joejoesmom

I am sorry I ever chose Healthy Paws. Last year, 2 months before my greyhound turned 11, they raised my rates from $56 a month to $98 a month for my one dog. This year, again two months before my greyhound will turn 12, they have raised the rate to insure one dog to $199 per month. This from a company that originally promised never to raise rates due to a dog's increasing age. When I total my premiums and subtract the payouts I have received, Healthy Paws still has $3500 of my money. I am not going to pay them another $2400 this year. I will just have to go without insurance.

Thank you for such a complete response. I was checking to see if Advantage Multi was ok. Someone posted the Grassmere recommended list, which includes Advantage Multi. It sounds like you would agree. I did want to clarify something in your post. I have had blood donor dogs at OSU since 2008. I have never been given K9Advantix for use on my blood donors. They give heartguard and Frontline Plus. Frontline Plus is still effective in central Ohio, but there are reports that it is becoming less effective. This does not mean that they feel K9Advantix shouldn't be used on a greyhound -- I have no clue about that. For anyone who might wonder where I have been. I have taken on a new venture. I have started rescuing the many greyhound mixes that are used for non-sanctioned racing and field trials in Ohio and surrounding states. These dogs are often kept on chains and live outside most of the year. Most of the ones we get are pure untattooed greyhounds to about 3/4 greyhound. We act as a middleman and get these dogs off their chain and transport to a greyhound group that will take them. In the last ten months we have gotten 96 dogs off of chains to groups who find them loving homes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/329757577168024/ The Lurcher Project Website is: http://www.ohiolurcherproject.com/ And our WebStore is: http://ohiolurcherproject.webs.com/apps/webstore/

I was just getting ready to post this, but Cora beat me to it. I am a bit confused as this article doesn't have Dr. Alvarez's name on it. He was doing the greyhound genetic study at Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Sorry that I have been absent from this thread for a long time. I needed a break. I just participated in Dr. Couto's IDEXX webinar. He said something that explained why OSU had a longer greyhound survival time than other facilities (14 months versus 12 months) after amputation and chemo. I don't know why the answer didn't occur to me before: Greyhounds naturally have low neutrophils. This is a key measure in determining whether it is safe to give chemo to a dog. Dr. Couto will give chemo to a greyhound (not other dogs) with a lower neutrophil count than would normally be suggested. If the oncologist is using the same level for a greyhound that he would for a non-greyhound, he would likely delay chemo one or more times during the course of the chemo. Delay of chemo is known to effect survival time. So the short version: Have your oncologist contact Dr. Couto or an oncologist at OSU for the greyhound neutrophil level that is acceptable. No one is saying that all greyhounds should receive chemo on time. Many will need a delay. But use the appropriate metrics for a greyhound in the determination.

Maybe it did. For whatever reason, I got 8 more months than the median survival time. I am forever grateful to Dr. Couto and his team for this.

Joe received Palladia every MWF. He got cytoxan on TuThS. He got artemisinin every day. On Sunday he only got artemisinin. I'm not sure any of this is helpful because Joe was getting this metronomic protocol in hopes of preventing visible lung mets. Ultimately, 18 months after his amputation, a secondary osteosarcoma tumor was discovered in the diagonally opposite leg. He had recently (I think 3 to 4 weeks prior) had a clear lung x-ray.

Interesting, It was Dr. London who told me almost a year ago that the study investigating prevention of lung mets didn't pan out. If my memory serves, she had said that there was a slight improvement in the median time of survival with the dogs in the study that received Palladia (as part of a metronomic protocol) than those that didn't. She felt the improvement was statistically insignificant. I will say that I don't believe this was a "formal" study (double-blind etc.). They gave dogs Palladia and monitored whether these dogs developed lung mets and when. They compared this with previous results from dogs prior to OSU's use of Palladia. Earlier, they had seen some evidence that when Palladia was used in dogs with previously seen lung mets, it delayed the growth of these mets. She told me last December that she hadn't seen similar results with a larger sampling. Once again, I don't believe this was a formal study. It sounds as if additional information or a more detailed review of the outcomes has caused her to revise her opinion. That is good news. edited to add: I also believe most dogs have handled the Palladia well. After Joe developed his second primary osteo tumor, we took him off the metronomic protocol (Palladia/cytoxan/artemisinin). His spirits and appetite did improve noticeably. I don't know which of those drugs had been affecting him though. In any case, he did enjoy life during the year he was on the metronomic protocol, even if in hindsight it was clear it had affected him somewhat. But with Dr. London's statistics of having a 40-50 percent chance of giving him an additional 4 to 6 months, I would definitely try it if I could afford it.

