Newsletter - July 2005

Irish Wolfhound Club of America 76th National Specialty
Gray Summit, Missouri

This year the IWCA Nationals were held at Purina Farms, (near St. Louis) in Gray Summit, Mo.  It was a good location and the grounds were very nice. The host hotel, the Holiday Inn, was the nicest one we have had, since Afton Oklahoma, when it was held at the Shangri-La resort.  Although the entries were down from last year, there was still a good turnout with some lovely hounds.  Judging the regular confirmation classes was Joel Samaha, Meadowbrook IW's who has 36 years experience with the breed.  Judging the puppy sweepstakes was Donna Pitt, Calyddon IW's, who imported her fist IW from Ireland, in 1971.

Show results and photos can be seen @ http://www.iwclubofamerica.org/.

Just click on 2005 Specialty results.

In the event anyone may not be aware, the IWCA National Specialty is contracted to be held, at South Fork Ranch, for 2007 & 2008.  It will be so exciting to have it here, in Texas!

From the Editor:

Hello Everyone!

Well, I'm afraid it has been a long while since we saw our last issue of the newsletter. To our patient club members, sincere apologies. Many things have happened this past year, and those who had generously volunteered for the task, have become too busy to devote the required time. So, I have volunteered to fill in. All right... QUIT that *moaning* 'cause I can just hear YOU. <G>

Due to the lapse of time, between publications, I'm afraid this is a rather lengthy issue, and still, I was forced to leave some information I had hoped to include here, for the next issue.

As the cost for printing the newsletter (in color) has simply become too high, we will now be printing it in black and white. I know this will be a disappointment and that we have all become accustomed to seeing it in color which has been really nice because of the photos, however, as we are a small membership we feel our limited funds are best utilized for our IW rescue. Jeniffer Johnson, who generously set up our club website (at no charge to the club) some time ago, has agreed to post the most recent issue, of the newsletter, on the NTIWC website. So, if you enjoy seeing the photos, etc., in color, and have access to a computer, you may also access it there.

The NTIWC website URL is: http://ntiwc.offlead.com/

In all honesty, at this point, we are really debating if it is necessary to continue mailing a printed copy with so many folks having computers these days. If you absolutely do NOT have access to a PC, PLEASE let me know. I will keep a list and in the event we do discontinue mailing them, I will make certain those of you who do not have access to a PC continue to get a hard copy. Incidentally, for those of you who respond, via e-mail, I will assume that you actually DO have access to viewing it online. <G>

If you have any show brags, announcements, articles, or photos of interest, you would like to see included in our newsletter, please send them to me via e-mail, or snail mail.

Mailing address is:
Lesa Newbitt
1794 CR 4698
Boyd, TX 76023

Our NTIWC Annual picnic will be held in Grand Prairie, at the home of Doug & Melanie Gulley. As soon as details for the date & time are confirmed, Cherry will mail out separate fliers with the information, along with driving directions. We usually try for sometime in Oct., but this will depend on what is convenient for our hosts.

Also, Celtic Heritage Festival, (in Bedford, at the Boy's Ranch) will be held on Oct. 8th & 9th, this year. Cherry will also mail out a flier with details for this as the time nears.

New Membership Rosters are also in the works, as we speak. We have quite a few new members and some address changes, so Cherry is working on the new updated list and will be mailing these out shortly.

New Club Members please send me a bio, if you would like to introduce yourselves and your hounds, in an upcoming newsletter issue. Photos are welcome too. I would love to feature you!

Beating Bloat

An Analysis Of Risk And Prevention
by SHARON PFLAUMER
Published in Dog World Magazine April 2000 issue.

It's an owner's nightmare: returning home or waking up to find a beloved pet has died of gastric dllatation-volvulus, or bloat and torsion as it more commonly is known, an agonizing condition that can strike suddenly and fatally. Sadly, for many owners this night- mare has become a traumatic reality.

Dogs that succumb to the condition suffer immense pain and an obscenely distended abdomen that can grow to as large as a beach ball. They exit this world too early and too jarringly, and they leave their owners feeling helpless and confused. As new research emerges, however, owners may be able to fend off the fatal grasp of bloat and torsion and take steps to minimize the risks to their dogs.

