Why I Left Hospitality PR for Cannabis PR: Chewie’s Story

Written by Kathleen Gonzales

I’ve carried this story for a long time. On December 3, 2017, I said goodbye to my dog, Chewie. He’s the reason I left hospitality PR and stepped fully into cannabis PR—advocating for the brands, doctors, scientists, and researchers who are educating the world about plant-based medicine.

The diagnosis that changed everything

On December 29, 2016, Chewie’s vet found a large mass on his spleen and recommended emergency surgery. While I waited in that awful, endless blur of a waiting room, a friend called and told me about pet CBD. She suggested starting VetCBD regardless of the biopsy results. I had no idea how to get it, but she ran San Diego’s first dispensary (Point Loma Patient Consumer Co-Op), and I was able to purchase it through her.

The biopsy came back benign. Within two weeks of adding VetCBD after his splenectomy, Chewie lit up again—no spleen, but all spirit. He was happy, energetic, and so clearly himself.

When the CBD ran out

In November 2017 the dispensary ran out of VetCBD. Chewie still looked great, so I didn’t panic. Two weeks later, I saw the shift: his coat dulled, his eyes lost that bright spark, and his energy faded. I rushed him to the vet. The diagnosis: advanced liver cancer. I remember dropping to my knees, holding him, trying to be strong while my heart split open.

I had one last night with him. On December 3, 2017, at just seven years old, I let him go.

What I can—and can’t—say

Did CBD keep his cancer at bay? I can’t make that claim. What I can say is that I saw a dramatic difference when he was on it, and a rapid decline when he wasn’t. That experience shook me awake. It’s why I shifted my career: to elevate credible people and companies doing real work in cannabis, to push for access, and to help educate with honesty and care.

Why I pivoted my career

Chewie changed my purpose. I left hospitality PR for cannabis PR to give a voice to the people pushing modern medicine forward—responsibly, ethically, and with evidence. I want every family navigating hard diagnoses to have information, access, and options.

Chewie lives on in me—every campaign, every conversation, every effort to make safe, science-backed products more understandable and available.

RIP Chewbacca the Wheaten, 11.10.2010 – 12.03.2017.