Louie's Legacy: CIL Research-- please participate and share.

In Louie's memory, we are initiating research into Canine Intestinal Lymphangiectasia which we hope to use to encourage research into better diagnostic tools for this disease. Too many dogs die undiagnosed because the signs of CIL are not recognized, or they die because the diagnosis came too late. We want Louie's legacy to be to change that. Please compete the survey if you have a dog with CIL. The survey will ask several screening questions and then asks about four blood tests. Do not start the survey until you have the blood test results in your hand. Use the earliest blood tests run, the ones done during your very first vet visit when your dog began having symptoms.

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.

Please join us at our new home

We're going to be phasing out this blog and the sister "pet health action" blog in order to consolidate all of our writing in one place.  I'll leave this blog up because a lot of people hit it searching for information about Lymphangiectasia, but this will be my last new post here.  The "Louie Saving" phase of my life is pretty much done and now we've moved forward to helping others as we can.

In the past year, Louie's Facebook page has grown and, with it, my own desire to focus on where I can make a difference for companion animals.  We hope that our new website at http://www.louiethelovemuffin.com and our new blog at http://www.louiethelovemuffin.com/wp will be avenues for exploring how best to make that happen.

Thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this blog and/or promoted it in some way.  Please come and join us at the new site.

hugs,

Louie's Mom

Trial Diet Packs Available

I have decided to give readers the opportunity to try out the diet that Louie is currently eating, without making the initial investment in all the separate ingredients.  My hope is that some of the dogs who are having trouble getting stable might benefit from the same diet Louie is eating.

Trial packs will contain 7 cups of dry ingredients, to which you will add water and a very low fat protein of your choice.  99% fat free turkey is a good choice, as is a low-fat fish such as tilapia, but other, low fat meats might also be used.   Chicken is not recommended, as many dogs seem to be sensitive to it.

One pack, with water and meat added, should make about 16 cups of food.   Cost for each pack is $7.00 + shipping (this pretty much just covers my costs).

For full information about what is in the trial packs, please see the recipe here.  If you are interested in purchasing a trial pack from me, please send me an e-mail at louiesmom@savelouie.com.

We will be at BlogPaws next week

Good morning,

I feel as though I've been spreading myself too thin with all the different pages and groups and blogs I've got started.  So I decided to go to BlogPaws to see if I can figure out how to bring all these different things under one umbrella and make it work for us.  The bulk of my posting has been to Louie's facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Louie-the-Love-Muffin/105757646150624

because that seems to be where the most people are.  So while we're not "blogging" much, per se, we've still been posting an awful lot (too much, if you ask some people!)

So why am I breaking radio silence here now?  To let you all know that we will be there, hoping to connect with other like-minded bloggers.  You see, over the next year, I hope to roll out a new site at http://www.louiethelovemuffin.com where I can put all the blogs and pages together.  I'll want to host and feature other blogs and writers, as well.

So, if you want to connect at BlogPaws, please drop me a line at louiesmom@savelouie.com or stop by our Facebook page and give us a shout out.

Canine Lymphangiectasia Support is now on Facebook

We now have a companion page on Facebook for those needing support.  Please join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Canine-lymphangiectasia-support/113438495405884 .

About the Pet Health Action Network

Recently we got involved in a California campaign to formally legalize vaccination exemptions for dogs whose veterinarians determine they are too sick to be vaccinated.  Because Louie is one of those dogs, the legislation which was proposed has the potential to directly impact his life, and mine too.

Currently, California law leaves it to the local public health officer to decide whether or not letters of exemption written by veterinarians will excuse pets from being vaccinated.  The bill that was introduced, AB-2000 (also known as Molly's Law), would have required all counties to accept these recommendations from veterinarians.

My initial involvement in this bill came about due to a troublesome clause which was inserted into the language as an amendment, stipulating in essence that any dog in California with a medical exemption from rabies vaccination would have to be quarantined.  I, and others, objected to that language while agreeing with the overall spirit of the bill itself, and so, with the help of my friend Cynthia Jeremica (whose dog is also immuno-compromised due to rabies vaccine), the wonderful Dr. Jean Dodds of Hemopet, Jan Rasmusen of dogs4dogs.com, and Kris L. Christine of the Rabies Challenge Fund, I crafted a press release highlighting the problem with the proposed amendment.  Cynthia, Louie and I, along with Cynthia's dog, Ruby, all ended up on the Sacramento news to talk about the problem.  We were successful in getting the quarantine language struck from the bill and then worked hard to get the bill passed, but ultimately the whole bill was voted down in committee due to some political wrangling behind the scenes.