Bloat is a condition in which there is a rapid accumulation of air in the stomach causing dilatation. Volvulus, or torsion, occurs when the dilated stomach twists, cutting off contact with the esophagus at one end and the small intestine at the other. This effectively isolates the stomach and traps the air.

The very enlarged, twisted stomach puts pressure on the blood vessels, often twisting them in the abdominal cavity and thus impairing blood flow back to the heart. Because the heart receives an insufficient amount of blood to pump, blood flow decreases to the rest of the body. With this, there is the fairly acute onset of death of the tissues that are deprived of oxygen, including the stomach wall itself, which rapidly undergoes necrosis.

The early signs of bloat include discomfort. The dog paces or repeatedly gets up and then lies back down. There also is excessive salivation, panting and unsuccessful attempts to vomit. As the condition worsens, the abdomen distends in most, but not all, dogs and feels taut like a drum. Shock follows (i.e., pale gums, weakness, shallow pulse, cool extremities, etc.). Often, dogs then go into a coma, and death is the ultimate outcome if they are untreated.

Uncovering Etiologies

Given that GDV is one of the leading causes of death in giant and large breeds, one would expect that much research into the cause of this pervasive killer would be under way. Yet, Larry Glickman, V.M.D., Dr.PH., a veterinary researcher at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine, presently is one of the only researchers pursuing this area of study. According to him, other groups currently researching the condition typically focus on Its treatment, not its cause.

Before beginning a career in teaching and research at Purdue, Glickman held faculty appointments at the Cornell and University of Pennsylvania schools of veterinary medicine. He is a pioneer in the application of epidemiologic methods to the study of pet dogs (e.g., he was the first to demonstrate that certain breeds are more susceptible to parvovirus infection; that high-fat, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets are associated with significantly improved survival rates in dogs with breast cancer; and that exposure to asbestos and insecticides increases the 5Q risk of lung and bladder cancers, respectively, in dogs). He received the Pfizer Research Award for Research Excellence and the Ralston Purina® Small Animal Research Award, and he has authored more than 175 scientific articles, book chapters and monographs on canine health. Glickman presented some of the findings from his most recent "Five-Year Purdue University Prospective Study of Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus" at the Canine Health Conference held in St. Louis in October 1999 and sponsored by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation. The purpose of the study was to isolate risk factors in order to identify the environmental situations and characteristics of dogs that make them more susceptible to the condition.

"We followed nearly 2,000 dogs belonging to 11 breeds for up to five years to determine which ones would develop bloat and which ones would not. Then, we related that data back to things like their breed, size, shape, personality, age, genetics, diet and how they were managed," he explains. The study was a two-part risk analysis performed at the breed and individual dog levels. At the conference, Glickman reported on the first part, the breed analysis findings, which are complete, but reported only the preliminary findings of the second part, the individual dog risk factors, which still are being analyzed at the time of this writing.

Analysis At The Breed Level

"In the first part, we tried to look at breed-related risk factors," Glickman explains. "That is, characteristics that would put a breed per se at higher risk than any other breed in the study." The large-breed dogs in his research were characterized as weighing between 50 pounds and 99 pounds at adult weight, arid the giant-breed dogs were characterized as weighing greater than 99 pounds at adult weight. (Smaller breeds were not studied because, for the most part, they are not largely affected by bloat.) The 11 breeds included in the study - chosen because they were known to be at high risk - were the Akita, Bloodhound, Collie, Great Dane, Irish Setter, Irish Wolfhound, Newfoundland, Poodle (Standard), Rottweiler, Saint Bernard and Weimaraner. Dogs were measured at AKC shows. On the breed level, the following characteristics were analyzed:

BREED SIZE

In terms of breed risk factors, Glickman found the incidence of bloat was high and almost identical in both the giant and large breed dogs in the study. The actual incidences of bloat in both the large and giant breeds were 23 and 26 cases, respectively, per 1,000 "dog years" at risk. (Each dog followed for one year represented one "dog year" at risk. Thus incidence rates were expressed in terms of 1,000 "dog years" at risk.) Out of the more than 1,900 dogs in the study, a total of 105 developed bloat. Their fatality rate was 29 percent. The breeds at highest risk in the study were the Great Dane (a giant breed), with a cumulative incidence rate of 15.7 percent, and the Bloodhound (a large breed), with a cumulative incidence rate of 8.7 percent. To figure lifetime rate of incidence, Glickman took observed incidence rates for the different breeds and made the assumptions that the average life span Is 10 years for the large breeds and 8 years for the giant breeds. He then calculated what the lifetime risk of bloat would be for these breeds. For the large breeds, it was 23 percent; for the giant breeds, 26 percent. In the case of the Great Dane specifically, it was 42 percent! That means more than four out of 10 Great Danes will bloat in their lifetimes. Of those that do, about one-third will die.

