Walking to raise awareness

Thanks to a post at At Home with Herbie, I just started reading about 2 Dog 2,000 Miles. Luke sold his truck, put his belongings in storage, and set off on foot with his two dogs, Hudson and Murphy. They are walking from Austin to Boston to raise awareness of canine cancer. Please visit their site, or you can follow them on Twitter. It's inspiring!

Updated Vetinfo.com pages

Hi All,

It's been a while since I've updated the blog. I am happy to report that no news means good news. Waldo is doing well and is enjoying the spring weather in New England.

I wanted to post a link to some helpful information from Vetinfo.com's pages, including How to Recognize Canine Lymphoma and 5 Subtle Canine Cancer Symptoms. There are links on these pages that lead to other informative articles too.

New canine cancer research from North Carolina State (USA)

NC State Researchers Find Soy May Aid in Treating Canine Cancers

Researchers at North Carolina State University are looking to soy as a way to make traditional canine cancer therapy more effective, less stressful for the dog and less costly for the owners.

Dr. Steven Suter, assistant professor of oncology, and NC State colleagues studied genistein - a molecule found in soy that has been shown to be toxic to a wide variety of cancer cells in humans - to determine whether it would also inhibit the growth of canine lymphoma cells.

The researchers found that a commercially available form of genistein called GCP was effective in killing canine lymphoid cells in a laboratory setting, and that GCP is “bioavailable” in canines - meaning it is absorbed into the bloodstream where it can affect cancer cells in the body. The researchers hope that their findings will lead to the use of GCP for their canine patients in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

The researchers’ findings were published in Clinical Cancer Research.

“Humans have been using soy in conjunction with traditional chemotherapy for some time as a chemo potentiator,” Suter says. “This means that the GCP makes the chemotherapy work more efficiently and faster, which translates to less stress on the patient and less money spent on chemotherapy.”

Since dogs absorb GCP in much the same way that humans do, Suter hopes that veterinarians will be able to offer this therapy to canine patients in the near future.

“Since GCP is a dietary supplement, it is harmless to patients,” he adds. “Plus it’s inexpensive and easy to administer in a pill form. There’s really no downside here.”

Source: http://v3.news.ncsu.edu/releases/nc-state-researchers-find-soy-may-aid-in-treating-canine-cancers/

National Canine Cancer Foundation blog

I recently found the National Canine Cancer Foundation blog and thought this post "Notes by Dr Kent’s on his canine Lymphoma Cancer research with Nanoparticles. Research funded by a grant from NCCF" was interesting. Sadly, it notes that only about 5% of lymphoma dogs will be alive at two years. On the bright side, there is a new chemo trial happening specifically for relapsed lymphoma dogs.

Read more at the link above.

Would you clone your dog?

I saw this story today about a couple in Florida who paid $155,000 USD to have their dog cloned! Their dog had died of cancer and, since he held such a special place in their hearts, they had him cloned. It got me thinking as to whether I would have done that for/to Watson, and I am unsure of the answer.

This couple had their dog's DNA frozen prior to his illness. But doesn't that mean that Cloned Dog would have the same genetic disposition to cancer as Original Dog? It would be heartbreaking to have the new dog die in the same horrible way.

So, would you have your dog cloned? Thoughts?

Happy Christmas to all

It's been a busy month so I have been lax about writing on the blog. We experienced two snowstorms in a row here over the weekend and Waldo is having the time of his life, running around in the big snow drifts.

We are looking forward to a quiet Christmas at our house. Waldo will have a new bully stick to chew on, Peanut the cat will have new catnip, and we will count our blessings that a full year has gone by without any major illnesses - for man nor for beast.

Speaking of blessings and thanks, now is the time of year when we are all feeling a bit more charitable. Please remember the smallest of creatures, who may not have the nice home they once did.

I wish you all a very happy and safe Christmas holiday!

Studies show dogs have sense of fairness

I was smiling today when I came upon this story about a recent study that showed dogs do know when a situation is unfair. Per the article:

Dogs, like people and monkeys, seem to have a sense of fairness.

"Animals react to inequity," said Friederike Range of the University of Vienna, Austria, who lead a team of researchers testing animals at the school's Clever Dog Lab. "To avoid stress, we should try to avoid treating them differently."

When Waldo first joined our home, he was quite an obnoxious pup. He was always muscling in on Watson's space, stealing his toys, eating his treats, etc. I always tried to make sure Watson still knew he was my baby, especially after he got sick. Well, I wasn't always successful. The photo below is one of my absolute favorites. You can see the look on Watson's face (right):

Most certainly there were thoughts of unfairness running through his head.

More news about canine cancer treatment

I am so pleased to see movement in the areas of canine cancer diagnosis and treatment. I read this announcement from PharmaCom BioVet that they will use PetScreen, LTD's Lymphoma Blood Testing at their companion animal treatment centers.

As with any chronic, life-threatening conditions, early detection is just as important as the right course of treatment. I hope to see an acceleration of collaborations such as this one - and soon!

Did you know...?