Though we tried very hard to get the word out about the bill to pet owners in California, urging them to call their congressional representatives, in hindsight it became clear that what we lacked was a network of concerned citizens willing to pick up the phone and make those calls.  When AB 2000 was voted down, I realized that it might be important to the health of pets everywhere if we could put information about issues that affect the health of our companion animals directly into the hands of those people most interested and most willing to take action.  And so the Pet Health Action Network (PHAN) was born.

But PHAN needs your help if it is to grow into what we need it to be in order to be an effective force for our pets.  There are several ways you can receive information from PHAN.  You can follow us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, bookmark our blog, or follow us on NetworkedBlogs.   We ask you also to please share PHAN with your pet-oriented friends.   We've just begun this journey, and we may be small now, but we don't intend to remain that way for long.

Finally, leave us a comment and give us your own ideas about how PHAN can grow.  Let's work together to make this world a better place for those who don't have a voice of their own-- our beloved companion animals.

Back to the subject at hand-- sort of.

It's been a while since I wrote something here about Lymphangiectasia, but something happened this weekend which has given me pause and a reason to bring it up here once again.

A while back (a long while back) I wrote a post here entitled Lymphangiectasia is not a death sentence.  I wrote this post because I was seeing so many people coming to the canine lymphangiectasia support group in utter despair, having been all over the internet to read the gloom and doom predictions that are posted on various websites mentioning the disease.  I went through all of that myself, when we first got our diagnosis, and because there was no such thing then as a lymphangiectasia support group, I had to navigate those waters on my own.  And we were lucky.  Not all dogs will make it, but so far, we've done well.

My own experience tells me that, if you can figure out HOW to get these dogs stable, and if you don't get cocky and start feeding treats and fatty foods again, you're likely going to have a very good remission, perhaps one that will last the rest of the dog's expected life span.   I know this, not only because Louie has been in a prolonged remission, but because I'm aware of other dogs who lived many, many years and died of old age AFTER being diagnosed with lymphangiectasia.  This is what gave me the hope to soldier on, in spite of the gloom and doom I was reading everywhere.

Yesterday, one of our support group members wrote to the group to let us know she's looking for another vet.  The reason?  Her vet told her that, by keeping her dog alive, she was consigning the dog to years of misery with a painful disease.

This just broke my heart to read.  If I thought that my own dog with this disease has been miserable and in pain in the years since his remission began, I couldn't live with myself.  It's just not true; he's a happy, energetic, playful little imp who utterly owns my heart, and I fully intend to keep him around as long as I possibly can--provided he remains happy and energetic.  If and when he gets to a point at which there isn't hope, I think we'll both know it.

So it's quite sad, to me, that a veterinary professional came out and all but accused our group member of selfishly keeping her dog alive against its better interest.

Fortunately, she had us to turn to.  From my reading, I know that there's older literature out there which paints a disturbing picture, but that's not the whole story.  There's also newer research and newer ideas about treatment and prognosis but, unfortunately, this disease is so rarely considered and diagnosed that many vets don't ever have a reason to research what's new in the treatment of this disease.  Many, if not most, have never seen a case.

I don't know what I would have done if the doctors at UC Davis had given up on us.  We did get to a point at which they didn't know where to turn or what to do, but that was because they missed his protein allergies.  No one ever accused me of keeping him going just because I couldn't bear to part with him, and he was awfully, awfully sick.  Most of our friends who saw him had a hard time believing that he could recover, but recover he did.

I know he will never be cured.  He will always have to be carefully fed, and watched, and kept away from all things fatty and that long list of proteins he just can't eat.  But that's okay.

I wonder sometimes if vets don't just get so jaded by owners who don't want to spend the money to really diagnose and treat a disease like this.  Is that it?  If so, I hope some of them might take pause at our story, and our friend's story, and realize that some of us will take the time, make the effort, spend the money, and do what is needed to give these dogs the chance they need.

For us, these dogs are family.  It might just be that the owners are looking for that one glimmer of hope to know what to do.  None of us wants to create or prolong misery.  This is not about being selfish, it's about being loved by a creature that trusts you completely.  It's about giving what you can in order to be the person who deserves that trust.