BREED SHAPE

According to Glickman, it's not just a breed's size that influences the rate of bloat, however. As the breed analysis also revealed, "Breeds that have a deeper and narrower abdomen are at greater risk, with the abdomen depth/width ratio being a much stronger predictor than the-chest depth/width ratio for breeds. We think that the deeper and the narrower the abdomen, the greater the room for the stomach ligaments to stretch down or lengthen as part of the aging process. The deeper abdomen provides more room for the stomach to actually descend with age. The combination of stretched ligaments and greater room allows the stomach to twist." (See the section below on aging.) Glickman says the fact that smaller breeds with deep, narrow abdomens have a higher incidence rate of bloat further supports the correlation of the abdomen depth/ratio and increased risk. "The only breeds of lesser size with a fairly high Incidence of bloat are Basset Hounds and Basset Hound shaped breeds [including Dachshunds]. Compared to the size of the dog, they have a very deep, narrow abdomen."

Study findings also revealed the risk of bloat sometimes markedly differs between two breeds of roughly the same size. Glickman believes this is due to the difference in their shape. "Compare the setters -- Irish and English -- to the retrievers -- Golden and Labrador. Here are two breed types that are roughly the same size, yet, the setters have a much higher incidence. Setters have a very deep, narrow abdomen, while retrievers have a shallower, wider abdomen."

TEMPERAMENT

Interestingly, personality also turned out to be a major predictor of bloat at the breed level. Glickman explains, "We asked each individual in the study to rate their dog on a scale of I to 10 for things like aggressive to people, aggressive to dogs, submissive to people, submissive to dogs, excitability, fearfulness, happiness, trainability and whether the dogs are easily upset by strangers or new situations. We took the average score for each of these characteristics. Then, we looked at the relationship between the scores and the risk of bloat for the breed as a whole. Two clear trends emerged. First, the more fearful the breed, the higher the risk of bloat, and second, the more happy and easygoing the breed, the lower the risk."

According to Glickman, it's not the amount of stress per se in a dog's life that is significant, but the way in which the animals body reacts to it. That reaction is mediated by personality. "This is an important distinction because clearly there is nothing we can do about stress," Glickman says. "All animals are stressed at times just as people. What is significant, though, is that a happy individual, whether a person or a dog, is less influenced by stressful situations than a highly anxious, fearful one."

Differing responses to stress might influence the risk of bloat for the following reason. "When animals are placed under stress, there are certain stress hormonal and neural responses. Some of these responses clearly affect gastric motility. A fearful dog may have a very different response physiologically to stress than a happy, easygoing dog. We think those physiological responses may contribute to the rotation of the stomach because of the motility. This is the second or third time we have demonstrated temperament -- particularly easygoingness or fearfulness -- is related to the risk of bloat," Glickman reports.

(Note: There were significant differences among the breeds in the study in terms of how the owners scored them for happiness/fearfulness. In addition, Glickman reports that even within breeds, there was variance of owner response; the scores represent averages. See the sidebar "The "Happiness' Score" for specific rankings.)

AGING

Although dogs of all ages were included in the study, in general, Glickman found the Incidence of bloat increased with advancing age. "Bloat is like many other diseases seen in dogs," he explains. "While it can occur at any age, generally, it is a disease of aging most commonly seen in older animals. That means we have to think about how bloat ties into the aging process (i.e., the aforementioned stretching or lengthening of the stomach ligaments)."

Breed-level analysis revealed the incidence of bloat in large-breed dogs started to increase dramatically at 3 years of age. In giant-breed dogs, that Increase with age started much sooner -- as early as 6 months of age. Given that bloat is a disease of aging, Glickman says these findings were predictable because giant-breed dogs age faster than do large-breed dogs and, therefore, don't live as long.

