New blogs to read, fake links, wonky leg

It's been a while since I've checked in.... shame on me as I can give you a hundred excuses (work, home, summer vacation, etc.) but I really should be better about updating the blog.

This past Sunday was the second anniversary of Watson's passing. I still think about him often and we reminisce about his time with us. Time does heal, but time is also funny that an event can feel distant and close all at the same time.

Little Waldo is not so little anymore. He turned 3 in June. Still healthy, although he will go for leg surgery in December. His left leg is overly basset (i.e. crooked) and he needs some corrective surgery to hopefully give him a better quality of life as he ages. The leg is affecting his gait and his shoulder.

I've been keeping up on canine lymphoma news via Google alerts and have noticed a disturbing trend. Many of the canine cancer or canine lymphoma tags that Google picks up are actually URLs that direct you to a spam site when you click on them. It's been very frustrating to sort the wheat from the chaff.

That being said, I've found two new blogs worth a read. The first is simply titled "Canine Lymphoma" and offers facts about the disease and treatment. The second is a blog by pet nutritionist Susan Blake Davis called "Ask Ariel". Specifically, her post in response to supplements for a golden retriever with lymphoma caught my attention.

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.

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.

Q&A video about canine cancer

Here is a video by the Morris Animal Foundation featuring three veterinary oncologists from Colorado State University discussing canine cancer prevention and treatment. According to the video, cancer is the number one killer of dogs over two years old. Take a moment and find out more.

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.

Waldo gets a new bed

It may be scary times out there, but life in Waldo World is pretty darn good.

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.

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.

Bump watch

We found a new bump on Waldo's ear. It's small like the one on his back (about the size of a pencil eraser). Glad that we know what we're dealing with; otherwise, I'd be hauling him off to the vet again. It's made me wonder about how to spot a bad bump versus a benign cyst. I've been reading up on this topic and will post if I find anything interesting.

Other than the bumps, nothing new to report. I've been spending every free moment out in the garden with Waldo by my side sleeping in the sunshine and the grass.

It's a cyst!

Went to the vet today to have a look at Waldo's bump. She's 95% sure that it's a sebaceous cyst. Whew. I've never had a lumpy dog, but apparently these cysts are common in bassets. Dr. Karen says it will probably be the first of many bumps on him.

We could opt to have it surgically removed, but that would mean he'd be anesthetized just for one cyst. Anesthesia is very low risk, but why risk it at all for something benign. We decided to just keep an eye on it and see if it gets any bigger or starts to bother him more. In the meantime, she recommended that we put a warm washcloth on it to see if we can get it to go away.

Now I feel silly for being so alarmed over a bump... but I would rather err on the side of caution than to wait for something obviously bad to happen!

Uh, oh..... a bump.

Sorry to have been away from the blog. Spring is turning into summer here, and the garden chores have taken precedence over blogging when I have spare time from work.

As I had posted a few weeks ago, Waldo got a clean bill of health from his new vet. Since then, we've noticed a small bump on his lower back (above his haunches) grow bigger. It's clearly bothering him as we recently noticed he often tries to chew on it. I first noticed it a few days ago since it is now big enough now to make his fur stick up.

The bump is about the size of a pencil eraser and is firm. We're calling on Monday to bring him back to the vet. I don't want to seem overly-neurotic.... but I can't helping thinking of the "C" word.

Fingers crossed....

Mr. Crooked Leg

I realized yesterday while on my walk with Waldo that I never answered Fiona's question on why his leg is crooked. I thought I should post about it since it is a question we get all the time.

Basset hounds, as you can see from this stock photo on the left, tend to have "crooked" legs. In fact, they are bred to look this way even though the end result is that they have ankle and other leg joint problems as they age. It doesn't help that they also like to eat and tend to get fat, also putting more stress on their joints.

Waldo's left leg is more crooked than most, and his right leg is straighter than most. When side-by-side, it makes the left leg look even worse. People often ask us if he has broken his leg or sustained some kind of injury. No, as far as we know, he hasn't.

I asked our new vet this question and she said that maybe there was some damage to his left leg growth plate when he was young, or maybe he was born that way. It's hard to tell by a visual examination.

Judging by how quickly he runs and how high he can jump, the leg doesn't seem to bother him. We have noticed that when he sits for long periods (more than a minute), his leg will shake and he will shift weight to/from it. He doesn't seem to be in pain when he does this, more so that he feels unstable.

Dr. Karen says that what we are doing - keeping him slim and giving him joint supplements - is the right thing for now. He may have issues with the leg as he ages, but only time will tell.

Clean bill of health (again)

Waldo went to his new vet this morning and received a clean bill of health. He had his annual checkup in January, but needed his kennel cough vaccine for daycare. He saw his new vet, Dr. Karen, so he got another once-over (without blood tests this time - much to his relief).

Besides his overly crooked left leg (as illustrated in this photo to the left), he doesn't have any major issues. She did warn me that keeping him slim and continuing him on joint supplements will help him in his old age. Arthritis in the leg will be a given; it's just a matter of when and how severe. What we do now will help him in the future.

