Here’s something you don’t see everyday, an article on a dog getting a kidney transplant. At the University of Pennsylvania surgeons are getting ready to try and save the life of an ailing 14 month-old boxer terrier, Zani, who is suffering from a diseased kidney.

The surgery, which will take place at Penn Veterinary Hospital, will be headed up by primary surgeon Dr. Heidi Phillips. Zani’s twin sister will be donating part of her kidney to help save him.

“We’re only able to do dogs that are related to each other. We need a related donor in order to give a kidney to the recipient in order to minimize the amount of side effects,” said primary surgeon Dr. Heidi Phillips.

I wonder if they got Zani’s sister to the hospital by telling her they were taking her to the park. She’s not going to be happy when she wakes up in a backless white gown and an IV in her arm.

We hope all goes well for both Zani and his sister. A special thanks to Bo’s friend, Eddie, for sharing this story.

I received a message about Casper, an adorable 7 month old Pomeranian, who is in desperate need of a heart operation.

He was diagnosed with Pulmonic Stenosis, it affects the right artery so that it is barely pumping blood into his heart. Casper is at risk of his heart enlarging on the right side; leading to cardiac arrest and possible sudden death.

The operation is very expensive so Casper’s buddies put together a raffle to raise money to help out. Some very generous Dogster members donated great gifts for you to win.

We are holding a raffle of Gift Baskets and other prizes to raise funds for Casper. You can purchase the tickets now and choose which prizes you want before the drawing on September 8.

PRIZES
Here is a list of donated gifts so far as prizes for the raffle. I will update this list as more donations come in.

$5.00 TICKET CATEGORY

A. $20.00 gift certificate to www.dieseldoggie.net
-Donated by Diesel (ID146642)’s Mom Sherry

B. Basket of doggie cookies
- Donated by Cosmo Enyce Politan (ID380677)’s mom Raquel. www.tiptopwebsite.com/noahsbarkwoofery

C. A Tastefully Simple gift package include items from

www.tastefullysimple.com

- Donated by Tessa (ID 121303)’s mom.

D. A butiful blanket made and donated by Dayzee (519632)
’s mom

$10.00 TICKET CATEGORY

A. $55.00 gift certificate to The New York Dog Shop
www.thenewyorkdogshop.com
-Donated by Brodie’s mom (ID690517)

B. Basket of doggie grooming supplies. Shampoo, brushes etc. valued over $50.00
-Donated by Sophie’s (ID679446) and my mom

C. A Bath & Body Works gift card value $50.00. Check out Bath & Body Works at

www.bathandbodyworks.com

- Donated by Tessa (ID 121303)’s mom.

$20.00 OR ABOVE TICKET CATEGORY

A. $200.00 gift basket of women’s fashion jewelry
-Donated by a very generous Anonymous Donor

If you’re interested in buying a raffle ticket, or making a prize donation, stop by Have A Heart for Casper. Good luck little buddy!

Has the age old debate been solved? You be the judge….

If you don’t see the video, click here.

Recently Dogster and the Morris Animal Foundation joined forces on a fundraising campaign to fight canine cancer. Since this devastating disease is so prevalent, killing 1 in 4 dogs, it is imperative to keep raising money for canine cancer research. Hopefully, eventually changing this statistic.

I’m always looking for relevant articles on canine cancer research and I came across an article about NC State University. Their Veterinary Medicine department is going to start offering bone marrow transplants on dogs with lymphoma.

The university’s College of Veterinary Medicine plans to begin performing the procedure within about four weeks, said Dr. Steven Suter, an assistant professor of oncology. Suter arranged for N.C. State to accept three donated leukophoresis machines from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

The costs for this procedure are not going to come cheap. You can expect $15,000 alone on just the bone marrow transplant. On top of that there will be vet bills and chemotherapy, needed to send the disease into clinical remission.

Many dog owners already spend a huge amount of money for treatment, in excess of $10,000, with a survival rate of only 12-16 months. This new procedure will at least give them a 50% chance of survival.