GENETICS

Given the findings of this and previous studies, Glickman does not believe bloat is genetically based in the sense that one gene is responsible for causing it. "We're dealing with a complex condition where several genes interact to produce bloat. For example, things like size, shape and personality have a genetic basis. After all, what is conformation but genetics? What is personality but genetics? My own overview of what's happening and where I think all of this is leading in both this study and in other studies is that, rather than a particular gene causing the condition, certain inherited characteristics predispose breeds or individual dogs to bloat."

Individual Dog Analysis

At the breed level, Glickman compared factors that differed among the 11 breeds in the study. "In the second part, we looked at individual dogs to see why those dogs were at increased risk compared to other dogs in the study," he says.

A lot more data were collected at the individual dog level because, as mentioned earlier, there was a total of more than 1,900 dogs in the study. Eighty-seven percent of their owners completed questionnaires, so detailed information was obtained on more than 1,600 dogs.

Risk factors analyzed in the individual dog level portion of the study included characteristics such as gender, neutering and spaying, weight, belching and flatulence, speed of eating and genetics; and environmental factors such as housing, travel, vaccination, restriction of water and exercise around mealtime, use of elevated food bowls, moistening food, giving preventive medications and number of meals fed. The following outlines some of the results:

GENDER

Individual dog level analysis con- firmed there is only a minimal difference in the risk of bloat between males and females. Males in the study had only a 14 percent higher incidence than did females.

NEUTERING AND SPAYING

Likewise, neutering did not emerge as an important factor influencing the risk of bloat in the study.

WEIGHT

Weight, on the other hand, did prove to be significant. "We have consistently found, and have been able to replicate it in this study, that dogs characterized by their owners as chronically underweight are at higher risk than dogs characterized as average weight or even overweight," Glickman notes. "This is a very important finding now that we've seen it for the third or fourth time. It suggests that, while bloat occurs acutely in dogs that show no previous indications they will bloat, these dogs may, in fact, have problems with their gastrointestinal tract long before they bloat, which may explain why they're chronically thin. A lot of factors point to the fad that there may be related, underlying problems within the UI tract that are manifested as doing poorly in terms of weight gain. Or it may simply be because they're fearful. It's hard to put weight on fearful dogs."

DIET

The Individual dog analysis also looked at the different types of food (e.g., canned, dry, semi-moist and table scraps) fed to the Individual dogs In terms of the amount, brand, specific ingredients, fat preservatives used, fat sources used, kibble size, etc. Study participants reported more than 150 types of food being fed. Due to the magnitude of collecting information on such a large number of foods, the diet analysis is not complete at present but will be forthcoming shortly.

SPEED OF EATING

Although specifics about the contents of diets still are being considered, Glickman did find in this study, as he had in previous studies, that the faster the dog ate, the greater the risk of bloat. He believes the increased risk may be related to gulping air while eating, which is one theory as to bloat's cause. The fact that many dogs that bloat do not do qo immediately after eating seemingly contradicts this, however.

"One of the most confusing things in studying bloat is trying to determine why the stomach fills and distends so rapidly," Glickman elaborates. "We used to think food was the cause. Now we know most bloat does not occur immediately after eating. In another study, we found that 70 percent of bloat cases occur late at night or early in the morning.

"We also now know that what's in the stomach is air, which can only come from one place. It has to be ingested or gulped. So, the issue becomes what causes some dogs to ingest large amounts of air and others not to. This suggests there is some underlying problem that does not just occur during an acute episode, but that happens repeatedly and that may be exacerbated by temperament. That is, dogs that don't cope well gulp air."

Gllckman's next study, which he already has begun and is funded by the Collie Club of America, will be a replication of a study done in Europe five years ago (F.J. Van Sluijs and W.T.C. Wolvekamp, "Abnormal Esophageal Motility in Dogs with Recurrent Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus," abstract, Vet Surgery, Vol. 22, No. 252, 1993). The European study found that the vast majority of dogs that have repeated episodes of bloat have defects in their swallowing mechanism. That is, when they swallow food, it doesn't flow as it should from the mouth to the stomach. In order to get the food to flow, the dogs have to gulp air to force it down.

