny. And I was thinking, you know, this morning, that day, I went running with this dog and she was cool. As far as I know, there’s nothing wrong with her.

Beth Vinny [00:21:25]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:21:25]:
But I also didn’t have my fingers where they they had to have their fingers.

Beth Vinny [00:21:28]:
Of course.

James Kademan [00:21:29]:
It’s one of those, like, we caught it early. Gotcha. Gotcha. Gotcha. We go through, and we had it removed. And you’re going through this like, man, the dog’s going through surgery and all the things. She’s probably scared with that, all that. I mean, anesthesia On you’re just going, like, what could go wrong? Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:21:47]:
And what if we do nothing? Because as far as we know, yesterday, she was just fine. It just happened to be that we had this appointment today Yep. To get her taken care of for something completely unrelated to cancer. Right. So it’s interesting because you wanna run back and be like, you know what? Let’s just pretend we didn’t have this appointment.

Beth Vinny [00:22:05]:
Yeah.

James Kademan [00:22:05]:
And we’re all good.

Beth Vinny [00:22:06]:
Yeah. Beth Seems very surreal, doesn’t it?

James Kademan [00:22:09]:
It does. It does. Surreal. Yeah. Super healthy dog. We run Yeah. Well, back then, we would run two miles a day. So now we dialed that back to a mile and a half.

Beth Vinny [00:22:17]:
Oh, that’s still really good.

James Kademan [00:22:18]:
But she’s yeah. Doctor is like good. You’re whatever. She’s 14 year old 14 now. And I was told last year that she’s got the body of a six year old dog.

Beth Vinny [00:22:28]:
Oh, that’s great.

James Kademan [00:22:29]:
Which I’m like, I think that’s a compliment.

Beth Vinny [00:22:31]:
It’s music to your ears. You bet. You take that. Yeah. Absolutely.

James Kademan [00:22:34]:
So but incredible dog. So but that was one of those things I’m like, comparatively, you can take the house, you can take the car Yeah. Even take the motorcycle, but my dog, oh my gosh. Yeah. That’s a that’s a different game.

Beth Vinny [00:22:51]:
That that’s your baby. Mhmm. You bet.

James Kademan [00:22:53]:
Yeah. Very different game. Mhmm. So and then I compare The. I guess you were talking about humans as Call. Right. Where humans can say something hurts.

Beth Vinny [00:23:02]:
They can convert for the most part part, people can verbally communicate.

James Kademan [00:23:07]:
Mhmm.

Beth Vinny [00:23:08]:
Hey, my tummy doesn’t feel Book. Or, you know, my leg doesn’t feel good. Or The doesn’t feel good. And dogs can be incredibly stoic. They can hide discomfort very well, through their nature. Some dogs more than others, as Call as cats. And for the most part, cancer isn’t diagnosed until, okay, all of a sudden it’s there. When it could have been inherent in their body for a very long time, and then all of a sudden it just rears its ugly head.

James Kademan [00:23:43]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:23:43]:
And and there’s no way to know.

James Kademan [00:23:45]:
There’s no

Beth Vinny [00:23:46]:
way to know.

James Kademan [00:23:46]:
Yeah. It’s interesting because the the stoicism that my talk portrays is one of the most admirable qualities I have with her.

Beth Vinny [00:23:53]:
The you go.

James Kademan [00:23:54]:
Because she keeps me or at least attempts to keep me a little more grounded.

Beth Vinny [00:23:58]:
Sure.

James Kademan [00:23:58]:
Because she’s just chill. One of the most chill dogs.

Beth Vinny [00:24:01]:
That’s good.

James Kademan [00:24:02]:
I love running with her, and there’s other people that are just like, oh, with their dog on the leash. Just, god. And it’s all barking, barking, barking. And my little Kirby is just chilling. Good. Doesn’t say a thing. She’s just like, why are they so obnoxious? And just keeps rolling. And it’s interesting.

James Kademan [00:24:18]:
A lot of people are like, oh my gosh. How did you do so well training her? And I was like, you know, that’s 10% me and 90% her. Mhmm. Yeah. We did put the time into training and all that jazz, but it’s yeah. That stoicism. Yep. Love it.