I would urge anyone out there who's receiving a gloom and doom message from their vet to seek another opinion.  And, for the vets, I would urge you to recognize that some of these dogs DO have a chance, despite what you might have read in veterinary school.

Do you have room in your home and heart?

Pet rescue organizations are really struggling right now.  With the downturn in the economy, many families have been forced to make difficult financial decisions, which, in the kinder scenarios, may include "rehoming" the family pet(s).  Many of these pets are now showing up in shelters, where already overburdened systems are being pushed past their limits.

This post isn't meant to take a stand one way or another on kill vs. no-kill shelters or how and why animals end up abandoned; those will be topics for another day, as there is already much written in the blogosphere on these subjects.  This post is about the simple fact that, no matter where you stand on those issues, unwanted dogs, cats and other creatures are being euthanized today, right now-- in record numbers-- because they are homeless.

Rescue groups, both breed specific and non-specific, do their best to take in as many animals as they can, but it has never been enough.  Today, many rescue groups are bulging at the seams and turning away scores of adoptable pets simply because there is no more room at the Inn.  Foster homes are full, and animals who might have had a good chance one or two years ago are now being euthanized (a polite term for killed), because rescue resources have been exhausted, stretched to the breaking point.

So what does this have to do with you?

For starters, you can take a look into your heart and see if you have room there for a foster animal.  Though rescues need help in all areas (I volunteer but cannot foster, myself), the need for foster homes for these animals is at a critical point.

The rewards of working in rescue are enormous.

Second, if you managed to find room in your heart (and home) for a foster, contact a local rescue organization and ask to apply to become a representative.  If you qualify, they will be thrilled to have your help.

All rescues are different, but typical requirements are not that hard to meet.  Usually, for breed specific rescues, they will want you to have some familiarity with the breed, and experience in caring for animals.  They will want your home to be a safe and caring environment for an animal who may be frightened or may have been abused.  They will want to know that you provide proper healthcare to your own pets, and are aware of and prepared to handle any potential behavior problems that may arise between "guest" animals and your existing pets.

If you think you can handle the above, I urge you to consider contacting a rescue group today.  Now, more than ever, you are needed.

Did I mention that the rewards are enormous?  Can you think of many things more satisfying than saving the life of an innocent animal and seeing it through to its new, loving family?

I didn't think so.

Sunday Pet Peeve

I just visited the Facebook page of a company that makes a premium dog food, of which I am quite fond.  However, today I was dismayed to read a discussion there about feeding a variety of their products, which contain different protein sources, as a way to keep dogs interested in the food.

This probably isn't horrible advice in and of itself, but someone then asked about advice they'd been given by their veterinarian for their own dog, who is young but is beginning to show signs of food allergies (reacting to certain types of treats with hives and itching).  She said she'd been told to stick with one kind of food and not to vary the dog's diet.

Here's the pet peeve part.  The company spokesperson came on and told this person that a varied diet would be healthier for her dog.

I found myself compelled to post and express my dismay that a corporate spokesperson (whom I assume is not a veterinarian) would be giving veterinary advice to a customer, particularly advice that contradicts advice given by an actual vet.  I then went on to explain that dogs who show allergic tendencies often end up needing to be fed a novel protein and the more proteins you expose them to while young, the more difficult it will be to find anything they can eat if the condition flares up.  This is a common path to IBD in dogs, which is very serious and life-threatening.

Now, I'm not a vet myself, but I know this because I've had to deal with these issues in my own dogs (I have two that are atopic) and I know the horrors of trying to do an elimination diet trial with a dog that has eaten just about everything.  Unless you want to be stuck feeding exotic proteins like venison or buffalo for the rest of your dog's life (and even those are not really novel to many diets anymore), you may want to stop and reconsider what you're putting on your sensitive dog's plate every day and what you and your sensitive dog will have to endure if you ever do find yourself on a search for a palatable protein.

The thing that really bugs me here is that the question was asked of a corporation, whose best interest is clearly served by getting you to purchase all their products, and that the corporation was all too happy to trot out the corporate line suggesting nothing could possibly go wrong as long as you feed THEIR products.

This is a company I've respected a great deal, whose products I have used and recommended.  I still love their products, but I'm starting to believe that they've gotten a bit drunk with their own success.

Bottom line in this pet peeve of mine:  If you have questions about your dog's health, and if you want an educated opinion, it's best to talk to vets, to do research on your own, and learn all you can about the condition in question in order to form your own, educated opinion using unbiased resources.  We shouldn't be too trusting of those whose interests are served by providing a certain answer.

Canine Lymphangiectasia Support Group is up with improved load times!

Anyone who may have been frustrated by an attempt to get into the Lymphangiectasia support group (link at top of righthand column) should be pleased to note that the load times have been improved and the site is up and functioning well.  Please join us! 

A good day to celebrate heroes

This is a good day to celebrate heroes.  I'm not going to get into political discussion this morning, but instead would like to share with you all a video which was created by one of my own personal heroes.



Her name is Sue, and she works in dog rescue.  Those are the people who pull dogs out of shelters and provide foster homes for them until a "forever" home can be found.  Sue has opened her home and heart to countless needy dogs over the years.  She was foster mom to one of my own, bringing him all the way to California from Michigan herself.  I love Sue just for this, but if that were not enough, she also opens her heart to human children, providing a loving home for four refugee children from war-torn nations.

Sue is not wealthy. She works a full-time job to make ends meet, just like most of us.

There are not enough Sues in the world.  I wish I had a tenth of her energy and drive.  Sue made this movie to honor all the foster dogs she's taken in over the years, and I'm proud to share that with you all today, because this is a good day to celebrate heroes, and Sue is one of mine.

Salmonella in Pet Food can Sicken Children

There are many opinions about the presence of salmonella in pet foods, but one thing we can all agree on is that, whereas it may or may not sicken our pets, it does sicken humans.  Now researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with researchers from several state health departments, have found a link between contaminated pet foods and illness in children.

You can read more about it here .

Banfield under fire

From VIN News comes this underreported story about legal actions taken by veterinarians working at a Banfield pet hospital in Oregon:

"A lawsuit by an ex-Banfield veterinarian in Oregon alleging unethical medical and business practices by the corporation has been dismissed, but a second veterinarian who once worked at the same clinic has a similar complaint pending before the state Bureau of Labor and Industries....

Like Nix, Esquivel alleges that veterinarians and staff at Nyberg Woods were pressed by their superiors to maximize the clinic’s profits at the expense of patient care and welfare, such as by ordering frequent costly ultrasound images and by presenting the clinic as a night-time emergency-care center when it was not properly staffed and equipped to provide true emergency service. 

Esquivel also alleges that she was under pressure to generate a specific amount of revenue for the clinic — $2,200 a day — but was assigned to handle a large share of free wellness exams for which clients were billed “only for vaccines and other small procedures,” and therefore was unable to meet her quota, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that Nyberg Woods struggled to retain clients and that Esquivel had to skip meal and rest breaks to cover the workload. This paradoxical situation arose because management scheduled fewer people per shift to save money, Shahri said in an interview.

By the end of 2008, according to the complaint, Esquivel had become ill from the working conditions and chronic stress. Following 60 days of medical leave, she gave Banfield notice that she would quit “unless she could be assured that their practices would change,” the complaint states. She did not receive a response, but a termination notice was placed in her employee file, according to the complaint."

Companion Animal Protection Legislation

This July, the state of Delaware passed comprehensive legislation which mandates that animal shelters must work with rescue groups who wish to help them find homes for shelter animals.

According to the No Kill Advocacy Center:

This law:

• mandates the programs and services which have proven so successful at lifesaving in shelters which have implemented them;
• follows the only model that has actually created a No Kill community; and,
• focuses its effort on the very shelters that are doing the killing.

What do you think?  Could a law like this work in a cash-strapped state like California?  

Hartz Mountain Recalls close to 75,000 bags of treats

Hartz Mountain Corporation is recalling 74,700 8-oz bags of Hartz Naturals Real Beef Treats for Dogs, lot code BZ0969101E, UPC number 32700-11519, which were imported by Hartz from a Brazilian supplier, Bertin S.A., and which were distributed to a number of customers in the United States.  While regular testing conducted by Bertin (prior to shipment to the US) did not detect the presence of Salmonella in any packages of this product, random sample testing conducted by FDA did indicate the presence of Salmonella.   Hartz is aggressively investigating the source of the problem.

