Bill Bishop, CEO of Blue Buffalo, is true blue to his friend, Blue, a large-breed Airedale. So true he founded a company to make sure his life – and fight with cancer – mattered.

“Blue was a great pal and he had three bouts with cancer,” said Bill Bishop, CEO of Blue Buffalo. “When he was diagnosed with lymphoma, we wanted to find out all we could, and were amazed to learn that pet cancer is the leading disease-related cause of death for both dogs and cats.”

May is pet cancer awareness month. Blue Buffalo and Petco are teaming up to raise $1 million to benefit pet cancer research organizations such as the Morris Animal Foundation – and they invite pet owners to join their efforts or share their own stories to help others who are battling cancer now.

Finding a cure for pet cancer is one of the top priorities for The Blue Buffalo Company, which is headquartered in Connecticut. Blue ultimately inspired a commercially available food that would include quality ingredients to help maintain health and so support the immune system.

“We wanted to make the best pet food out there,” he recalled. “When we first started, we lost money for 7 years in a row.” (More about that in part two of this story.) “Along the way we asked what is causing all this cancer with our animals? It's an enormous issue.”

In humans or other animals – cancer is when abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade to other tissues, spreading by using the blood and lymph systems as roadways to get around.

“Gerry Post, a noted vet oncologist in Connecticut, states that canine cancers and human cancers are very similar, so a lot of the learning from canine cancer can be applied to human cancers,” said Bishop. “So there is an accelerated learning due to the shorter life spans with pets – and Dr. Post is very big on disseminating information back to the human oncology community.”

By the way, that's Gerald Post, DVM, principal of The Veterinary Cancer Center, and founder of the Animal Cancer Foundation. Dr. Post is one of only 200 board-certified veterinary oncologists in the U.S.

The cause of cancer in pets, just like people, is largely unknown. – Veterinary Oncology & Hematology Center

When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells. However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor, according to The National Cancer Institute.

Environmental toxins may be part of the puzzle.

“All the stuff people put on their lawns,” said Bishop, who believes that since animals have lower body weight and close proximity with surface cleaners and environmental toxins, all those chemicals add up.

Along the way they never forget their friend, Blue.
“One of the first things we did after starting our pet food company was to establish a foundation to raise money for pet cancer research and to help raise awareness of the early warning signs.”

The Blue Buffalo Foundation for Cancer Research was established in 2003 and features a wealth of information, sources and links.

“We started working with the people at the Morris Animal Foundation because we couldn't identify studies by ourselves,” he said. The foundation identified key studies to support, and in the first year Blue Buffalo gave almost $15,000. “Last year, we raised almost $1 million. Then people from Petco said they would like to partner with us a few years ago, teaming up with the Petco Foundation. They have great fundraising mechanisms, such as a program they call 'rounding up' – when someone is paying their bill and it's $10.15, they are asked if they would round up to $11 – and the difference goes to charity.”

From the BBPCA site:

• Cancer accounts for nearly 50% of all disease-related pet deaths each year. Cancer is the number one natural cause of death in older pets – Veterinary Oncology & Hematology Center

• Dogs get cancer at roughly the same rate as humans. Approximately 1 in 4 dogs develops a tumor of some kind during his lifetime. – AVMA.org

• One in four dogs die of cancer. – MorrisAnimalFoundation.org

• More than 50% of the dogs older than age 10 will die of cancer and just like in humans, cancer can occur in virtually any part of your dog's body. – DogTopics.com

According to Morris Animal Foundation, a world leader in advancing veterinary research, cancer is the number one disease-related cause of death in both dogs and cats.

So, through May 26, for each bag of Blue Buffalo dog or cat food purchased at Petco stores across the country, $1 will be donated to pet cancer research organizations. Last year, more than $900,000 was raised by the two pet care companies. Stories or experiences in dealing with pet cancer may be posted on the Virtual Memorial Wall at www.petco.com/wall. Donations in any amount will also be accepted at Petco registers or at www.petco.com/pca.

The Petco Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization, has raised more than $90 million since it was created in 1999. In conjunction with the foundation, the company works with local animal welfare groups across the country to help find homes for more than 250,000 animals through in-store adoption events each year.

To be continued in part two: A surprising success helps launch the company – plus facets of the Blue Buffalo company culture – and how the iconic American bison figures in to daily life.