Beth Vinny [00:24:31]:
But you doing that and getting her out and exercising together, that those are great bonding moments

James Kademan [00:24:36]:
Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:24:37]:
And also making moments that matter.

James Kademan [00:24:39]:
Yeah. It’s huge. Yeah. It it’s a little ego boost, I guess, when the family walks through the door and she comes to

Beth Vinny [00:24:46]:
me. You’re her person. Yeah. You’re her person.

James Kademan [00:24:49]:
Awesome dog.

Beth Vinny [00:24:50]:
Yep.

James Kademan [00:24:50]:
Are there things that people can look for in their dog if the dog’s not gonna say, hey. I got a tummy ache or anything?

Beth Vinny [00:24:55]:
Sure.

James Kademan [00:24:55]:
Are there certain things that people can do just the same way that we do

Beth Vinny [00:25:00]:
little checks? So there’s there’s lots of things that people can do every every day On not necessarily every day, but on occasion. I think it’s really important that a pet have a good family practice veterinarian that the owner is comfortable with, that you follow through on annual exams for your pet, etcetera. Also, there are other other people that can notice signs. If people take their pet to a groomer. Sometimes a groomer can find things that we don’t know are there.

James Kademan [00:25:36]:
Oh, interesting. You mentioned in

Beth Vinny [00:25:36]:
your dog, it was through an anal gland, gland, procedure that the technician found something suspicious.

James Kademan [00:25:47]:
Mhmm.

Beth Vinny [00:25:48]:
There’s lots of different ways that things can be found. A growth on the skin, a cough, something nasal wise. Just touching your dog at least On once a month throughout their body and feeling their lymph nodes, around their neck, you know, their legs. Does anything feel swollen? Is it enlarged? Any other changing changes in digestive habits. Eating or not eating. Drinking or not drinking. Lethargy. Things like that.

Beth Vinny [00:26:24]:
Anything that may be a sign that something is amiss from those stoic dogs, I would recommend, taking them to your family veterinarian to get checked out. Or in the instance of Tundra, the Great Pyrenees, our second one that was diagnosed with bone cancer, it was like just one day that lump appeared in that back leg.

James Kademan [00:26:50]:
Oh.

Beth Vinny [00:26:50]:
There was no no warning to that whatsoever. I will say that in bone cancer with with dogs is that I have learned through the seven years now with Czars Promise and talking with other families that become part of our family, On their dogs that have bone cancer, sometimes it’s misdiagnosed early. And which is understandable because it can be perceived as a tear in the knee in some ways. And The, no, okay, it’s not. It’s really bone cancer.

James Kademan [00:27:27]:
Oh, it’s diagnosed the wrong way.

Beth Vinny [00:27:29]:
Misdiagnosed the wrong way. Yes. And so, sometimes that does occur, but there’s lots of different ways that that you can just keep up on trying to read what your pet may or may not be telling you. Changes in the skin, you know, little lumps or bumps or discoloration of a growth. Check with your family veterinarian and and see what they have to say.

James Kademan [00:27:56]:
Alright. So when you first started Zara’s Promise, I wanna shift into the actual organization here a little bit, if you don’t mind. You what made you decide to go that way, nonprofit versus just, I don’t know, donating to whatever or, I don’t know, putting up a bench at a dog park or something.

Beth Vinny [00:28:15]:
I think because you don’t I didn’t realize the need was there

James Kademan [00:28:22]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:28:22]:
For what we could do until I went through the journey with Czars. Because I’ll go back to what I call the waiting room. The waiting room is the place where you go to oncology And you see the same people The the same pets on a frequent basis that are facing the same challenges that you are. And back in 02/2012, there was nowhere to go. There wasn’t anybody to talk with to validate all the feelings and emotions that these pet owners were going through. There wasn’t anybody to go to that could say, okay, you’re at this point in your pet’s cancer journey. Here’s another resource that may help you. There was nobody to go to in 02/2012 that said, I just walked into my oncologist’s office, and they verified they confirmed that my pet has cancer.

Beth Vinny [00:29:21]:
They have laid out the options. They have told me that my pet’s diagnosis is treatable and that there would be a good outcome. But I had to walk out of that vet’s office because I can’t afford to pay it.