Although Hartz has not received any reports of animals or humans becoming ill as a result of coming into contact with this product, Hartz is taking immediate steps to remove the product from all retail stores and distribution centers.  Dog owners having purchased this product should check the lot code on their bag, and, if the code is not visible, or if the bag has lot codeBZ0969101E imprinted thereon, they should immediately discontinue use of the product and discard it in a proper manner.

Consumers can contact Hartz at 1-800-275-1414 at any time with any questions they may have and for information on how to obtain reimbursement for purchased product.  

Full press release here 

Something New

The failure to pass AB 2000 this week has left me thinking that we need a better way to connect folks who are concerned about pet health and legislation that affects pets and pet health.

Specifically, I need to be more active in networking in order to bring people together who would be willing to act (make phone calls, rattle cages) in the event that action is needed-- what we failed to do for AB 2000.

Yes, some of us did act, but not enough.  Though I posted my link dutifully on Facebook, the number of hits to that link was small, and those from California even smaller, surely not enough to make the statement we hoped for.  And although I'm grateful to those who did take the time to repost the link and make the phone calls needed, I personally believe that I could have done better.  I could have done more.

In that spirit, I'm making a commitment to use this blog as a tool for connecting people who want to be informed when something is going on that might affect the life or health of your pet.  And I've joined the Saturday Pet Blog Hop today to bring people out to take a look at what I'd like to do.

Welcome!

URGENT--California AB 2000 Action Alert "Molly's Bill"

This image shows how Louie was sickened by his last rabies vaccine.  AB 2000 seeks to allow legal exemptions from vaccination for dogs like Louie who are too sick to vaccinate. 

Please make 3 calls: Appropriations Committee (916-651-4101), Senator Kehoe (916) 651-4039, Monica Wagoner Dept. Health (916) 440-7502 ask them to stop playing politics with the lives of California's sick dogs and get this bill passed.

Saulo Londono called from AM Hagman's office with an update. Apparently the problem with this bill lies with the Deputy Director of Legislative & Governmental Affairs in the Department of Health, Monica Wagoner (916) 440-7502, who claims they will need to hire a 1/2 time research scientist for 18 months at the cost of $160,000 to put this bill through the regulatory process. Other states, such as Maine, did not have to hire anyone to process their medical exemption regulation in 2005, the Department of Health staff processed it. Monica Wagoner is the same person who wrote a letter to California legislators on June 8th opposing the rabies medical exemption after the mandatory quarantine clause was removed. Please call Monica Wagoner's office and tell her that this cost is ridiculous and that other states did not take 18 months to process a medical exemption clause into their regulations, and they did not have to hire a research scientist either.

Two other calls to make: Senate Appropriations Committee (916) 651-4101 and Appropriations Chair, Senator Christine Kehoe at (916) 651-4039 -- tell them to stop playing politics with the lives of California's sick dogs and get this bill voted out of the "Suspense File" and sent to the Senate Floor for a vote.



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Holistic treatments for lymphangiectasia

I am asked on occasion if I know of any good holistic treatments for this disease.  I wish I did.  I have had Louie to holistic vets with little success.  The best treatment I know has been adhering to a low fat diet with proteins that are non irritating to his intestines.

For the majority of dogs, that means the Royal Canin Digestive or Gastrointestial Low Fat diets.  If your dog can tolerate that food, by all means, feed it.

Let me say that again:  If your dog can tolerate the Royal Canin Low Fat diet, then feed it.  Do not dink around trying to find a "healthier" option.  You can easily kill a dog that way, and that's not what I call healthy.

IF your dog does not do well on the commercial diet, that is the time to think about what else might work.  What works for us is different, but only by necessity.  If I could feed the current product being offered by Royal Canin, I would.

Louie's bloodwork

Louie's bloodwork came in yesterday, and I'm very pleased to report that his protein levels are normal.  No real word on why he seems somewhat confused, but it's likely age-appropriate confusion.

Louie at the vet

I've not posted much here lately; things have been going pretty well and it's summertime, with all that brings.

Louie's almost 13 years old now, and it's hard to believe.  I never thought we'd bring him this far.

He's been slowing down a bit, having some moments of confusion, so I took him to the vets at UC Davis this afternoon.  He had some bloodwork done and a urine culture, and I hope that his protein levels are okay.  He has lost a little weight, which is a bit of a concern.  Will post an update here when I have word on the results.