(http://quepasa.osu.edu/issues/wi09/w16.html). In this issue, we want to present the story of the GHWTMS, a research project that provides domestic and international service to the community of greyhound aficionados. Led by Argentina native Guillermo Couto, professor and head of the Clinical Oncology/Hematology/Transfusion Medicine Service, the group of six Latin@s takes its unique skills and compassion for animals beyond American borders, bringing aid to injured animals and forging relationships with foreign students and veterinarians from various universities in Spain and Colombia.
According to Couto, the Greyhound Program was developed because this type of dog has unique physiological features that distinguish it from other types. “We often jokingly say that ‘greyhounds are not really dogs,’ since they develop different diseases or respond differently to infectious agents than other dogs. The availability of free consultations and of a newly launched bilingual website has significantly enhanced our ability to provide support to greyhound owners, adopters, and veterinarians, and to train future veterinarians in the care of retired racers,” Couto said.
Created to address the need that veterinary students, health-related professionals, rescue organizations, and owners recognize as the physiological peculiarities of this breed, the GHWTMS encompasses two different clinical services: Greyhound Health and Wellness Program (GHWP) and the Transfusion Medicine and Animal Blood Bank (TMS/OSUABB).
As an area within the Oncology/Hematology Service of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the GHWTMS reponds to increasing numbers of greyhounds whose numbers, according to the National Greyhound Association, reach approximately 120,000 living in homes as pets and about 55,000 in racetracks. In addition, adoption efforts have been made to reduce the number of greyhounds that are killed every year due due to poor performance on the racetrack.
Although each portion of GHWTMS functions somewhat autonomously during daily activities, their functions are closely interrelated and have common goals. The GHWTMS is primarily an outreach and teaching service, and not a revenue-generating service.
The GHWP
The GHWP provides a free consultation service for owners of retired racers and their veterinarians. The Greyhound Health and Wellness website provides additional information to owners, veterinarians, and greyhound adoption groups, in both English and Spanish.
In collaboration with the Greyhound Adoption of Ohio (GAO) in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the GHWP established a successful spay, neuter, and dental clinic for retired racers in 2004. In this program, third-year veterinary students under the direct supervision of Small Animal Surgery faculty and residents perform routine spays, neuters, and dental prophylaxis in 50-75 greyhounds per year. In addition to directly improving the health of the dogs and the expertise of veterinary students involved in the clinic, it provides the opportunity to evaluate other health issues in the breed.
In January of 2004, Dr. Couto founded Veterinarians for Retired Racing Greyhounds; the group currently has approximately 75 members, and has established a list server to discuss health-related issues of the breed. Additionally, the GHWP provides chemotherapy at no charge for retired racers with cancer. Drugs are purchased with development funds (donations) and shipped to the families of the affected dogs; in return for receiving the drugs, owners and veterinarians provide clinical information and follow up on cancer-bearing greyhounds, and submit a blood sample for genetic testing. In 2006, the GHWP established a greyhound serum, plasma, blood, DNA, and urine repository, from normal and sick greyhounds for future testing. Currently the GHWP sees 20 to 25 greyhounds per month, and receives five to 30 consults on greyhound health issues per day.
GHWP in Spain
Couto has been volunteering at a galgo (Spanish greyhound) shelter in Medina del Campo, Spain (Scooby Medina) for several years, and since early 2007, he travels with a group of OSU students and clinicians to Scooby Medina, where they perform spays and neuters, as well as preventive health care (population medicine) under the supervision of Ohio State clinicians. In 2008, the University of Zaragoza became a partner in this project, and this summer, the University Alfonso X in Madrid and the University of California at Davis will join in the partnership.
While Couto and part of his team sacrifice their vacation to be part of the Scooby Medina project, the Spain experience has proved invaluable for students. For veterinary medicine student Jenn Hansell, “Scooby is truly an amazing place. Everyone I met, no matter what their role at the shelter, had such a love of animals that motivated their work. It didn’t matter what country they were from, or how they were trained. Even through a language barrier, the commitment was obvious — the goal of every person at Scooby was to care for whatever walked, crawled, flew, or somehow made it to the shelter. The trip to Scooby was the best experience that I have had in vet school.”
Rachel Homeny is another student who had the opportunity to volunteer in Spain thanks to the program. She mentioned that “to play an active role in saving a life reminds you that you are exactly where you want to be. Watching a patient that could not stand up several days ago now stand up and playfully tug at a toy because of the care you and your colleagues provided is an amazing feeling. Beyond that, knowing that the same dog, who was left in a field to die, would later be placed in a loving home is extremely gratifying.”
The TMS/OSUABB
Created in 1997 by Couto, the Transfusion Medicine Service/OSU Animal Blood Bank (TMS/OSUABB) has saved greyhound lives by providing blood components to expand the greyhound blood donor pool, increasing the number of adoptions off the racetrack, and reducing cases of euthanasia in poor performers. The program currently has over 70 blood donor dogs (mainly retired racers) and 60 donor cats.
Prior to the inception of the TMS/OSUABB about 20 retired racing greyhounds and adopted cats were kept in cages for 3-4 years as in-house blood donors, and blood was collected on demand. Under the new OSUABB, retired racers are adopted or fostered by students, faculty, or staff and donate blood four to six times per year. Additionally, most of the greyhounds in the blood donor program are placed in homes by the GHWP in cooperation with GAO and other adoption groups.
The program fosters a win-win situation in which, through corporate sponsorship, donors receive free food and flea, tick and heartworm preventive medication, and free vaccinations for the time they are enrolled as blood donors (typically 3-4 years). In addition, they receive free blood products for life. "Working at the TMS/OSUABB is very rewarding. It is great to see these gentle greyhounds save so many lives, while knowing that they also have a forever home through this program. Our greyhound families are a very special group of people, with an unusual commitment to the program", said Cristina Iazbik, Blood Bank managing director. “Many of the Greyhound blood donors’ owners are blood donors themselves, and they feel great about their own dogs donating blood to those in need.”
Due to the success of the program, blood components have been made available to local and regional veterinarians since 2003 and to veterinarians throughout the United States since 2005. |
