ohmidog!

     Samson — the biggest dog in all of Britain — has been put on a crash diet after vets decided he was too heavy to undergo a life-saving operation.
    Public donations have poured in to help Samson — who stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall on his hind legs – get the operation, but his vets say because of his weight (280 pounds) he would not recover properly, and might never walk again were the surgery to take place now.
     Samson, a Great Dane-Newfoundland mix, has a ruptured cruciate ligament in his left hind leg.
     His owners Ray and Julie Woods, from Wyberton, Lincolnshire, say the four-year-old dog will begin a regimen of dieting, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy in an attempt to get his weight down.
     “The operation is on hold for the time being,” said Mrs. Woods, “but we have been told that there is a 90 per cent chance that he will need it in the next six months.”

Izzy, the retired Longmont, Colorado police dog in need of surgery, will be getting it — thanks to an outpouring of help from residents in the community and beyond.

A drive started by the local Fraternal Order of Police has raised enough money for the operation — from vets, kennels and individuals, including a resident of Las Vegas who came through with $1,000, said Robin L. Ericson, assistant to the chief of the Longmont Police/Fire Department.

The Flatirons Kennel Club has promised to pay $6,000 to cover the cost of his surgery, board member Love Banghart told 9NEWS. “This dog served the community for nine years,” said Banghart. “Any dog that serves the community for that long is very special.”

Izzy sustained a spinal injury catching an armed kidnapping suspect. Since retiring two years ago, the dog’s condition has gotten so bad it is hard for him to walk.

Ericson said that dental and medical benefits are provided to dogs in the city’s K-9 unit, but that those benefits end at retirement, as she says they do for police officers and other department staff.

“A number of people called and donated,” Ericson told ohmidog! — from money to ramps to help Izzy negotiate stairs. Any extra funds received will go toward future care for Izzy and a fund that will provide financial assistance to other retired police dogs.

Ericson said that Izzy’s vet has offered no guarantee that the surgery will help the 11-year-old dog.

She said it was unfortunate that the department termed the dog “equipment” in media reports — but said that’s the name of the official budget category under which the K-9 unit falls. “We love our dogs, and we understand why public wants to help… The term ‘equipment’ might not have been best choice of words.”

Dogs from the Pocatello Animal Shelter in Idaho are being used in a “surgical skills” lab at Idaho State University, where participants meet once a year to perform tracheotomies, and practice inserting chest tubes and catheters.

When the doctors are done practicing, the animals are euthanized.

According to an Associated Press report, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has condemned the program, and asked that it switch to using mannequins instead of dogs.

Officials with the Idaho Committee on Trauma, which sponsors the yearly surgical skills lab at Idaho State University, say mannequins aren’t as effective for training as live animals. They say they’ve offered the training for 25 years without complaint.

“I’m disappointed this group would suggest we’re doing something illegal, because we’re not,” said ISU professor Alex Urfer, the school’s physical and occupational therapy program chairman. He said his program was accredited three weeks ago by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animals.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine told the Idaho State-Journal it plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture this month, alleging the ISU lab violates the federal Animal Welfare Act. He said said the ISU lab uses sedatives and shock collars to keep dogs docile.

According to the organization, based in Washington D.C., only a handful of 200 Advanced Trauma Life Support classes in the country still use live animals for training.

“We have been able to communicate information with other facilities to change their practices,” Dr. John J. Pippin said. “We’re hoping that the light of day will cause people to say, ‘Gosh, we should have stopped using this a long time ago.’”

Izzy was a police dog in Longmont, Colorado until an on-the-job injury led to his retirement. Now, more than two years later, he’s in need of surgery — related to that injury — that could cost $6,000.

That the Fraternal Order of Police in Longmont is turning to the public to try and raise that money is noble.

That they are forced to is wrong.

“He worked for us for nine years and he did a lot of good work in those nine years,” Detective Steve Schulz, president of the Longmont FOP, told the Longmont Times-Call.

As I see it, Longmont owes Izzy for that.

A police dog that serves his city – like a soldier who serves his country — deserves to be taken care of by that city, especially when his injuries are related to that service.

And he deserves to be taken care of FOREVER.

Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case. Retired police dogs in some jurisdictions are euthanized when their service is complete. Others allow them to retire and remain in the care of their partner/handler.

At that point, as with Izzy, the city cuts off any assistance with care, feeding or veterinary bills.

As Izzy’s handler, Detective Bruce Vaughan pointed out, in the city’s view, dogs are “equipment.”