Otherwise, things at home are fairly quiet.



Summer is here and Waldo grabs some sun every morning in the kitchen as we eat breakfast. He is such a cutie....

















We've gotten him a few new treats: cow ears and a 24-inch bully stick. Yes, the stick is 2 feet long! It was like everlast candy since it took him days to consume. He was so happy to get it that he carried it around the house for a while.

Below, he enjoys a cow ear in my office.

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.

Changes

The theme for this post is changes.... First, a sad goodbye to Cole, another dog who was battling lymphoma. Cole was obviously very loved by her mom, Teresa, who posted so many great photos of her. My heart goes out to Teresa, her husband, and to Cole's sister Bridget.

In the blogosphere, Graham has decided to take a break from his blog. I found his blog shortly after Watson was diagnosed with lymphoma and I was frantically scouring the Net for resources. I feel like Graham and I have been on parallel tracks since we first met. He lost Prince and then I lost Watson; he gained Tilly and I had Waldo. I hope that he reconsiders and will keep us posted on how Tilly is doing.

On the weather front, Spring struck here yesterday but only for one day. It was almost 72 degrees F and I was finally able to clean up the vegetable garden and plant some seeds. I checked on the asparagus, but it's too early. Just some wishful thinking! And now back to the cold spring rains...

And finally, we have switched to a new vet. Our long-time vet has sold off her practice and taken a break. While we are waiting for her to land, we've started with a new vet down the street upon recommendation of some friends. Dr. Jill is quite pragmatic and level-headed, qualities that I like in a vet. Peanut went for a check-up and Waldo will meet her in a few weeks. Otherwise, all is quiet on the health front.

Best wishes to you all for a good weekend!

Petscreen newsletter

As you may remember from this previous post, I had signed onto the email list for Petscreen, a company based in the U.K. that is working on a canine lymphoma blood test. I just received my first newsletter with some interesting info (in bold). Here it is below (note: I did not edit the newsletter except to embed URLs):

Some time ago you registered on the PetScreen website and asked to be kept up to date with our progress. This e-mail message is therefore the first of periodic updates that we will be sending to you.

It has already been a very busy year for us. We have recently returned from the North American Veterinary Conference (NAVC) where we met up with many friends and collaborators in addition to meeting new potential partners to help us develop our range of tests and to supply them around the world.

Notably, we had a very enjoyable meeting with Dr Patty Olsen, President of the Morris Animal Foundation – an exceptional person who is making great strides in the fight against cancer in dogs. If you have not already seen the MAF Canine Cancer Campaign website, take a look here.

We discussed the progress on the research projects into osteosarcoma and hemangiosarcoma to which our Chairman, Graeme Radcliffe has provided donations. We have attached the Morris Animal Foundation’s press release to give you more information.

Straight after NAVC, Dr Kevin Slater (our Chief Executive) travelled to The Veterinary School at Columbia Missouri for meetings to discuss the collaborative work we are doing with Dr Carolyn Henry. Some exciting new ideas emerged which should help in the application of our DCA test to the treatment of lymphoma in dogs.

Later in February Kevin will be going to Copenhagen where he will give a paper describing the latest results from our lymphoma blood test to leading canine oncologists at the First World Veterinary Cancer Meeting. Dr Henry will also be giving a key note address on the subject of cancer screening in veterinary medicine. You can find out more about this meeting here.

Straight after the Copenhagen meeting it will be Crufts. We have a stand in Hall 5 number 132. If you are planning to attend Crufts this year, please come to see us. It would be good to meet you and to tell you in person more about our work.

Recruiting blood samples to enable us to develop new screening tests for cancer in dogs and cats continues to be a major focus for us. If your dog or cat has been diagnosed with cancer and you would be willing to donate a small sample of their blood, it would go a long way to helping us fight this disease. You could either let us know directly by replying to this e-mail or by going to the donation section of our website.

Finally, we thought you might be interested in the attached article from the Australian Shepherd Club of America which talks about fighting cancer in their breed and also makes specific reference to our lymphoma blood test in this capacity.

We hope to see you at Crufts, but if you cannot make it, we will be sending you another e-mail update in the coming months.

Kind regards
Renu Tuli

Operations Manager

Petscreen Ltd

I had no idea that they were asking for blood samples!! I'm not sure what I would do, even if I had known of this when Watson was sick. What do you think? Would you ever donate some of your dog's blood? Why or why not?

Green cleaning, revisited

I was in the car yesterday and happened to catch an NPR segment about Clorox entering the green cleaning market (listen to the segment here at NPR.com). Even though the green cleaner market is very small, it is a fast-growing segment of the overall market. As you all know, I have been doing my best to green up our household for a while now.

According to the Clorox web site, Green Works cleaners are not tested on animals and use recyclable packaging. The packaging looks eco-friendly with green liquid and a giant yellow daisy on the label. However, there are a few things that strike me as being a bit off about these products.

1) They do not disclose the ingredients. According to the NPR story, Clorox will not disclose the ingredients for several reasons. A look on their web site also comes up empty. As I said in this post, I don't use cleaning products without an ingredients list.