James Kademan [00:29:35]:
Oh, I bet that’s a common thing.

Beth Vinny [00:29:37]:
And now I have to look at palliative care for my pet and knowing that my pet’s life will be ending soon because I can’t afford the treatment.

James Kademan [00:29:49]:
Tell me palliative care.

Beth Vinny [00:29:51]:
Palliative care is mainly is same with people as as pets. Or The definition for palliative care in people has changed a little Beth. So I should correct that. But palliative care for a pet is mainly keeping them comfortable

James Kademan [00:30:05]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:30:06]:
During a time of a health challenge.

James Kademan [00:30:08]:
Got it. We I can tell you, since they The the company that answers phones for veterinarians, the crew, wherever you are On The veterinary side, as a CSR or someone taking calls, whatever Mhmm. I mean, the phone rings, you pick it up. Yeah. There’s a lot of calls with people that they just don’t have the money Yeah. To be able to afford I mean, a $5,000 hit, a surprise $5,000 hit is not something that everyone can absorb.

Beth Vinny [00:30:37]:
Correct. Correct.

James Kademan [00:30:38]:
And, CSRs On veterinary clinics, veterinary doctors are put in a difficult position.

Beth Vinny [00:30:45]:
They are. Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:30:46]:
Because you get you get the callers that don’t quite understand that you wanna be a charity, but you can’t be a charity.

Beth Vinny [00:30:53]:
Mhmm. Right. Like, how

James Kademan [00:30:55]:
can you let my pet die Yeah. Viney of thing. Like, well, if we say yes to you, we’d be out of Business, and then we can’t help any pets. Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:31:07]:
Exactly.

James Kademan [00:31:08]:
This is the way the world spins.

Beth Vinny [00:31:09]:
And it’s not that their hearts aren’t there.

James Kademan [00:31:12]:
No. Not at all.

Beth Vinny [00:31:12]:
It’s not that their Veterinary teams and staff every day, their hearts don’t hurt for somebody Yeah. That really needs the help. But, the financial aspect, if I could maybe talk to that a little bit Please.

James Kademan [00:31:27]:
Yeah. Absolutely.

Beth Vinny [00:31:28]:
Is in in 02/2012, there weren’t a lot of there I was not made aware of any financial resources to help Tsar in his cancer journey. I will frame this up in 2012 to 2013, in his nineteen months of diagnostics, amputation, chemotherapy and care throughout his nineteen months. And remember, this was now thirteen years ago. It was $30,000.

James Kademan [00:32:02]:
Oh, that’s a tickle. Wow.

Beth Vinny [00:32:04]:
Between everything.

James Kademan [00:32:05]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:32:07]:
If I had to live in a Book, I would have.

James Kademan [00:32:10]:
I get it. I get it.

Beth Vinny [00:32:12]:
Back then

James Kademan [00:32:13]:
Twenty years ago, I went to gotten it. But today, I get it. Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:32:17]:
So when Czars became part of the family in 02/2001, pet insurance wasn’t really a thing. No. Tsar had no pet insurance. And I would say that out of all the families that we work with through Tsar’s Promise, ninety percent of them don’t have pet insurance. So, and there are, you know, every day I’m talking with families who just have these incredible stories of what their pets mean to them in their life. And there have been community service pets that we have supported that have not only made a difference on their family, but also a community because of the job that they do. And they want to help their pet, but there are pieces of the puzzle that can’t help them get there. And that’s where Czars Promise comes in financially.

Beth Vinny [00:33:13]:
So if I could give advice to pet owners that are considering getting a pet is before you do that, seriously consider looking into pet insurance, but make sure you read the fine print. Because most pet insurance now will contribute towards cancer care. They may not cover it a %, but when your pet is diagnosed with cancer, every single penny helps. So and in terms of the families that we’ve worked with now, some of their expenses have exceeded $40,000 to treat a

James Kademan [00:33:55]:
pet. Wow.

