The Golden Opportunity Of A Lifetime. –by Elizabeth Baird, D.V. M.
The Morris Animal Foundation’s Canine Lifetime Health Project is seeking young, healthy Golden Retrievers and their owners as participants for a long term research study - the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study (GRLS) - to study the occurrence of cancer and other serious
sion, The Foundation has established the Canine Lifetime Health Project, a long term project to research important health issues pertaining to dogs. The first project under this umbrella is the Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, the largest and longest observational study ever attempted
has been realized through the Morris Animal Foundation. My personal interest in this research
project stems from multiple sources. First and foremost, two Golden Retrievers are beloved members of our family. But even more compelling is the pain and suffering I see daily as a veterinarian. Cancer is rampant in our older pets — some not so old. The Golden Retriever is a very pop- ular breed because of their lovely person- alities, but they do suffer a higher than average rate of cancer and other diseases. The GRLS goal is to better under-
Dr. Baird with her two Golden Retrievers, Keeva Rue and Stitch.
diseases in the Golden Retriever. The study results are expected to provide insights that could ultimately affect the health of many, if not all, breeds of dogs. The study needs committed owners to provide detailed information about their Golden Retriever including details such as diet, amount of exercise and environ- ment. The study requires the collection of various biological samples at least yearly accompanied by environmental data about each canine participant. The dog's only commitment is to provide samples such as hair trimmings, nail clippings, urine and blood samples. Should the par- ticipating Golden later develop a mass or tumor, a sample of that will be included in the study along with any samples sent in for pathology evaluation by the owner's veterinarian. The Morris Animal Foundation is a
non-profit organization established in 1948 to help improve the health and wel- fare of animals. In keeping with that mis-
76 THE NEW BARKER
to date. The goal is to recruit 3000 healthy young Golden Retrievers and monitor them for 10 to 14 years for the purpose of identifying genetic, environmental and nutritional risk factors for the develop- ment of cancer and other diseases. As an observational study, this will be a massive collection of data and critical evaluation of that data rather than any invasive action involving any individual. Dr. Mark Morris started Morris
Animal Foundation using monies earned from his revolutionary diet developed to help a seeing eye dog named Buddy. Buddy, one of the very first trained guide dogs, suffered from kidney disease, so Dr. Morris designed a food that helped improve his quality of life. It was the first of many specialized diets that became the foundation of the Hill's Prescription Diet® food line. Dr. Morris envisioned an organization that would help fund sci- entific discoveries to improve the lives and future health of animals. That vision
stand the causes of these problems and thereby hopefully develop preventive approaches, and perhaps some cures. It is expected that the knowledge gained from this massive study will impact all dog breeds. Having just lost one of my beloved Dobermans to bone cancer, my heart is crying for answers about how we can prevent these losses. I see clients agonizing over their pets with cancer and chronic disease every day and wish we had more solutions. I know as an owner of Golden Retrievers, I will likely wrestle with cancer again in the not too distant future. So, I am committed to do what I can to help find these desperately needed answers. My golden youngster, Keeva Rue is
only 14 months old now and a perfect candidate for the Lifetime Study. Several requirements for enrollment are neces- sary, such as all dogs must be under the age of two so they can be followed throughout their lifetimes to gain the most data possible. They also require a three generation pedigree, since the inheritance pattern and familial predispo- sition to certain cancers and diseases will be evaluated also. Any AKC registered Golden should have adequate informa- tion on lineage in their database. If the dog isn’t actually registered, but their par- ents are, the data can be pulled from the parent’s records. Although the dogs enrolled in the GRLS must live in the continental United States, I had no difficulty enrolling Keeva Rue, whose mother is a registered Canadian beauty.
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