PLEASE READ THIS SUMMARY BEFORE YOU REVIEW THE UPDATED INFORMATION THAT FOLLOWS ON THIS SITE.
Universities/Necropsy Resources
These universities/labs/vet’s offices are not in alphabetical order, but rather in the order in which they were used. All of the dogs that have had a necropsy either in the United States or Canada as part of the Necropsy Project are listed in the right-hand column with the owner’s name. The middle column indicates cause of death or symptoms leading to a dog being euthanized.
For those dogs that could not be taken to a university, we list the vets who handled whatever portion of a necropsy they were qualified to handle and there is a separate page for these facilities.
There is a separate page for the Canadian dogs paid from WSCC genetics fund.
As you will see, we have added the complete pathology or vet reports that were available for each dog. Some of these are PDFs from the University. Others were scanned in and converted to PDF. When there is back-up that we feel is relevant, it is also scanned in. We will continue to ask Dr. Mary Cardeccia to prepare the summary interpretation of the technical reports because she is uniquely qualified to identify WS/GSD issues and relationships.
When the initial Health and Genetics Survey was conducted and the results delivered by Dr. George Padgett, I prepared a results report. In this report, there are 14 systems of the body for which data was received. Note that of those 14 systems; only four of them are responsible for cause of death or symptoms leading to death in the first 51 dogs.
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM 5
BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS-
CANCER19
ENDOCRINE SYSTEM-
CARDIAC SYSTEM 2
IMMUNE SYSTEM DISEASES-
SKIN DISEASES—ALLERGIES-
LIVER-PANCREAS-
MUSCLE DISEASES-
NEUROLOGICAL SYSTEMSee notes below.
EYES-
REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM-
SKELETAL DISEASES18
URINARY SYSTEM-
Miscellaneous—not included in report 7
A fifth system is often thought to be the culprit when it comes to symptoms that look like Degenerative Myelopathy—the Neurological System. For now, the dogs that were thought to have DM are included in the Skeletal system since DM results are still in question. In no case was there a dog that had symptoms that were attributable to just DM though—they were always a combination of Intervertebral Disc Disease, Spondylosis, Transitional Vertebrae, Lumbosacral Stenosis, Lumbar Stenosis, and Degenerative Myelopathy.
Of the 51 dogs with necropsy, 18 were skeletal, 19 were cancer, 2 were cardiac, 5 were digestive, and 7 were miscellaneous. Six dogs were 4 or younger. Four dogs were 5-7 years of age, 21 dogs were in the 8-10 year old range, and 20 dogs were 11 or older.
Note that for the dogs that have a diagnosis of cancer, all of them except for Teez, Jake, and Emma had one or more spinal or neurological related issues found at necropsy or before being euthanized.
Also note in the Necropsy Database there is a new category called Research. The first dog to be entered is Pam Anderson’s Gypsy. All of our dogs need to be in a DNA Repository. We don’t have one, but in my opinion, CHIC is our best alternative. With the DM issue and the fact our dogs might have two forms of DM, DNA is needed to continue research. Gypsy tested Normal for the OFA DM test and her blood can be used for research. All dogs in the Necropsy Project will be required to have blood drawn and sent to the University of Missouri.
Judy Wellins, President
White Shepherd Genetics Project, LLC
Universities/Necropsy Resources
University / Info—Primary disease / Necropsies performed for:United States:
Michigan State University
Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health
P.O. Box 30076
Lansing, MI. 48909-7576
Phone: (517) 353-5275
-Arrangements can be made at the desk for personal cremation to be paid by the owner
- Drop-off can be arranged on a weekend, night, or holiday for extra charge to be paid by owner / Jaz: Reproductive-Uterine Inf.
Ice: Skeletal--Spine
Raja: Cancer--Hemangiosarcoma
Storm: Cancer-Hemangiosarcoma
Emma: Cancer --Multiple Myeloma
Kyra: Skeletal/Dig –Spine, IBD
Chance: Skel/Neuro –Spine/DM*
Luger: Cancer-Hemangiosarcoma
Quest:Skeletal – Spine
Polo: Cancer – SquamCellCar
Misty: Cardiac – Heart failure
Bear: Misc -Z-Leptospirosis
Teez: Cancer – Mal. Neoplasia
Shatz: Skel/Neuro—Spine/DM
Van/Hemi: M-Hypomyelination
Magnum: Skel/Neuro—Spine/DM
Zepplin: Cancer – Hemangio.
Nikita: Cancer – Hemangio.
Chance: Skel/Neuro—Spine/DM
Fearghus: Cancer – Undiff. Sar.
Gypsy: Cancer – Diss/Hepatic / Jaz – Pam Anderson
Ice – Linda Rosick
Raja – Tiffany King.
Storm – Gloria Erskine
Emma – Joe Jasinski
Kyra – Judy Huston
Chance – Linda May
Luger – Michelle Koons
Quest – Gloria Erskine
Polo – Diana Updike
Misty- Chris Maluzhinsky
Bear – Sgt. Julie Jones
Teez – Maurice & Shannon Seeger
Shatz – Nancy Harkness
Vanna-Hemi Puppy – Barbara Hively
Magnum – Pam Anderson
Zepplin – Julie Tittl
Nikita – Melanie Fuellgraf
Chance – