Supporters

• The Barry and Savannah French-Poodle Memorial Fund
• Hope for Hounds
• The Greyhound Project, Inc
• The Morris Animal Foundation
• The ACVIM Foundation
• The Iams Company
• And numerous Greyhound Adoption organizations and Greyhound "parents"

Corporate Sponsors

All dog and cat blood donors are fed courtesy of The Iams Company.

All dog and cat blood donors receive Frontline and Heartgard courtesy of Merial.

All dog and cat blood donors receive Advantix and Advantage courtesy of Bayer Animal Health.

VPL provides D.A.P. and Feliway for the wellbeing of our blood donors.

Donors receive 4DX and FIV/FeLV snap tests courtesy of Idexx Laboratories.

All our cat blood donors are tested with Solo Step FH provided by Heska.

Regarding Greyhounds

• Greyhound Pets of America
• National Convention
• Greyhound Adoption of Ohio
• SOS Galgos - Greyhound Rescue
  Barcelona, Spain
  Spanish language site with minimal English translations

Research for Greyhound Health and Wellness

Current Projects

• Postamputation suramin/doxorubicin in dogs with appendicular osteosarcoma (funded by Morris Animal Foundation in 2004)
  The study is no longer enrolling patients.  We are currently evaluating the     results of the use of this novel chemotherapeutic approach in dogs (14     Greyhounds and 23 non-Greyhound dogs).
• Changes in acute phase protein concentration after routine surgery (spay/neuter) in retired racing Greyhounds vs non-Greyhounds.
  Non-Greyhound dogs respond to surgical trauma by producing acute phase proteins (APPs); because Greyhounds have lower concentrations of APPs than other dogs, we are evaluating changes in serum APPs after spay/neuter in normal Greyhounds.
• Renal lesions associated with proteinuria in retired racing Greyhounds.
  We are evaluating urine protein concentration, presence and severity of microalbuminemia, and microscopic (and ultramicroscopic) kidney changes inGreyhounds.
• Effects of blood collection for transfusion on systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure; hematocrit; and heart rate in retired racing Greyhounds.
  We are determining if there are physiologic changes in Greyhounds before and after blood collection.
• Thromboelastography (TEG) to detect fibrinolytic abnormalities in retired racing Greyhounds with postoperative bleeding.
  The TEG instrument (Haemoscope, Niles, IL) provides results, which allows evaluation of different arms of the hemostatic system.  We are using the TEG to determine if “Greyhound bleeders” have one or more pre-surgerical abnormalities that may be used to predict the development and severity of perioperative bleeding.  TEG will allow us to evaluate cell/protein interaction and, specifically, the fibrinolytic system in “bleeders”. Identifying a specific area will allow us to pursue that path and determine the pathogenesis of this common condition in Greyhounds.
• Artemisinin in retired racing Greyhounds with appendicular osteosarcoma.
  This is part of on-going study with the oncology service investigating the use of Artemisinin, a Chinese herbal supplement used in traditional Chinese medicine. Laboratory research has shown that this drug can kill osteosarcoma cell lines in vitro.  The current clinical trial will evaluate the therapeutic effects of artemisinin in tumor-bearing dogs.
• Causes and mechanisms of diarrhea in retired racing Greyhounds (funded by IAMS)
  In Greyhounds acute diarrhea is a common problem but the cause or mechanism of the diarrhea has yet to be clearly understood.  Recently, it was shown that racing Greyhounds with or without diarrhea have a high fecal load of E. coli Shiga toxins 1 and 2.4  In this study, we are investigating several possible causes from infectious to physiologic mechanisms.
• Genetic abnormalities in Greyhounds with osteosarcoma (collaborative work with Dr. Kenine Comstock, University of Michigan).
  The OSUGHWP has already and continues to submit dozens of samples from both healthy and affected dogs for this study.  Please see “Links” for more information.

Cited papers

1. Feeman W, Couto CG, Gray TL: Serum creatinine concentrations in retired racing Greyhounds. Vet Clin Pathol 2003; 32:40-42
2. Fayos M, Couto CG, Cline Iazbik MC, Wellman M: Serum protein electrophoresis in retired racing Greyhounds. Vet Clin Pathol 2005;34:397-400.
3. Couto CG, Cline Iazbik MC, Lara García A, Brooks M: Evaluation of platelet aggregation using a point-of-care instrument in retired racing Greyhounds. J Vet Intern Med 2006;20:365-370
4. Staats JJ, Chengappa MM, DeBey MC, et al: Detection of Escherichia coli Shiga toxin (stx) and enterotoxin (estA and elt) genes in fecal samples from non-diarrheic and diarrheic Greyhounds. Vet Microbiol 2003;94:303-312.