Coming Events: Nov 14-15, 2009

Two big events happening this weekend!

The Hemopet Grand Re-Opening and Bubble Bath Day is taking place Sat. Nov 14 from 9AM – 2PM. All are welcome to tour Hemopet’s new facility and local vendors will also be available for early holiday shopping! Map to new address: Hemopet

CalGAP volunteers will be at the Irvine Spectrum on Sun. Nov 15 from 12PM – 4PM for the monthly Show & Tell. This is the second to last Spectrum show, so be sure to stop by!

Solvang Greyhound Fest

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It’s never too early to start planning greyhound events!

The Solvang Greyhound Fest is taking place Fri. Feb 19 – Sat. Feb 21, 2010 in Solvang, California. Registration is open – be sure to reserve your spot!

More information is available on their website: Solvang Greyhound Fest

November Chiro, Acupuncture, Massage, Laser Clinic

The October CalGAP Chiropractic/Acupuncture/Massage/Laser Clinic will be held on Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

Both clinics will be held at the usual Irvine Location from 4:00pm – 6:30pm

For an appointment call 949-888-5389, 949-275-0916 or email sdeeringer@gmail.com.

Special Notes:

• CalGAP will have CG (celebrating greyhound) Calendars available.

Please read the Clinic Information page for directions, service fees, and products available for sale.

Coming Events: Nov 7-8, 2009

Four different CalGAP events are happening this weekend!

Volunteers will be at three Petsmart locations:

• Rancho Santa Margarita – Sat Nov 7, 11AM-3PM (map)
• Lake Forest – Sun Nov 8, 11AM – 3pM (map)
• Santa Ana – Sun Nov 8, 11AM – 3PM (map)

Or stop by the CalGAP booth at the Family Pet Day Extravaganza in Lake Forest this Saturday, Nov 7 from 11AM – 3PM.

Local Greys in Osteosarcoma Study

Forwarded by CalGAP volunteer Denaire Walker, in reply to her inquiry email regarding use of her grey’s blood in the study:

My name is Snaevar and I´m working on the canine Osteosarcoma project at the Broad Institute.

I would like to thank you for the interest in our research and for donating a sample from your dog to our studies.

During the last three years there has been continuous sample collection ongoing, and we have now samples from about 500 dogs from many breeds, affected by Osteosarcoma as well as healthy older dogs that we have used as controls.

Two years ago we did a whole genome scan were we screened over 20,000 SNP markers in the genome in Greyhounds and Rottweilers affected with Osteosarcoma. We identified 6 regions of high interest that we have continued to work on. These regions are large and contain multiple genes so we have done more dense screening of markers in those regions to narrow down the search. The next step is to sequence these regions in few individuals to identify the mutation that is underlying the disease. The sequencing is on my to-do list for next month.

As the genomic technology evolves very rapidly we are as well planning to rerun the whole genome scan in Greyhounds with new set of 150,000 markers, with the hope to get better resolution and more accurately identify regions associated with the risk of Osteosarcoma.

More information on our ongoing research projects and how to donate new blood samples can be found here:

http://www.broad.mit.edu/mammals/dog/donate.html

Editor’s Note: Denaire sent in a blood sample from one of her greyhounds, Gibson, through Hemopet, on or about Oct 21, 2006. He had osteosarcoma. At the time, she understood  that there was a project being conducted that analyzed dogs with the disease and dogs that did not have the disease.

A Note on Bloat

In Bark Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009 p. 80, P. Khuly, VMD. quoted  Gilckman, et.al., from the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2000, 217:10:

“Dogs who eat rapidly from raised food bowls seem to suffer an increased risk of bloat.”

You can buy a special bowl to slow fast eaters down, or, my favorite cost saving method, moisten food with plenty of water and cross two spoons in the bowl. It takes time to eat around the spoons.

Khuly states, “getting rid of that raised feeding stand can help….Bloat is within our capacity to prevent – to a large extent….Eliminate predisposing factors (sic) for bloat. Feed from the ground and slow down speedy eaters.”