Cornell University: Through three cancer scares, grateful family donates to Cornell’s canine care

Born with a big, brown heart-shaped patch on her left side, Meg (short for Nutmeg) can go from the couch to the fields in a heartbeat. She’s won dozens of awards, appeared on the cover of magazines and even starred in TV commercials. The 10-year-old Brittany upland hunting dog has beaten cancer twice, and after spending the last year-and-a-half in remission, she’s battling it again for a third time.

Her owner, Tom Fiumarello, calls Meg “the little engine that could.” Now, he’s on a mission to give back to the experts who helped her — investing in the future of preventing, diagnosing and treating canine cancer.

Last summer, he helped raise $34,000 for the canine cancer research fund at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM). This year he’s on-track to raise at least $50,000 at a Clays for K9 Cancer benefit shoot, scheduled for July 31 and hosted by the Hudson Valley and Rock Tavern chapters of the North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA).