The news was not good Tuesday for Sadie, the service dog that has helped three-tour Iraq War veteran Jeremy Petersen face his battlefield demons.

Charlotte veterinarian Brian Killough of Charlotte's Long Animal Hospital examined Sadie Tuesday and found the lump over her left eye contained soft tissue cancer cells and was affecting a bone.

"He said she'll probably be gone in a month," said Denise Smith, Petersen's mother. "He said he could do surgery - and he'd be happy to do it - but it would likely only prolong the inevitable another three months."

Petersen and Charlotte developer Tommy Norman took Sadie home with medicines to shrink her swelling and lessen her pain.

Petersen is battling severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after three tours in war zones.

Sadie brought him calm and happiness. After the dog began favoring her left eye, Petersen was told that Sadie, a mixed breed of Shar Pei and golden Labrador, needed a CT scan and probably surgery that would cost nearly $4,000.

Because he's only getting $1,000 in monthly disability checks, and couldn't work, he and his family couldn't afford the treatments.

But since a story in Saturday's Observer, hundreds of readers from as far away as Hawaii stepped up with donations. By Tuesday, nearly $9,000 had been donated for Sadie.

Killough got involved for free after Norman, a customer, asked him to look at the dog. Norman is a veteran and founder of Charlotte Bridge Home, a nonprofit that helps returning troops who move into the Charlotte region.

Smith said Petersen will get another service dog and use the donations for Sadie to establish a nonprofit called "Operation Sadie" that help other veterans care for their service dogs.

The nonprofit will be set up under the Charlotte Bridge Home umbrella.