The process of extracting the stem cells is painless for dogs, though it might not be so for owners. Consequently, NCSU is seeking donors to help underwrite the cost of treating ailing pets.

“We really understand this is a lot of money for a lot of people,” Suter said. “We’re looking for some corporation or some person to step up and help these clients.”

The university will start off treating about one dog a month. However, not all dogs will qualify for this treatment. The dogs must be at least 55 lbs. and the procedure is specifically for those dogs with lymphoma.

With standard treatment about 80-85% of dogs will eventually die. Dr. Steven Suter, an assistant professor of oncology, stated “I got tired of watching that happen. I decided the time had come to try something different.”

The picture that I chose today is in memory of one of our very own Dogster angels. Maxie, a beautiful girl, was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of ‘07 and crossed over Rainbow Bridge on July, 14, 2008.

SPOILER ALERT for West Coast Viewers!! Don’t read on until you’ve seen the show.

This week we had the four remaining teams continue on their quest to become the Greatest American Dog. The week’s theme was loyalty.

You’ll remember that at the end of last week, Galaxy had hurt herself. The good news is that Galaxy’s injury turned out to be nothing. The following morning she woke up and stopped limping. JD took her to the vet and they gave her a clean bill of health. Awesome news!

This week’s dog bone challenge was a competition where the dog was placed on a small tree stump and told to sit or stand while their owner stood on a tree stump about 20 feet away. The first dog to sit down or jump off was eliminated.

Teresa and Leroy won when Travis called Presley off the stump after sitting there for over 18 minutes. In the interview afterwards, Travis explained why he conceded by saying that the challenge was about loyalty. He knew Presley wasn’t comfortable but was being loyal by staying on the stump the whole time. So to show his loyalty to Presley he called him off the stump. Kudos to Travis for doing this.

The best in show challenge was simple. Each dog was placed in a circle with their owner 10 feet away. Each of the other dog owners then had a chance to entice the dog out of the circle.

Laurie and Andrew were first. Let me tell you, Andrew is one loyal dog! With Laurie peering at him, he just sat there as the other three owners jumped around.

Next were Teresa and Leroy. Leroy wanted to chase the ‘toys’ in a bad way. That boy loves to play! It took all of Teresa’s finger pointing, tilting of the head and the constant “ahh, ahh” to keep him in the circle, but she did.

Next up were JD and Galaxy. Galaxy, being the best trained dog on the show, handled the challenge without a problem.

Finally Travis and Presley were up to try their hand. Being the most excitable of all the contestants left,this challenge was clearly the most difficult for them. After staving off the advances of Teresa and Laurie, Presley just couldn’t help bolting towards JD when called. He failed the challenge. Or did he?

The judges had to decide who to let go. The rules would make this simple, no? If the dog leaves the circle, he failed and should therefore be expelled. Since only one dog failed to stay in the defined area, he’s the one to go. Well, not so fast my friends. The team expelled was Teresa and Leroy. Why? Because, according to the judges, when telling Leroy to stay, she did it in a most threatening way.

So the problem that has plagued the show throughout, reared it’s ugly head again tonight. Inconsistent judging.

But is it the judges fault? I don’t think so because nobody seems to know what is being judged. Not me, not you and not the judges.

Here’s what I mean. This week’s show was supposed to be about loyalty. Frankly, it was a just a big sit/stay challenge. That’s it. What’s loyal about forcing your dog to sit or stand uncomfortably on a stump? What’s loyal about forcing your dog to stay as he/she is enticed by food, toys and/or encouragement by others? Does it show discipline? Yes. Loyalty? Maybe.

So how do you show loyalty? Personally, I’d say if my dog Bo hangs loose by my grave for more than a week after my passing, that’s loyalty. Any less time than that, and I suspect that will be the case, then I’ll know he was just in it for the treats : )

As always, I enjoy reading all of your thoughts. Let her rip…