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Save The Pickle!™ is
a joint venture between sisters Trina & Amanda-Grace Serafin
of Wood Dale, IL.
Pickles, then called Snickers, had
lived at Chicago’s
Anti-Cruelty Society for almost four months when Trina, Amanda-Grace
and their dad, Eugene, saw her in July 2000. She was very timid,
but warmed up to be a very playful, yet cautious, dog. They
all fell in love. The sisters will never know how Pickles ended
up at Anti-Cruelty, but at seven months old, the scars remained.
As
they ran to the car - literally, Pickles was terrified
of the EL noise - the
girls joked that Pickles was too cute and should be on greeting cards. Four years
later, the joke was on them.
Besides needing to pack on 20 pounds and being extremely
rambunctious, Pickles was petrified of noise, men, strangers,
quick movements, the outside and more. After gaining Pickles’ trust
and enlisting a trainer’s help, the
girls were able to manage her fears and harness her energy.
Pickles has
always been a medical drama with allergies, asthma, ear infections, skin rashes
and more - she "assumes the position" when doctors
come near. When her glands swelled up like golf balls after being skunked in
the face, the girls never imagined it was cancer. As their vet revealed the devastating
diagnosis of lymphosarcoma in April 2004, they were totally shocked that Pickles
could die within one month if left untreated. The vet just had to be wrong because
while being told Pickles was basically dying, she was wrestling a giant teddy
bear.
The sisters decided to make the commitment to fight the cancer with
intravenous chemotherapy because Pickles was given an 80% chance of living the
rest of her life with that treatment option. This is now a lifetime of almost
weekly treatments. Pickles will not be cured, but can live a full life while
in remission. She has responded to chemo fantastically and is currently in remission.
This Beagle, Doberman and Shepherd mix is known in many circles as their "furry
miracle." Side
effects like loss of appetite, upset stomach, hair loss and skin or fur pigment
discoloration have been somewhat minimal. Pickles enjoys pigging down vanilla
ice cream cones after her appointments.
Weeks after beginning chemo, the sisters
started Save The Pickle!™ greeting
cards. They figured that people buy cards every day with dogs on them, why wouldn’t
they spend their money on cards for a bigger, furrier cause? So, they collected
all the pictures Pickles taken since they brought her home, combined their talents,
and Save The Pickle!™ was born. Their goal is to not only pay for Pickles’ lifetime
of treatment, but to also eventually help fund other cancer dog families too.
Through
it all, Pickles can’t get enough of life and throws herself a Picklebration!
everyday. The girls announce, "She’s on the loose!" as she
bursts out the backdoor barking her daily arrival to the world. She enjoys eating,
wrestling, cuddling, being loud, making out, playing ball, running laps, worshiping
the outside, hogging the bed, pawing for Pez, doing tricks like giving paw or
high-five, waving, rolling over, plus, a million other doggone fun things. They
couldn’t be happier to be this vibrant nut’s adopted family. She’s
Pickles Serafin and she’s awesome!
Who is behind Save The Pickle!™
Trina Serafin
is the illustrator behind Save The Pickle!™ Pickles
is her muse and each card is like a tiny canvas to showcase
this adorable bundle of fur. She also multi-tasks as the Save
The Pickle!™ chef,
accountant, laminator, office manager, master projecter, personal
shopper and much, much more. When not pickling it up, Trina’s
artistry skills return to where she first shrank her masterpieces,
as a nail technician. You can regularly find her, and the Save
The Pickle!™ line,
at Fingers ‘N’ Faces, 213 S. Villa Ave., Villa
Park, IL. (FYI—She’s on the lookout for Mr. Right!)
Trina@SaveThePickle.com
Amanda-Grace
Serafin is the commentator of Save The Pickle!™ She’s
always looking for the next perfect quip that captures Pickles’ sassiness.
She also multi-tasks as the Save The Pickle!™ photographer,
telemarketer, computer wiz, assistant projecter, nanny and
much, much more. When not pickling it up, she’s a freelance
writer who has contributed an eclectic mix of articles to various
national and regional publications. You can regularly read
her in the Wood Dale/Bensenville/Addison Press column "Border
Bounding." (FYI—She’s on the lookout for
a good mechanic to teacher her about her 1973 VW Bug, Mr. Bill.)
Amanda@SaveThePickle.com
 Pickles
Serafin is the inspiration and driving force behind Save The
Pickle!™ As
Top Dog of this entire furry enterprise, she has her paw in
every part of the operation - modeling,
drawing, painting, writing, photography, treat tasting, toy
testing, general projecting - she’s quite the one-dog
show. Even though she’s a paws-on spokesdog, she also
knows how to take it easy by doing doga twice a day and demanding
frequent snuggle breaks. Her cancer is currently in remission.
(FYI- She’s on the lookout for anyone with food or willing
to play ball.)
ThePickle@SaveThePickle.com
Help us SaveThePickle!™
This furry enterprise has ideas that are so GIGANTIC and so ENORMOUS that they are GINORMOUS! We're working our paws to the bone,
but we can't do it alone!
We're eager to lern new tricks and are always looking for trainers:
animators, printers, publishers, photographers, groomers, shelters,
rescues, vets, screeners, retail locations, computer geniuses,
anyone who could spare some expertise, contacts, upcoming event
details, shelf or corkboard speace, ANYTHING to help us SaveThePickle!™
Let us know how you'd like to give paw! Include your name, contact
info and what you can do to SaveThePickle!™
GivePaw@SaveThePickle.com
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