I wanted to let everyone know that Dr. Couto is available for e-mail, phone, and video consults. coutovetconsultants@gmail.com 614-664-9177 The consult fee is US$120, payable via PayPal, and includes up to 3 follow ups via email; telephone or video conference. Jane edited to add that a portion of the consult fee will be donated to Scooby to help the galgos.

For your information: http://www.csuanimalcancercenter.org/consult-service Jane

So it is official. Dr. Couto will be retiring as of August 31. To read more about his retirement and the plan for the transition regarding the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program: https://greyhound.osu.edu/ Jane

So it is now official. Dr. Couto will be retiring at the end of August. To read about his retirement and the interim plan for the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program: https://greyhound.osu.edu/ Jane

I am so sorry. Adam knows that you love him. You are allowing his pain to end, despite wanting to keep him with you with all your heart. That is true love. Jane

Edited to remove my entire post, as I didn't realize that this was an old thread. Sorry to waste anybodies time who bothered to read this. Jane

If you get an electric zapper, don't get just a lighted bug zapper. This mainly just kills moths and other insects that are attracted to light. You need a "machine" that puts out carbon dioxide to attract the mosquito and then some system to kill/trap the mosquito. Some of these products also produce heat and moisture (other things that attract a mosquito. Essentially you need a trap that "pretends" it is a living being. You place the trap away from your outdoor recreation area (i.e. you don't want to attract mosquitoes to where you will be sitting but AWAY from where you will be). My brother has a Flowtron similar to this: http://www.flowtron.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=F&Product_Code=MT-275A&Category_Code=FTPR He says it works very well but it is expensive. He got his a number of years ago so perhaps there are less expensive models on the market now. We typically stay in my screened porch and my dogs don't go out that much in the summer. By the time the mosquitoes get thick it is too hot and humid for us. Yes, we are wimps when it comes to heat/humidity. If I need to work outside when mosquitoes are out, I have found that the OFF personal repellant device works well -- as long as you aren't moving around quickly. It clips on your waist and the little fan disperses repellent around you. Much nicer than wearing the stinky slimy DEET stuff. Of course I have no idea what the health implications are of having a chemical repellent dispersed around you versus wearing DEET versus getting bit by mosquitoes. If you are walking around it doesn't work well because it can't build up a repellent "wall" around you. If the mosquitoes are really, really thick, I find I need to use both a rub/spray on repellent and the little fan thingy. Of course, none of these (except for the big carbon dioxide machine) work for a dog. So this post probably isn't that useful to you. Thus ends Jane's treatise on mosquitoes developed from years and years of despising the little buggers.

Poor boy, those are some huge corns.

Well we have now heard directly from Dr. Kellogg, the doctor who runs the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program. She says that Dr. Couto and the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program are still there. I had been ready to post the following, explaining the possible ways things could have been misconstrued. I guess I will post it anyway: Regarding the rumors about the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program: I can tell you that Dr. Couto is still present at OSU as of this past week. So far there have been nothing but rumors from people who read that someone who knows someone who knows someone (i.e. 3 times removed) who called OSU was told that Dr. Couto was not there. Someone emailed a vet at OSU who when asked where is Dr. C said "He is not here" and said "I can't comment further". Here's the Greyhound-L post that appears to have started it all: "A friend of one of our members wanted to consult with Dr. Couto and when she called OSU, she was told he is no longer there. She was not given an explanation or told where he is now. I email'd one of the DVM's I've had contact with and that person only confirmed that Dr. Couto isn't there but said she was not at liberty to comment. I do know that the Greyhound Health and Wellness Conference that was to be held in April was canceled but have no idea if this is related somehow. Does anyone know anything about this? I'm concerned about the Greyhound Health and Wellness Program as I know it was funded by donations not the University and Dr. Couto was the driving force behind keeping it going." There has been nothing from any credible source to confirm this. One possible explanation for the above: Caller: I would like to speak to Dr. Couto. OSU: He is not here. Caller: Where did he go? OSU: I don't have that information. (FYI, the front desk people who answer the phone are not given any information on any doctor's wherabouts -- just that they are on-clinic (available to see/talk to patients) or not.) The caller is not aware of the above policy and assumes from this that Dr. Couto has left OSU for good. Then the poster e-mails her vet: Caller: I hear Dr. Couto is gone. Where is he (or what happened)? Vet: Yes he's gone (meaning out of the hospital). I am not at liberty to say more (meaning that the policy of the hospital is not to divulge whereabouts of any employee, when not on clinic. Although I don't know if he was out for personal reasons, the hospital will NOT give out any information for any reason in this case). We get used to the openness of the folks in the GHWP about telling us where Dr. Couto is, but I have had other oncologists at OSU not divulge the location of Dr. Couto to me, even though they know me very well. Either they don't know (most likely) or they don't feel comfortable commenting. So please don't jump to conclusions that may not be accurate. Let's just wait until we get confirmation of any changes to the GHWP from someone who works at the GHWP before we do anything. If major changes are coming to the GHWP, it is done and nothing we can do at this point can change it. Jane edited to add: As for the website page for joining the GHWP: This site is notorious for "going down". From my previous job, I know that the OSU computer network is a HUGE conglomeration of different systems, not all of whom play well together.