"So far, we've only tested two dogs," he notes. "Both already had an episode of bloat and, it turned out, both had swallowing defects. For the first time, we may have some clues as to what the primary physical defect may be in terms of allowing this rapid intake of air. What we hope to do in the near future is to offer owners of dogs at high risk a test to determine if their swallowing mechanism is defective. The test would be done by giving the dog a bowl of barium-coated food and following the progression of the food through the esophageal tract with a procedure called fluoroscopy. This will allow us to determine if the dog needs to swallow air in order to get the food down. If we can demonstrate this in the study, then we should be able to identify the dogs at highest risk."

GAS

Tangent to the risk associated with eating rapidly and gulping air is the influence of gas in the gastrointestinal tract. "We also asked owners to characterize their dogs in terms of flatulence and belching to see if they were associated with increased risk of bloat," Glickman explains. "In fact, both were. In dogs that belch often, there was about a 60 percent increased risk of bloat. In dogs that had flatulence often vs. rarely, there was about a 20 percent increased risk. Dogs that had abdominal distension after eating regularly had about an 80 percent increased risk"

Glickman explains that if bloat/torsion is caused by the excessive swallowing of air, which he believes it is, then what is being passed orally (belching) or per rectum (flatulence) may be air and not gas. The fact that belching and flatulence may be more common in dogs that had bloat/torsion is perhaps because the same mechanism that leads to GDV also leads to belching and flatulence. In this case, he explains, there would be an association between belching/flatulence and GDV, but no causal relationship.

GENETICS

In the Individual dog analysis, having a first-degree relative that bloated turned out to be one of the strongest predictors. In fact, dogs with such relatives had a three- and four-fold increased risk of developing bloat. A first-degree relative was defined as either a parent, sibling or offspring, In other words, dogs that shared 50 percent of the gene pool.

Glickman believes grandparents that bloated also indicate risk. Pedigree analysis is difficult, however, because bloat is a disease of aging that may not manifest until a dog is 7 or 8 years old. Because of this, animals have to live almost their whole lives before bloat in the pedigree could be known. By that time, people often have lost track not only of grandparents, but parents and siblings as well.

Although getting complete family pedigrees with respect to bloat would be a difficult undertaking, Glickman believes doing so would be of great value. "Pedigree analysis would give us tremendous information about the specific mode of inheritance that we can't get just by asking about first- degree relatives," he says.

MANAGEMENT

In terms of environmental risk factors, which included management, the individual dog analysis looked at things such as how the animals were housed, if they travelled, the frequency of vaccination, etc. None of these appeared to be associated with an altered risk of bloat. However, the study did reveal an increased risk of bloat associated with things such as restricting exercise before and alter eating, restricting water before and after eating, giving preventive medications, moistening the food and raising the bowl's height. These findings were of great interest to Glickman because, until now, these measures commonly were thought to be preventive.

To further clarify these seemingly contradictory findings, Gilckman compared the rate of use of these preventive measures in dogs that had a first-degree relative that bloated and in those that did not. He found that these practices more commonly were used by owners with dogs at high risk. Glickman then further analyzed the data to determine whether these practices are associated with bloat simply because the owners accurately had identified the high-risk dogs ahead of time, or if they actually were harmful or had no effect.

Prior to this last step in his analysis, his gut feeling was that all these practices probably would prove to have no effect. Indeed, his "final analysis shows that this is correct - except for raising the food bowl, which does appear to increase the risk of bloat; the higher the bowl, the higher the risk." Glickman says the elevation may be causing an increased incidence of aerophagia (excessive swallowing of air), which could account for the higher risk.

MEAL FREQUENCY

Another commonly recommended measure for preventing bloat is feeding smaller, multiple meals. This procedure's effectiveness was horn out by the individual analysis part of the study. "In previous studies, we showed that as the number of meals fed per day increases, the risk of bloat decreases. We found the same thing in this study. If you take that to the fullest, then free-feeding should be best. We don't have the data to support that conclusion, however, because we don't have enough data on free-feeding in any of these studies to look at it by itself, since free-feeding is not commonly done with large- and giant-breed dogs." Glickman believes the link between feeding multiple meals and a lower incidence of bloat may be related to less distension of the stomach with smaller meals.

