Laura Schorrak

My journey with canine cancer starts – as many of these stories do – with my heart dog, Kelly. In the winter of 2015, we received the devastating news – Kelly had cancer, more specifically hemangiosarcoma. Hemangiosarcoma is a sneaky cancer that doesn’t really let you know it’s there until it has done so much damage – often leaving the vets to tell you “there’s nothing more we can do”. Losing Kelly like that was shocking and devastating.

But Kelly is only one part of my story. Since 2004, my life has been dedicated to dogs. For over 20 years, I have been working with companion dogs – first as a dog daycare worker and training class assistant and transitioning to facility manager and finally to owner of the business. And in those 20 years, I have been blessed with knowing the best dogs who have become some of my best friends. But in those years, I have also lost many of those friends to various forms of cancer. I have sat with families that have received the news, holding their hands as we try to sort through confusion, the emotions, the heartache. I am lucky to be uniquely positioned with both a background in microbiology (my life before dogs was in research laboratories) and animal behavior – so I am able to help people talk through the “science” and understand how this is going to affect their uniquely wonderful dog. I have celebrated with them and ultimately grieved with them.

After losing Kelly, I was determined to help others facing canine cancer. Here is where the wonderful people of Czar’s Promise entered my life. The mission of supporting the families AND the research speaks deeply to me, and I have been an avid supporter since the beginning.

My story with cancer doesn’t end there though. Over the years, Kelly’s brother – Kutter –was often the face of our fundraising efforts for Czar’s Promise. In 2023, Kutter passed away at 16.5 years old. But shortly before losing Kutter, his sister – Kagney – was diagnosed, at 10 years old, with hemangiosarcoma – the same cancer that stole her brother Kelly from us. One month after losing Kutter, Kagney lost her battle with cancer. The support from our friends at Czar’s helped carry us through that dark time in our lives.

I’m honored to be a part of the Czar’s Promise Board of Directors to help carry out the mission of funding cancer research and supporting families, in our community, facing cancer diagnoses.

When not working with dogs, you can usually find me at home in the country with my husband Shawn, our dogs, and usually a guest dog or two. The only time you will find me without a dog (or two or three) or at a dog event is when I’m at the theater (or planning my next trip to NYC!).