Beth Vinny [00:33:57]:
But on the good side, we inspire hope. Because if we can provide those families with the various resources that we do, direction for engagement with other entities in the community, Getting them to a board certified oncology veterinarian. Helping talk through maybe some of the decisions that they’re, that they’re facing. Never making a decision for them, but maybe helping ask the questions that will help help them reach the decision that’s best for them. Providing some financial funding is that we have stories of Calls. And pets that have inspired hope by, On their situation, going through treatment, hearing the r word, which is remission. Going into remission and living incredibly, successful and active, lives of adventure. And just making those magical moments with their family.

Beth Vinny [00:35:01]:
It just continues. And there are many, many, many families that are part of the Czars Promise family that are able to experience that. That is cool. And for that, that is that is why we are here.

James Kademan [00:35:15]:
How do people learn I mean, besides sweet podcasts, how do people learn about Zars Promise if they have a pet that has a need like that?

Beth Vinny [00:35:23]:
Well, we’re seven years young, and I use the word young because in the nonprofit world, seven years for a nonprofit organization is still considered young. Mhmm. And we’re our our organization and our team, who I cannot give enough gratitude and high praises of thanks for those that make up the Czars promise organization, is really raising awareness about who we are and what we do. And that means is largely through the board certified veterinary oncology clinics that are here in Madison, as well as being out in the community for events, chatting with different organizations. And they can be organizations that are of a corporate entity. There are corporations and companies here in Madison that look for opportunities for their employees to volunteer or be part of something really great in the community. And it’s being able to share who we are and what we do with those corporations. It’s being part of our, our annual inspiring hope walk, which is every fall The people come together and it’s, it’s, it’s people that bring their dogs so that they can be part of this community.

Beth Vinny [00:36:42]:
It’s the hero pets that are fighting every day that are there. It’s, it’s, organizations and companies within our community that want to come together for a day and just celebrate these hero pets and, and work to help support Czars Promise so we, in turn, can continue to help others.

James Kademan [00:37:02]:
Nice. So when you first started Zars Promise, what was the goal as far as, I wanna say width, reach?

Beth Vinny [00:37:10]:
Reach.

James Kademan [00:37:11]:
Would it be Madison ish, Wisconsin ish, nationwide, worldwide?

Beth Vinny [00:37:15]:
Well, the goal at first was to help one pet.

James Kademan [00:37:18]:
Fair. Fair.

Beth Vinny [00:37:19]:
One pet. Okay. And when our our team got together and talked about how we were going to start and what criteria we would look at. Is our criteria was to support pets that were being treated by any of the three board certified veterinary On oncology clinics here in Madison. Any pet treated there for chemotherapy and or radiation is who we could help. But here’s what’s interesting. Because of the level of care that exists here in Madison for veterinary oncology, people come from all over.

James Kademan [00:38:04]:
Oh, they travel.

Beth Vinny [00:38:04]:
People come from Michigan. They come from all parts of Wisconsin. They come from Illinois. They come from Iowa. They come from Minnesota. There are people, not necessarily The need support from Czars promise, but need care for their pet The come as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada. So

James Kademan [00:38:26]:
Really?

Beth Vinny [00:38:26]:
We are world renowned nationwide or at least known nationally for the cancer care that we can provide pets here. So regardless of the family’s zip code, if they receive treatment and care at any three of those entities in Madison, in Dane County, those oncology clinics share our information with them and then we connect and work through the next steps.

James Kademan [00:38:52]:
Oh, that is interesting. I had no idea. Yes. It is so interesting chatting with people on this podcast because I learned all these little pockets Yeah. Where Madison, Wisconsin is just this thing that’s Viney of the center of the universe in that specific vertical. Mhmm.

Beth Vinny [00:39:08]:
It is. It truly is. On helping pets directly in their cancer journey and the research end. So having board certified veterinary oncologists, you think of the wonderful rural areas of Wisconsin. Those services aren’t offered there. So if someone is living in another part of the state and they’re working with their family veterinarian and their family veterinarian says your dog has cancer. There are not local veterinary resources in those geographies that have oncology as a specialty. They have to travel.

Beth Vinny [00:39:48]:
So right now within the Czars Promise family and right now today, we’re actually providing support for 60 canines and three felines. And we have one that travels all the way from Northern Michigan. We have one that travels from Dubuque. We have pets that come from Illinois, from the Eastern side of the state, from Milwaukee, from the Fox River Valley, up to the La Crosse area, and all points in between that traveled to Madison to receive treatment for their pet.

