Young Cancer Survivor Searching for Missing Puppy

[Peter Emberley]

A young woman from Lewisporte is desperately trying to find her missing beagle puppy she got after ending cancer treatments. Samantha Martin, 22, has battled a very tough form of cancer, neuroblastoma, which she was diagnosed with in 2011. Coping with the surgeries and chemo, Martin says she needed something to take comfort in, and decided to get a dog.

Martin says throughout her cancer she wanted something to look forward to and hold on to. She says to lose the dog already is heartbreaking.

The aggressive treatment Martin had caused her to go through early menopause at age 22. She says now she cannot have children, and so getting a pet was important for her. She only had the beagle, named Sophie, for a short time before she got out and went missing on Sunday.

Martin says in addition to her offering a $500 reward for Sophie's return, others have come forward to generously donate towards the reward. The cash reward is now at $1,000 plus a donated hunting rifle.

She says she is very grateful for the support and generosity of the people who are helping out with the reward. Martin lives in Lewisporte and Sophie is though to be in that area.

The Facebook group Finding Sophie can be found here.

Numbers to call: 535-6716, 541-3006, 743-2901, or 541-0633.

VOCM