Izzy was injured while helping catch a suspect in April 2007.  After crashing his truck in a high-speed chase, the suspect ran. Izzy chased him down. In the fray that followed, the dog was flipped over and suffered an injury to his spine, which Vaughan said has been diagnosed as a ruptured disk.

The suspect, who had led police on two previous chases,and reportedly had pointed a gun at the head of two different women, was convicted in December 2007 on menacing and drug charges and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Other than the injury, which makes it difficult for the dog to use his hind legs, Vaughan said, Izzy is healthy. “He still has a puppy face. He’s got a lot of energy,” he said.

Donations for the surgery, estimated to cost $6,000, can be made to FOP No. 6 K9 Fund, in care of Guarantee Bank and Trust, P.O. Box 1159, Longmont, Colo. 80502.

Dog-lovers, I suspect, will likely come through for Izzy.

It’s a shame that city he served did not.

News that the biggest dog in Britain needs an operation his owners can’t afford — and that the likely alternative will be euthanasia — has led to an generous outpouring from dog lovers.

According to a website set up to raise money for his operation, more than 2,000 of the needed 2,500 pounds has already been sent in — along with comments from dozens of well-wishers.

“Mr. & Mrs. Woods, you are super people and I hope our donation has helped toward the much-needed surgery for Samson,” said a message posted by “2 disabled pensioners.”

“Samson best of luck with the fund raising, I think your owners great for taking care of you. If everyone sends a little we can help.” read another comment. “Best of luck! Ireland.”

Then there was this: “Hi. My husband are the owners of 2 big dogs, both from rescue centres. We are not currently in a position to help financially. We live close by and this story brings me to tears … We are here thought to offer any other help which you need for Samson. We live 15 minutes away.”

It’s like I always say: Dogs bring out the best in people.

To see all the comments, click here.

  Samson, the biggest dog in all of Britain, faces being put down because his owners can’t afford a life-saving operation on his hind leg, the British press is reporting.
      Both the Mail and the Telegraph say Samson’s owners, Julie and Ray Woods, have issued a plea for help in paying for the surgery. Unfortunately, neither news organization providing any information on how one might go about assisting.
      The Woods say Samson ruptured the cruciate ligament on his left hind leg, and that they cannot afford to pay the 1,400 pounds needed for special surgery.
      “Samson is in crisis. Without the surgery it could end up being euthanasia. It really is quite desperate. We are very upset, we love him to bits,” Julie Woods is quoted as saying.
      Samson is a four-year-old Great Dane-Newfoundland mix. He stands 6-feet, 6-inches tall on his on his hind legs. One report says Samson has a 29-inch neck, paws the size of dinner plates and can hold a full-size football in his mouth. The Woods from Wyberton, Lincolnshire, bought Samson from an RSPCA center when he was six months old.
      Up to now the animal charity PDSA has helped to pay for Samson’s vet bills, but Julie said they cannot stretch to pay for the surgery. “‘PDSA have been brilliant because it has so far cost quite a lot of money, but unfortunately they can’t pay for such expensive surgery … We are just appealing to anybody who can help.”
      Samson isn’t the world’s biggest dog — that honor belongs to mastiff named Hercules from Massachusetts.

This is a different kind of Batman, with a different kind of nemesis – a 10-year-old German shepherd-mix with a brain tumor, who’s the first dog to be treated with a new and experimental vaccine and gene therapy at the University of Minnesota.

A compelling account of his family’s fight to save him appeared this week in the student newspaper, the Minnesota Daily.

Batman’s owners,  Anna Brailovsky and her husband Eric Baker, found him on the streets of Berlin as graduate students in 1999.

They lost him, then found him three days later — a sure sign to them that they were meant to be together.  Batman returned with the couple to the United States in 2001, and was happy and healthy until he had a series of seizures about three weeks ago, often a sign of a brain tumor.

In July,  the tumor was diagnosed, and the couple was considering options when the University called with a new plan.

Dr. Elizabeth Pluhar , a veterinary surgery professor, and John Ohlfest , a pediatrics professor, had been considering an experimental brain tumor treatment for about three years.

Last week, Batman underwent the procedure — which, though it had been tried on mice, had never used on a dog before. Surgeons removed most of Batman’s tumor, much of which will be used to make a vaccine for the dog. Gene therapy was then used to try and make the remaining tumor cells recognizable to the body.

Batman’s tumor, doctors said, was similar to that which affected U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy.

Ohlfest said they hope to try the treatment in about 20 dogs before trying to get approval to test it in people, possibly applying for a treatment permit within three years.

The University is taking care of the couple’s bill.  In the next few months, the veterinarians said, Batman will receive the vaccine and further monitoring.

(Photo by Stephen Maturen/Courtesy of Minnesota Daily)