James Kademan [00:40:22]:
Wow. That is cool. That’s impressive. That’s, it’s too bad there’s a need.

Beth Vinny [00:40:28]:
It’s too bad there’s a need.

James Kademan [00:40:29]:
But it’s incredible that that’s all focused here.

Beth Vinny [00:40:32]:
And answers can be had here

James Kademan [00:40:34]:
Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:40:34]:
And treatment can be found here. We are very, very fortunate.

James Kademan [00:40:38]:
Tell me about the the moment that it came to you that you wanna start a nonprofit.

Beth Vinny [00:40:43]:
12/20/2013. Alright. The Desar passed away.

James Kademan [00:40:47]:
And you mentioned a board, your your people.

Beth Vinny [00:40:50]:
Yes. Mhmm.

James Kademan [00:40:51]:
How did you bring it to them?

Beth Vinny [00:40:53]:
Well, the after, after the promise was made on the day Czars transitioned to his next life, there was certainly a period that, that was very difficult after that.

James Kademan [00:41:08]:
No doubt.

Beth Vinny [00:41:08]:
And then I think initially having the conversation with with doctor Hsu, who was our veterinary oncologist, and there were ideas and opportunities that were presented to us at that time in 2013. We did follow that path, but that path we realized was not fulfilling our goal of touching families directly and being able to help families directly. So through that experience and also engaging other people, whose pet had been diagnosed with cancer and had been through the experience and bringing all of us together for conversation and what we felt the community needed is finally On, in 2018 we found, we found the means and the opportunity to become an official On in 2018 and established a board of directors and this group of just incredible people that understood the importance of the other people they met in the waiting room and the needs that they had and the opportunity to help and make a difference in these pets’ lives.

James Kademan [00:42:25]:
Alright. So it took a little while to get things going. How did you pick out who was gonna be on your board?

Beth Vinny [00:42:32]:
Well, there were there was a board of directors that when we became a On, actually had a nonprofit of their own that focused on a different aspect of emergency care for pets. And so we became a project of that nonprofit originally. And there were board members then. And so over time, there are still some original members from that BOLD. And we have grown our board now as recently as February of this year by adding two incredible board members to, there’s 11 of us now. And they come from all aspects of the community, whether it’s from their veterinary experience in working with pets with cancer, whether it’s from them having a pet that was diagnosed with pan with cancer and has either transitioned or is in the process of going through cancer. It’s really through network of connections and heartfelt communication

James Kademan [00:43:37]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:43:37]:
That we have grown. And that is how our intent as ours promise is to continue to grow is through conversation and finding those who understand the importance of helping pets and or people that have been diagnosed with cancer and really, creating this path that we are very, very, very committed to.

James Kademan [00:44:02]:
Nice. Has it been challenging to have a board? Imagine you have that many people, let’s say 11 people trying to make a decision. Sometimes it’ll be easy, but not all the time.

Beth Vinny [00:44:16]:
It hasn’t been challenging. It hasn’t

James Kademan [00:44:18]:
been. Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:44:18]:
I have felt overwhelming gratitude

James Kademan [00:44:21]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:44:22]:
To those that have been members of our board and have given of their time and their expertise and the heart that they feel towards it, our board of directors and our other volunteers that make up Czars Promise are the reason why we are now seven years in helping other pets and advancing oncology research for both people and pets. I’m very grateful to our board. Has Czars Promise faced challenges? Absolutely, we have. But it has not been with the board.

James Kademan [00:44:57]:
Alright. Yeah. What are what have been some of the challenges?

Beth Vinny [00:45:00]:
Oh, COVID. COVID. COVID.

James Kademan [00:45:04]:
That’s, yeah. That put a little

Beth Vinny [00:45:06]:
Yeah. A little bit of some of the challenges. Many I I mean, everyone. How can it not? But with Czars promise, we started in 2018. Covid hit in 2020, and here’s where the impact Czars. Is initially when covid hit in March of twenty twenty and realized that it was On be a thing, our annual Inspiring Hope Call was going to be in two months.

James Kademan [00:45:34]:
Oh, no. So the big fundraiser.