I believe Dr. Couto is still at OSU. I spoke with someone who spoke with him (at OSU) yesterday. If, in fact, he is leaving and/or the GHWP is going away, I think we should definitely honor him in some way. Jane Editted to add: Excellent letter to the Dispatch!

As of a year or so ago, OSU was able to send chemo drugs to Canada. I seem to recall that there were some delays with international shipments in the OSU shipping department. Several years ago I went to OSU and picked up chemo drugs for someone in Canada and shipped them myself. I know that they (the university not the greyhound program) have cracked down on circumventing the system, so I'm not sure this is still possible. Let me know if I can help in any way. I am very disappointed that someone would try to tell you that one treatment is better than another. Even an oncologist who has personally examined your dog shouldn't tell you that one decision or the other is wrong. It just isn't clear cut with this illness. Yes, there are some studies that give median time of survival for different treatments -- but this is just a clinical viewpoint. It doesn't take into account all the other parameters, such as the dog's personality, the owner's finances, etc. Only you know what is best for your dog and your family. Any decision you make will be out of love and that can't be wrong. Jane

Hi Jenny, I am so sorry that you have to be here. My boy had just turned 7 when he was diagnosed. Unfortunately, the woman you spoke to is right in that 90 percent of dogs have microscopic metastases in the lungs by the time they are diagnosed. However, in my opinion, this shouldn't be a major factor impacting your decision on whether to amputate. If the metastases are visible on x-ray, then it should be considered. There are far more important things that will impact the ultimate treatment decision you will make. Once again, in my opinion, which leg it is doesn't matter. Greyhounds get along just fine on any 3 of their legs. As others have said, chemo in a dog is much easier than chemo in a human. Vets give dogs a much smaller dosage by body weight than humans receive. The usual goal is not to totally eradicate cancer, but to keep it at bay for the remainder of the dogs life (a few years versus sometimes decades for humans). I have written a document that outlines some of the information that may help you in making treatment decisions. Here is an excerpt talking about amputation: The following is a chart with the generally recognized median time of survival for various treatments. These numbers are not cast in stone. New studies are always being undertaken. New therapies are being tried. In some cases, the treatments or combinations of treatments are new enough that there are no widely recognized statistics. There are also inconsistencies between different studies. Where there are inconsistencies, I have included a range. Note that the info in red has not yet been reviewed by OSU. Osteosarcoma Treatment / Median Time of Survival Amputation with IV chemo / 12 to 14 months Amputation with IV chemo and metronomic protocol / no recognized study Amputation alone / 3 to 6 months Radiation, biphosphonate, and chemo combination / 7 months * Pain Management with medication / 4 to 8 weeks Radiation alone / no recognized study Chemo alone / no recognized study Biphosphonate alone / no recognized study *results from a very limited study Removing the affected limb will totally get rid of the terrible pain this disease causes. This is also the only chance your dog has of beating this disease. However, this possibility is so slim (less than 10 percent) that you should not make your decision based on any expectation of eliminating osteosarcoma from your dog’s body. This combination of treatments (amputation and chemo) has been shown to provide the longest median time of survival, currently at 14 months for greyhounds treated at Ohio State University. The most critical factors influencing the decision for amputation and chemo are: 1) Are there already visible lung metastases? If so, the median time of survival will be shorter and there is currently no chance of beating the disease. 2) Are there any orthopedic issues that would make being a tripod too difficult? 3) Is the dog in good general health? If not, how will this impact the recovery and long term outlook? 4) Can the owner afford the treatment? This typically ranges from $4000 to $10000 over the course of the treatment. I have heard quotes for the amputation alone range from $1000 to $8000. Likewise, I have heard that IV chemotherapy can cost from $1000 to $7000. I know this is a big range. Mostly, it depends on the part of the country where you live and the vet that you choose. The costs can go up if your dog has any complications and whether you choose to do a metronomic protocol. 5) Is the dog petrified of the vet? If so, can accommodations be made to mitigate this? This usually isn’t a problem during the amputation phase. Your dog will be on heavy sedation for much of his time in the hospital. It becomes more of an issue during the IV chemo phase of the treatment. Your oncologist may be willing to accommodate your dog’s special needs. You could choose to do an amputation without chemotherapy. However, this will shorten the median time of survival to 3 to 6 months. 6) Can the owner provide intensive care for the week or two after the surgery? If not, can they afford to pay the veterinary hospital to provide this service? If you have questions about this, please see the document about what to expect during amputation and recovery. 7) What is the owner’s personal philosophy of treating a dog with a terminal disease? There is more on this at the end of this document. If you would like to see the whole document, email me at finewhipador-drool@yahoo.com. You can also call me at 614-523-0754. I live close to Ohio State University and will put people up in my house if they need to come here. Jane p.s. I chose amputation and chemo with a follow-on metronomic protocol for my Joe. I got 20 wonderful months with him.