Lowering The Risks

After reviewing the results of Glickman's study, if you believe your dog may be in the high-risk category, there are steps you can take to actively reduce the chances of bloat/torsion. Glickman makes the following preliminary recommendations based on what already is known:

1. Don't breed a dog if a first-degree relative has suffered an episode of bloat.
2. Consider a prophylactic gastropexy for dogs that fit the high-risk profile. (Note: Prophylactic gastropexy should be performed only if the dog already is neutered or will be neutered at the time of gastropexy. Breeders who prevent high-risk dogs from bloating by opting for this surgery, but then continue to breed the dogs mask the problem and destroy their selection criteria in a breeding context. For more in- formation on this procedure, see the sidebar, "Emergency Treatment And Prevention.")
3. Owners who have dogs that eat rapidly should do anything they can to slow the speed of eating. Owners in the study suggested all sorts of methods, some of which were quite effective. The most common and most effective strategy was to place a large object that the dog had to eat around in the food bowl. The object that worked best, although it sounds a little unusual, was a heavy chain with big links. Unlike a rock, which the dog can push out of the way, a heavy link chain forces the dog to eat under and around it.
4. Owners of anxious or fearful dogs should consider behavior modification. A growing number of animal behaviorists and veterinarians know how to intervene with these dogs. In some instances, drug therapy also may be warranted.
5. Feed smaller, multiple meals instead of one large meal per day.
6. Do not elevate the food bowl.

After his analysis of the study's results is complete, Glickman will make dietary recommendations based on types of feed if they are indicated.

Glickman believes the greatest value of this study is that it is prospective. "That means we collected all the information on the animals before we or the owners ever knew which ones would develop bloat and which would not," he explains. "Thus we and the owners were totally unbiased in the way in which the information was collected.

"This is very different from all the other studies that have been done up until now. They took dogs that had already bloated and dogs that had not bloated and then went back and asked owners how they managed the dogs. Of course, owners of dogs that bloated remembered things much differently than owners of dogs that did not."

The initial study findings will be published shortly in the Journal of American Veterinary Medicine. It is hoped that this and future research in this area finally will begin to offer owners definitive preventive powers against this horrific condition.

Editor's note: The results of the dietary analysis component of Glickman's research will be featured in a future DOG WORLD article.

A Dog Writers Association of America annual writing competition finalist, Sharon Pflaamer holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Northern illinois University and has been writing on the subject of dogs for 74 years. She shares her life with Bronmaur's Conquistador (Kassie) and Bronmaur's Cross Current (Brook), two mahogany sable and white rough Collies, whom she says fill her days with laughter and love.

CAPTIONS The stomach of a dog afflicted with bloat rapidly fills with air, causing it to dilate, Torsion occurs when the enlarged stomach twists, cutting off contact with the esophagus and impairing blood vessels, resulting in decreased blood flow to the rest of the body. To prevent dogs from eating too quickly and gulping excess air, which are believed to contribute to bloat, some owners place a heavy chain in the food bowl.

*Copyright 2002, Jill Swedlow. Sunnyside Danes. All rights reserved. Jill is a breeder, exhibitor and licensed AKC judge in the United States who will be judging the 2002 National Great Dane Speciality. Our thanks to her willingness to share this article for educational purposes.

New Heart Medication

Information for dog owners about the causes of heart failure in dogs, and about the breakthrough treatment Vetmedin Here is a link to order the new heart drug that is not yet available in this country, pimobendan or Vetmedin. It is supposed to really extend the life of heart dogs.

http://www.globaldrug.tv/vetmedin.asp

Irish Fest - March 2005

This year the weather was great and it certainly seemed to contribute to folks getting out and attending the festival. Both days were incredibly busy and very crowded at the indoor booths. This is THE biggest, and usually the most successful, opportunity each year, for us to raise funds for IW Rescue. The beer pint glasses (with the etched wolfhound heads) were a great seller. We also had the T-shirts and club coffee mugs available. On the right are some photos of the booth this year. The middle photo is new member, Dennis Dewey, and his hounds. Robin Smith is pictured on bottom, dressing her hound with the $$ IW rescue jackets, in hopes to load up the pockets with LOTS of donations.

There is a new startup IW club, in Arkansas that is just getting their group going, this past year. I believe they will also be setting up a booth, at Irish Fest, in March 06. So EVERYBODY please put on your thinking caps for some new and outstanding ideas for things we can do, that will attract folks to our booth by the herds, will you?