Beth Vinny [00:45:36]:
Yeah. Oh. Yeah. So but because of great people on our team like Anne Lippincott and On Shute Hess and our other volunteers, what did we do? We pivoted. And we did it virtual.

James Kademan [00:45:51]:
Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:45:51]:
And we were

James Kademan [00:45:53]:
That freaking word, man.

Beth Vinny [00:45:55]:
That The freaking word, virtual. That’s right. We did a virtual walk on what was going to be our walk day. It was incredibly successful. Alright. Incredibly successful, but it did impact our ability to do in person events for quite some time as it did with everybody.

James Kademan [00:46:16]:
Right. Right.

Beth Vinny [00:46:17]:
Here’s where it impacted us on the funding end and the support end, is that when COVID hit, families that were in process of providing treatment for their pet, cancer treatment, they might have lost their job. Oh. They might have had their income reduced or their position reduced to part time. So what does that do to the household income? That decreases the amount of household income. And now that family may be, okay, we could afford to pay for treatment for our pet now. Now we’ve got to make a choice. Do we pay the mortgage, the rent, buy groceries, care for our human children? Or do we can continue cancer treatment with our pet? It was heartbreaking to see people put in that situation. Then you have the situation where people during COVID received a diagnosis of cancer in their pet and they didn’t have a job because of COVID.

Beth Vinny [00:47:22]:
Mhmm. Or their income had been cut. Or, a number of ways that COVID impacted them and their ability to support their pet. So there was that challenge. There was a tremendous amount of request during that time for support.

James Kademan [00:47:40]:
Oh, interesting. Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:47:42]:
The other thing that happened, as with human medicine, veterinary medicine and pharmaceuticals and treatment were impacted during COVID because what happened? All the costs increased, of which that is still a challenge today On human and, you know, veterinary medicine is that costs continue to go up. Mhmm. So it is making treatment of a pet for some families much more of a challenge. So navigating that during COVID and how do we approach it, how do we look at still trying to create awareness, being out in the community without being able to be out in the community, I need to thank our team for being able to get through The, especially only being two years young when COVID hit. Yeah.

James Kademan [00:48:38]:
It’s barely off the ground.

Beth Vinny [00:48:39]:
Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

James Kademan [00:48:41]:
Was it tough to become a nonprofit?

Beth Vinny [00:48:44]:
In in our case, again, we became a project of another nonprofit that was already in existence that, addressed The level of of pet care. But to start a On from the ground up, there’s a lot of legalities and things that have to be gone through. There’s expense that’s related to it. And there’s things as just going through the whole application process of becoming a On, creating articles of incorporation, creating bylaws, establishing a board of directors. There is a lot of steps that need to be taken. And it is, The, like I said, there’s a cost associated with The, but it’s also time consuming.

James Kademan [00:49:35]:
And

Beth Vinny [00:49:35]:
you On to make sure that you get that initial formula right in order to launch your program and and have success in the end.

James Kademan [00:49:46]:
Yeah. That’s fair. Were there any doubts pre pandemic once you got going or you just like, what did I do or what have I taken on?

Beth Vinny [00:49:57]:
Personally, I always knew it was the right thing to do.

James Kademan [00:49:59]:
Okay.

Beth Vinny [00:50:02]:
But with any On, funding is the biggest challenge.

James Kademan [00:50:08]:
I mean, it’s just constant.

Beth Vinny [00:50:10]:
It it is. And the very first year On 2018, because there is no other organization that is like SARS Promise. There are other organizations out there that will provide financial funding to help a pet on their health care challenge journey. There are organizations like that in The United States, which are wonderful. There’s also organizations in The United States that provide funding for oncology research. There isn’t one that does both. Oh. So there’s no book for dummies out there.

Beth Vinny [00:50:45]:
There’s no

James Kademan [00:50:46]:
It’s just like a kid. There’s no instruction manual?

Beth Vinny [00:50:48]:
There’s there’s no instruction manual for this. Right? So it really is a grassroots, very early adopter mentality that went into creating this organization. Was I scared? Absolutely. Every single day. Am I scared today? Yeah. I

James Kademan [00:51:11]:
am. Alright.