My whippet mixes--Twister and her sister, Shelby--loved earthworms in all stages. Twister especially loved digging for live ones. After a rain, if their dead little earthworm bodies were still soft and squishy the girls would mash them with their paws and roll in them. If they were crunchewy, they were at the perfect stage for eating. They would peel them off the pavement and eat them as fast as they could, kind of like a game. I could see each of them trying to get more than her sister. When I took them for a walk it would amuse all the neighbors to see them peeling crunchewy earthworms from their driveway when I stopped to chat. Some of them even commented that I should stop by more often so they didn't have to get the dead worms off the driveway themselves. Funny thing, they would never eat them in their dead but squishy stage. They liked for them to age to the crunchewy stage before they would eat them. The vet said it wouldn't hurt a thing, as long as there were no pesticides involved. Twister lived to almost 15 and Shelby lived to 16 years, nine months -- not bad for 50 pound whippet/labrador mixes.

I also felt survivor's guilt with Joe. I was always afraid that Joe's good news would make others feel bad because they weren't as lucky. Now that I am on the other side, I can truly say that I love to hear about good news. It gives me hope. Jane

For those who might be interested, here is the latest Clinical Trials Newsletter from OSU: http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/clinical-trials-newsletter-marchapril-2013 Jane

If they let me, I would be happy to. Let me know what you want to say.

Is anyone else coming to OSU for the Remembrance Ceremony this Saturday, May 18? It will be a rough day for me as I will be honoring all of the dogs that I have had as an adult. I lost all 3 of them in the last 20 months. I lost Shelby just a month ago. In addition, I lost my housemate's dog a couple of months ago. I had spent every day with him since last June. I expect I will shed a lot of tears. If I think it will be too much for me, I will stay home. However, if I am able to hold myself together enough to attend, it would be nice to sit with others I know or who at least share the love of sighthounds. For those who aren't aware, Ohio State University has a annual Remembrance Ceremony. If you had a pet who was treated at OSU, you are welcome to attend. It is a two hour ceremony with various speakers. You get to make a remembrance token and leave it at the remembrance tree for all to see. The students and vets pass by this tree daily. In addition, you can attend the optional art portion and make something to take home. I wasn't able to attend last year, so they are allowing me to include Twistmas, Joey, and Shelby. The registration has officially closed for this year. They are accepting late registrations through tomorrow. However, they likely will not be able to include the photo of your pet in their video montage. Here's more information: http://vet.osu.edu/RemembranceCeremony Jane

Sorry I didn't notice this until now. Dr. Au (pronounced awe) is awesome! She is an orthopedic surgeon. Although she doesn't consider herself a greyhound specialist, she has worked on lots of greyhounds. I think she fixed the last dozen or so broken hounds from the Wheeling track. My contact who works for OSU says that Dr. Au is "good people" and will be greatly missed. Jane