Life is made up of promises… big, small, written, unwritten, vocal and silent. Sometimes they are made without even knowing you are making them. The day Becky held Nilla, tears rolling down her face, she instantly began making promises: to love Nilla more than she would ever know, to protect her, to give her a fun, adventurous life, to be her voice, her rock. A couple years later, the same unconditional promises were made to Bailey. But as many humans of companion animals know, this isn’t a one way promise. They give just as much back, maybe more.
Nilla, who lost her battle with Lymphoma March 14, 2018, was Becky’s rock. Her one-in-a-million. Her sweet, intuitive, strong, funny character never failed to figure out exactly what was needed to make any situation better, through the hardest times and the most joyous. The blow of hearing “Nilla has lymphoma” was shattering. A day later, the fight began. The fight to make sure Nilla was comfortable, to give her more time, to bring her more adventures and above all, more love. Nilla fought with more grace, strength and humor than anyone could hope for. She brought forth a new army of friends; from other pet parents nervously sitting in the oncology waiting room, to medical staff, to the amazing support crew that had sadly been in those shoes before. The extra 10 ½ months, the bonds, and the memories that were made during this time, could not have happened without all of these amazing people. Thus begun Becky’s journey with Czar’s Promise. Becky promised Nilla she would fight for her until the end, and until the end, Nilla fought just as hard in return. So to honor Nilla’s strength and determination, Becky vowed to fight as hard as she can to help others get as many extra days with their best friends, until one day there is a cure.
Becky is passionate about many things: friends, family, triathlon, curling, art, water, the city of Madison, female superheros, Hallmark Christmas movies, chocolate chip cookies… but not much can outweigh her love for dogs. Especially her two golden retrievers, Nilla (named after the ever so delicious Nilla Wafer) and Bailey (yup, the drink).
