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PBS Viewers’ Stories: Senior Shepherds Live Long by Eating Raw

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Senior Shepherd Prana with VahanaRecently, New York resident Yvonne Gonski wrote to us after watching the PBS show we were featured in, called Why We Love Cats and Dogs. She was moved by Jerry’s story, and wanted to share her own experience with Prana, her amazing nearly fifteen year old German Shepherd girl.

Sadly, Prana recently passed away after a courageous battle with pneumonia. She will be missed dearly. Her Mom wrote this great post for us, before Prana went to the Bridge. We publish this story in tribute to this amazing girl. May her spirit fly free.

Here is Prana’s inspawrational tale . . .

If you’re wondering what the secret is to ensuring a long healthy life for your dog, Yvonne Gonski has two words: “raw foods.” And although many of you Tripawds are battling cancer and might be avoiding raw foods right now, we thought your pawrents still might find these general concepts about home made dog diets to be useful.

“I have been raising German Shepherd dogs for the past 28 years. My journey of learning to provide my dogs with alternate methods of care began 15 years ago, following the passing of my three male German Shepherds.Although two of them died from age related conditions, I started to question the commercially prepared food I was giving them and the conventional vaccines and medications they received over the years.

One of the books that got me started was The Complete Herbal Handbook for the Dog and Cat, by Juliette de Bairacli Levy A strong advocate of a raw foods diet and the use of herbs to treat most canine diseases, she bred Afghan Hounds for over fifty years.

Her lines are virtually disease free and many of her dogs typically lived into their twenties. Her book has become my bible for feeding and treating my dogs with herbs when they are ill.

What Does Prana and Vahana’s Raw Diet Look Like?

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Let’s Chase Away Canine Cancer

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Our friends at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Foundation recently brought their amazing work to our attention, and we want to share it with all of you. The Foundation is the fundraising arm of the ACVIM and helps raise money to fund clinical studies. Their beautiful new website, Chase Away K9 Cancer, is a great resource for learning more about canine caner, and also tells how you can work with them to fund studies to stop this awful disease.

The following guest post was written by our friends at Chase Away K9 Cancer:

“It is estimated that as many as 1 in 3 dogs will get cancer. Join us in our continuing efforts to help them all survive.

Chase Away K9 Cancer

Help Us Chase Away K9 Cancer

“I could tell you the longest story about the worst day of my life but that’s not how Chase should be remembered. She left us yesterday after I took her to Sauvie Island one last time for a swim off a dock she has played on for years. It was strange: I have never seen the water in the Willamette so clear that you could see her entire body and her legs swimming away. She had a happy smile on her face and her tail was up and she enjoyed play time at the river. The cancer was getting her quicker than anyone expected so it was time for us to say good bye. My vet did a wonderful job and I held her to the end. She will never ever be forgotten and will fill our hearts forever with so many great memories.”

This letter was written by Cera Reusser, “mom” to her beloved Chase (Willamette’s Chase’n Black Smoke)-a black Labrador Retriever who lost her battle with cancer in 2006. Chase was an athlete in every sense of the word and received her AKC Master Hunter title along with an Elite Jumper title for DockDogs® Big Air competition. Her cancer diagnosis and death at the age of 6 propelled Cera to fight canine cancer and thus “Chase Away K9 Cancer” was born. Rather than retreat with her grief she used it to begin an inspirational grassroots effort that will give new hope to dogs with cancer.

Chase Away K9 Cancer is a fundraising campaign where 100% of donations directly support studies focused on canine cancer and conducted by ACVIM Board-certified specialists. Since it began nearly $200,000 has been raised, much of it one dollar at a time.

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Speaking for Spot: How to be Your Dog’s Best Advocate

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Tripawds Book Review:
Speaking for Spot: Be the Advocate Your Dog Needs to Live a Happy, Healthy, Longer Life
by Dr. Nancy Kay, DVM, Specialist, American College of Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Kay, a board certified internal medicine specialist in California, was nice enough to pass along a copy of her new book “Speaking for Spot.” Always eager to read up on the latest in canine health care tips, we jumped right in and were so pleased to find out that this book delivers exactly what it promises.

Speaking for Spot is a handbook about how to ask the right questions, in order to get the right answers, and treatment, from your vet.

While Dr. Kay addresses the latest advances in canine health care, she also takes a unique approach to canine health care, by choosing to focus on pawrent and physician communication styles that can help, or hinder care.

This is the kind of book that’s especially helpful for those of us who turn into wimps in the doctor’s office, and are hesitant to knock them off their pedestals. She explains:

“I’m referring to what is known as the “white coat intimidation factor; a phenomenon that gives the doctor an air of authority and superiority. When she is on such a “pedestal,” two-way communication flounders. Medical advocacy requires active client participation, and a client who is intimidated does not feel comfortable voicing an opinion.”

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The Luna Award for Advances in Canine Cancer Research

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Luna Hemangiosarcoma survivor

The following Guest Blog post was generously written by our friend Luna‘s Mom, Sandra Thomas, Owner/Breeder, Burghard Shepherds, Lake Mary, Florida.

After learning about Sandra’s generous donation to the AKC Canine Health Foundation in memory of her beloved Luna, we asked her if she would share her exciting story about the day she got to present the first “Luna Award” recently in Orlando, Florida.

Luna’s Memory Lives On

Shortly after my two year old black German Shepherd dog, “Luna” was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma on October 5th, 2007, I learned through the American Kennel Club AKC’s Canine Health Foundation of the research of Matthew Breen, PhD, (Professor Genomics), and Tessa Breen (Canine Genomics Sample Coordinator, Canine Cancer Genomics Program, North Carolina State University of Raleigh). I thought if nothing could be done for Luna, at least Luna might be able to do something for someone else. In fact, I enrolled all 12 of my dogs, including Luna’s parents and nine siblings, in his research program. I hoped that this family group might be useful to Dr. Breen in some way.

Luna had a long journey, she outlasted all of her vets’ predictions of two weeks to two months to live. She lived another 11 months after her formal diagnosis (and she had been limping several months prior to her diagnosis when we didn’t know what was wrong with her). Her journey included an initial surgery which removed part of the bone in her right hind leg to get the diagnosis, followed six months later with an amputation of the same leg, hemipelvectomy, chemotherapy, metronomics, and SAHA treatment. She lived life to the fullest as a “tripawd” for nearly another six months.

The Big Day: Presenting at Conference

Sandra Thomas ACK Canine Genetics ConferenceWhen Luna, then 3 years old, died on September 16th, 2008, I wanted to do something to try to keep her memory alive and to help further research in the field of canine cancer. That is when I made a donation to Dr. Breen’s research program in memory of Luna.

In response to the donation, Dr. Breen suggested that part of the donation go to an award to the “best presentation or poster” at the “Genes, Dogs and  Cancer: 5th International Canine Cancer Conference” to be held February 13 – 15, 2009 at the Royal Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Breen, who chaired the conference which was open to all scientists, veterinarians, and dog fanciers with a scientific interest in cancer, suggested we call the award the “Luna Award for Advances in Canine Cancer Research“. Dr. Breen felt that this award, in his words, would “help keep her memory alive, not just among ourselves, but across the broader canine cancer genomics community.” And, he invited me to present the award personally at the conference as another way to remember our special Luna .

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