Beth Vinny [00:51:11]:
Every single day. That doesn’t go away. But let me tell you where we started and where we’re at now is in 2018, we provided support for three dogs. Alright. The whole year.

James Kademan [00:51:23]:
That’s still impressive.

Beth Vinny [00:51:25]:
It it was because we didn’t know what to expect.

James Kademan [00:51:28]:
Yeah.

Beth Vinny [00:51:29]:
There again, there was no template to look at to say, The is what you can project your first year. Yes. We had hopes.

James Kademan [00:51:37]:
Sure.

Beth Vinny [00:51:37]:
But three the first year. And today, you know, April, second, twenty twenty five, we’ve provided support to about 300 in the last seven Czars. And 63 right now, today sitting here, we are supporting. So I have the board of directors, our volunteers, and our community to thank for allowing us to do that.

James Kademan [00:52:03]:
That’s quite trajectory there. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:52:05]:
It is. Very much so.

James Kademan [00:52:06]:
That’s impressive.

Beth Vinny [00:52:07]:
Very much so.

James Kademan [00:52:08]:
I love it. So next steps, I guess, next stage when you come back here in a couple Czars, where do you expect Czars Promise to be? Where would you like

Beth Vinny [00:52:15]:
it to be? Where would I like it to be? Oh, gosh. Just a more visible resource and pillar in the community. And still, unfortunately, cancer does not take a vacation. It doesn’t take a holiday. It’s not a Monday through Friday thing. And in the future, there are still every day going to be pet parents and humans that hear your pet or you or your human family member has cancer. And I want SARS Promise to be here to commit and continue to be able to fund the research that needs to be done to help find a cure. Because even now today On these economic times, funding is going to become more scarce for that research.

Beth Vinny [00:53:04]:
And we, Czars promise, intend and hope to be able to step up to the plate more in order to supplement those areas of research, in oncology that are going to have great need.

James Kademan [00:53:16]:
Fair.

Beth Vinny [00:53:17]:
And families, unfortunately, are still going to hear your pet has cancer and we On be that landing board for those families to save time. To let them know that there’s an ear, there’s a shoulder here. There’s people that understand that will help you navigate Viney time On any aspect of this journey.

James Kademan [00:53:38]:
Yeah. That is cool. There’s, there’s certainly a value and hope, let alone Beth alone all the other Yeah. Information, education, resources, all that jazz. So that’s impressive.

Beth Vinny [00:53:49]:
I mean, that’s that’s our our tagline is inspiring hope and funding research. And we see miracles happen every single day in in pets that graduate from their last chemotherapy treatment or, like I say, hear the word remission. Pets that we that became part of our family four years ago The are still living each day to the fullest. Alright. And those those fill our hearts and those help our organization realize help us realize that we are accomplishing what our goals were set out.

James Kademan [00:54:24]:
Nice. That’s cool. New day, new challenge. Right?

Beth Vinny [00:54:27]:
New day, new challenge. That’s Call.

James Kademan [00:54:28]:
Beth, thank you so much for being on the show.

Beth Vinny [00:54:30]:
Thank you very much.

James Kademan [00:54:32]:
This has been Authentic Business Adventures, The business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. We are locally underwritten by the Bank of Sun Prairie. If you are listening or watching this on the web, TV, radio, if you could do us a huge favor, share it with your entrepreneurial friends. Also, I should say share it with your friends that have pets because sooner or later, they’re gonna get some bad news. We don’t wish that upon them, but No.

Beth Vinny [00:54:59]:
It’s gonna

James Kademan [00:54:59]:
happen, or they can share with other people with pets. Also, if you don’t mind, just keep the algorithm happy. Give us a big old thumbs up. Subscribe, and, we’ll make the world a better place. We’d like to thank your wonderful listeners as well as our guest, Beth Viney of Czars Promise. I should ask you, Beth, where can people find you? Is there a website?

Beth Vinny [00:55:17]:
Website, Czar’s Promise, and that is https://czarspromise.com, and we’re also on Facebook and Instagram.

James Kademan [00:55:27]:
Excellent. Past episodes can be found morning, noon, and night at the podcast link found at drawincustomers.com. Thank you for joining us. We will see you next week. I want you to stay awesome. And if you do nothing else, enjoy your business.