2) It is not made from post-consumer recycled plastic. You would think that a large, wealthy, multinational company like Clorox would have the resources to use recycled plastic in their packaging! Perhaps that can be a next step for them.

3) As a selling point, lists "Powerful natural cleaners that work as well as conventional cleaners." This perpetuates the myth that natural cleaners do not work very well. I disagree totally; in fact, some of the best cleaners (like ammonia and water, or baking soda) are considered natural cleaners.

I am a fan of seventh generation, method and Mrs. Meyers cleaners. If you want to clean up your house without creating a toxic environment for you and your pets, please check them out*!!!

*Note: I do not benefit in any way by referring people to these companies.

A working leg

Update: Waldo's leg seems to have recovered.  We're not sure if it's the meds or the rest, but as of last night he was walking on all four legs again.  Hoorah!  

Limpy dog

Waldo seems to have developed a limp late last week. We noticed he was a bit droopy and he was favoring his right rear leg so I took him to the vet on Thursday. Last year around this time, the same thing happened. His energy was low, he began to limp, and he was sleeping on his back with all four feet in the air.

After that trip to the vet, it was confirmed that he was Lyme positive, despite having the vaccine. We are also faithful users of FrontLine every month. It can get cold here in the winter, but I still keep up his FrontLine applications when it is not officially tick season. So, least year he was put on a treatment course of docycycline antibiotics and Previcox for pain.

Since he was showing 2 of the 3 symptoms from last year, our vet ran a C6 blood test for Lyme and put him on the same course of treatment. The next day (Friday), the results came back negative (meaning no active Lyme in his system). Given the result, we have the following choices as to what may be wrong:
1) an autoimmune reaction to leftover Lyme in his system
2) early arthritis
3) a ruptured ACL (although my vet did a physical exam and felt nothing wrong)

He will continue with the doxy and Previcox for a few more days. He has shown marginal improvement on the meds, as in he is now touching his right toes on the ground rather than lifting up the entire foot. If he is not better by Thursday, we may need x-rays.

In the meantime, I need to rest him completely - no running, jumping, stairs, etc. Someone needs to tell him that though...!

Hey, it's 2008!

Wow, can you believe that 2007 is over? Up until the past few snowstorms, I was in denial that it was winter. My brain was still thinking about those last few plants that never made it into the ground (the dead ones that are still in nursery pots and now under 4 inches of snow!)

I haven't blogged in a while, so there are some new updates to the site and to life in general. I finally updated my blogs/links list with some blogs that I read. There is some good news - Yogi is in remission! - and also some new friends (check out Sophie). I also added a poll asking if you guys check the ingredients label on your pet treats (more on that later in this post).

Our household had a good Christmas and a quiet end to 2007. Waldo was spoiled rotten with toys and treats from family and friends. He even got a nice little snowman squeaky toy from the daycare folks at Gibson Kennels.

From the moment Mr. Snowman made it out of the bag, Waldo took to dragging him around the house by his face. His face! Do I have a budding serial killer on my hands?!?!


Waldo also got his fair share of bully sticks; here he is chewing on one with the sweetest expression on his face.

As I have written about before, we've tried our best to clean up his diet, including switching him to a raw diet supplemented with high-quality kibble. Christmas is a time for indulgence, and I probably let him have more treats than he needed.

After Christmas is also the time when we all start to notice our expanding waistlines again, so I thought it was particularly funny when someone gave Waldo a bag of "Guilt-Free Treats" (tm). The marketer in me appreciated the marketing angle. I also appreciated the effort of them trademarking the generic phrase.

In case you can't read it, the front of the bag says "1/3 less fat" and "spoil 'em more often". When we got home, I left it by the table next to his kennel. (Each time we tell him to "get in your pen", we give him a treat.) This morning, I happen to turn over the bag and read the ingredients. The third ingredient was high fructose corn syrup! What??/

We've tried to rid our own diet of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) by actively reading the labels when we are at the market. (If you want more info on HFCS, here are a few good clips- one from the Mayo Clinic and another from San Francisco's major newspaper.) I'm still trying to make reading labels a regular habit; this weekend, I saw that Campbell's soup was on sale and threw a few cans in our cart without thinking twice. Rich picked them up and read the labels - each had either MSG or high fructose corn syrup in them. Yuck! No more creamy tomato soup for me......

Anyway, I hadn't thought about HFCS as an ingredient in pet food. I know it's used as a sweetener in sodas and cookies but I hadn't realized that it's in our pet foods too. I checked the pet treat cabinet and was surprised to find several forms of corn syrup (either high fructose corn syrup, regular corn syrup or corn syrup solids) listed as an ingredient in all of the bagged treats.

There are proponents of HFCS that will argue that it is not linked to obesity and that it is a cost-effective alternative to sugar. However, I can't think of any reason that HFCS should be in dog or cat treats! Dogs are carnivores whose digestive systems are meant to process meat; not HFCS.

So, I will ask the blogosphere: do you check your pet treat labels? Please take the poll (upper left of the blog page). If you need more space to weigh in on HFCS, please leave a comment.

Thanks and happy 2008 to all!