November marks the fourth annual Pet Cancer Awareness Month sponsored by VPI Pet Insurance. I just got their e-newsletter and it is loaded with canine cancer information, including the article called "Pets Fighting Cancer - An In-Depth Look with Dr. Ingrid Pyka" As many of you know, we decided to insure Waldo with VPI after the ordeal we had with Watson.

I am so glad to see more and more information out in the public about canine cancer, and especially about canine lymphoma. This truly gives me hope for more awareness and more research dollars to help heal future canine cancer patients.

And now, a cute look from Waldo:

More developments in the canine cancer field

I am pleased to see the rush of news lately about new treatments and new treatment centers for canine cancer, and particularly for canine lymphoma. This news release just came across my desk announcing two company's plans to explore "direct injection of liquid brachytherapy radioisotopes into tumors".

As Lesley said in a comment on a previous post, it's too late to save our little loved ones like Watson and Prince, but the recent flurry of news means that there is hope for future canine lymphoma patients.

News: new canine bone marrow transplant center

PharmaCom BioVet, Inc. has announced they are actively formalizing an academic/industry collaboration with the Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University to form the world's first dedicated veterinary canine bone marrow transplant center. Read the press release here.

On empathetic dogs

I found this interesting article about a new study that suggest that domestic dogs have the capacity for a fundamental form of empathy. How did the researchers come to this conclusion? Because they found taht dogs can "catch" a human's yawn. According to the article: "The phenomenon, called contagious yawning, has been found only in humans and other primates such as chimpanzees and is thought to relate to our ability to empathize with others."

Anyone who has spent time with a dog knows they have empathy. I, for one, don't need a contagious yawn to tell me that.

No pets left behind in New Orleans

It is good to know that we do learn from our mistakes.

News: Pet-food recall leads to 6,000 claims and counting

There is an article in today's USA Today newspaper about the class action lawsuit over the melamine-tainted pet food last year.

The article states: "Almost 6,000 claims have been filed in a class-action settlement stemming from last year's massive pet-food recall.

Menu Foods, other pet-food makers and retailers in May agreed to set up a $24 million cash fund to compensate pet owners whose cats and dogs became sick or died after eating food that had a contaminated ingredient from China.

The filing period for claims began May 30 and will run until Nov. 24.

"I expect that number (of claims) will go up a lot. There's quite a bit of time to go," says attorney Sherrie Savett of plaintiffs' law firm Berger & Montague.

The Food and Drug Administration never identified how many pets were affected, but it received more than 17,000 complaints."

For more info, read the article here.

Help feed hungry dogs

Last week, I added a link to Freekibble.com at the top of the blog. The site was founded by a girl in Bend, Oregon, who wanted to help feed the dogs in her local animal shelter. For every daily trivia question that is answered, 20 pieces of kibble are donated to hungry dogs.

Yes, you can only answer the trivia question once per day so please keep visiting the site. Even 20 pieces of kibble can make all the difference!

Please help BONES, if you can

I just found out about a great program that benefits the Beagles of New England States (BONES). If you save your Shaw's or Star Market receipts and send them to BONES, they can turn the receipts in and get a cash donation for their charity.

We adopted Watson from BONES in 2005. I can personally attest to the great job they do of rescuing and fostering beagles. Please help them if you can.

More information on the program, including where to send your receipts, can be found here: http://www.bonesbeagles.org/shaws.htm

How to find a lost dog

With the summer here and the upcoming July 4th holiday, everyone - pets included - will be spending more time outside. I thought it would be good to post this link: "How to find a lost dog". While basic, it is a good review on what to do.

Report: High chemical levels found in dogs and cats

There is a new report out today from the Environmental Working Group that found high levels of toxins in a small sampling of dogs and cats. To quote the report: They "found levels of brominated flame retardants (used in furniture, fabrics and electronics) in cats 23 times higher than in humans, and mercury levels (likely from fish in pet foods) five times higher. In dogs, levels of perfluorinated chemicals (from stain- and grease-proof coatings) were 2.4 times higher than in people. Overall, 35 chemicals in dogs and 46 in cats were found."

Why? They are still unsure but it is speculated that "Pets' high levels of exposure come about because they spend their days in direct contact with floors and the ground, where dust, dirt, chemicals and pesticides concentrate."

I've written about this concern before about greening our cleaners so that less toxins will be present in our house. I am so glad spring is here and have been opening the windows every afternoon to get some fresh air inside. Again I encourage anyone with pets to really think about what you use to clean your house. Anything that sprays becomes airborne and then settles on the floor where your dog or cat gets it on its paws and then ingests it. Also, please look at what you use to mop your floors since that has the same impact. Please be careful for you and your pet's health!

PS. On another note, you may have noticed that I now moderate the comments. I've been getting spam lately and will moderate comments until it stops.

What would you do??

This headline caught my eye: "Woman bites dog who attacked her dog". If that happened to you, what would you have done?

Pet insurance as a corporate benefit

As I had written in this post a few months back, we had decided to insure Waldo after our experiences with Watson's vet bills. Today, I saw this interesting article about companies that offer pet insurance as an employee benefit.

Even more interesting was this statistic from the article: "Pet insurance is still relatively rare, with only about 2 percent of pets in the United States insured." I am such an advocate of pet insurance knowing how expensive cancer treatments can be. If you don't have your pet insured, please check into it!