May is National Service Dog Eye Exam Month.  The American College of Veterinary Ophthamologists and Merial are offering free eye screening exams to working dogs. In order to make an appointment for a free exam, an owner must register by April 30th and  your dog must meet of the following criteria:

Service Dog groups including: guide dogs, hearing dogs, handicapped assistance dogs, detection dogs, police dogs, search and rescue dogs and formally trained and certified therapy dogs (through the Delta Society or similar). Dogs must be active ‘working dogs’ that were certified by a formal training program or organization or currently enrolled in a formal training program to qualify. The certifying organization could be national, regional or local in nature. Essentially the dogs need to have some sort of certification and/or training paperwork to qualify for this particular this program.

For more information and to register, go to the National Service Dog Eye Exam web site.

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The Van Andel Research Institute, a world class human cancer research institute, recently received a Federally fund grant through the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, to study five types of cancer that occur in both dogs and humans. The ultimate goal is to develop improved diagnostics and more individualized therapies for both canines and people.

We are requesting the help of purebred dog owners, who may own a dog affected with one of these cancers. The five initial cancers we are studying are:

1. Hemangiosarcoma
2. Lymphoma
3. Osteosarcoma
4. Malignant histiocytosis
5. Melanoma of the mouth or toe

We are requesting fresh (NOT in formalin, NOT frozen) tissue samples from tumors, when pets have biopsies, surgeries such as splenectomies, or are euthanized. Samples may be collected post mortem, as the euthanasia solution does not affect the DNA in either the dog’s blood or in the tumor cells.

Additionally, if you have a dog with one of these cancers who has already been treated (splenectomy, chemo, etc), we would still appreciate a blood sample along with a histopath report confirming the diagnosis. We need 3-5 mls of whole blood in an EDTA (purple top) tube. It can be sent priority mail, and blood can be shipped at room temperature.

If the pet is scheduled for surgery or, sadly, euthanasia, if you or your veterinarian contact us ahead of time, we can FedEx a collection kit which includes an overnight FedEx return shipping form, along with collection media and containers.

Owner consent forms and veterinary info pages can be found on our website.

I will be happy to answer any questions I can, as well. Owners, veterinarians and researchers working together will help us to unravel some of the mysteries of these nasty diseases.

Roe Froman, DVM

Senior Veterinary Research Scientist

Van Andel Research Institute

333 Bostwick Ave NE

Grand Rapids, MI 49503

616.234.5556

roe. froman @ vai. org

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Oscar has predicted 25 deaths by curling up next to patient in final hours

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours.

His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live….

via Cat plays furry grim reaper at nursing home – Pet health- msnbc.com.

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Researchers at the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation have found that Rottweilers who were not spayed until after the age of 6 were four times more likely to live an exceptionally longer life than Rottweilers who were spayed young.

“But taking away ovaries during the first four years of life completely erased the female survival advantage. We found that female rottweilers that kept their ovaries for at least six years were four times more likely to reach exceptional longevity compared to females who had the shortest lifetime ovary exposure.”

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The recalls involve two commonly used injectable veterinary drugs: butorphanol, a fast-acting opioid used to control pain from surgical procedures in dogs and cats, and the anesthetic agent ketamine.

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