I haven't spoken to Cherry yet, but I was actually wondering about the possibility of raffle sales, with a drawing to be held on the Sun. afternoon? If anyone would be interested in making a donation, or if you can come up with a unique idea, please let me know!!

Let's make this upcoming IF our MOST successful ever, for funds raised. The rescue hounds are counting on OUR support and we can make a difference for them.

Funding the Fight Against Cancer

Two potential breakthrough vaccines for dogs.

Cancer is the number one cause of death in dogs, according to Dr. David Vail a cancer researcher at Colorado State University. "A lot of studies are being done to change that statistic", he says. Dr Vail would know. With funding from Morris Animal Foundation, he's been studying cancer in dogs and advancing treatments for more than a decade.

Dr. Vail recently completed two vaccine studies that focused on lymphoma and melanoma, two common Care canine cancers. These diseases have different characteristics and behave differently, but both have low survival rates.

"Lymphoma is far and away one of the most common tumors I deal with day to day and melanoma is devastating to dogs and their owners, especially if it's not caught early" Dr. Vail says.

For these cancers, veterinarians can effectively treat the malignant area using surgery or radiation. But since the cancer is usually present in other areas of the body, it is often a matter of time before it reappears.

Dr. Vail tested two promising new treatments to reduce the chances of reoccurrence: vaccines to target lymphoma and melanoma. Both would work with a primary treatment, like chemotherapy or surgery, to help eliminate the cancerous cells throughout the dog's body.

The vaccines work to stimulate the animal's immune system to seek out and kill the cancer cells not eliminated by the primary treatment.

"With these vaccines, we should be able to increase survival rates and enhance quality of life for dogs with lymphoma or melanoma," Dr. Vail says.

He hasn't crossed the finish line yet, though. Although both vaccines were proven safe, further testing is needed to increase their efficiency and reliability. He says, "Every action is a baby step that gets us a little closer to our ultimate goal."

Co-sponsors: Alan Kalter & Chris Lenotte; Mr. & Mrs. Michael Zakroff; Terry Stephen, DVM, and the Carter Family Foundatin; The Doberman Pinscher Foundation of America, Inc.; The Bull Terrier Welfare Foundation; Pepper Memorial Classic Fund in memory of Lin's Silver Pepper; Barbara R. Lewis in loving memory of Tag Along; Scottish Terrier Club of America Health Fund Trust; Neil & Sylvia Van Sloun Foundation; in memory of Chelsea, queen of creation (anonymous); in memory of MicroBov and Jewel (anonymous); Laura Cook; Harriet & Ed Vincent; Jill & Terry Ferrera and M. Jacob & Sons; K-9 CARE; Mrs. Mary Alice Baumberger

YOU CAN HELP. Your donation is critical in helping scientists like Dr. Vail continue their work to treat cancer in dogs. Make a gift at www.Morris Animal Foundation.org

*Reprinted from Morris Animal Foundation newsletter Animal News Vol.5 #2

New Members Feature

"Taryn" Relocates to North Texas!

Brenda & Gary Fairbanks, formerly of Orville, Ca. have recently relocated to Collinswood, TX. We have really enjoyed getting to know them and it is so exciting to have reputable breeders, such as they are know to be, now residing in our own backyard. We are indeed fortunate they have decided to retire here, in North Central Texas. They have been very successful with their lovely hounds, over the years. In fact, they had some fantastic wins, at the IWCA Nationals, in St. Louis, this past May. They were also active in lure coursing events with their hounds, successfully gaining numerous titles, in California.

They are presently keeping busy, getting settled into their new home and tending to their two lovely litters of puppies, born in June.

"Congratulations" on your fantastic wins, at the IWCA Specialty, Brenda & Gary...

And "WELCOME to TEXAS"!!

WHELPING NEWS

The Fairbanks were blessed with puppies, in June. Puppies are occasionally available, to approved homes.

Sire: CH Taryn Gallagher
Dam: Taryn's Sadie
Whelped 6-17-05 4 girls and 2 boys

Sire: CH Taryn Salute to Kerryarc
Dam: CH Glory Be of Kerryarc
Whelped 6-25-05 4 girls and 4 boys

For additional information please contact Brenda and Gary @ TARYNIWH@MSN.COM or 903-429-0464.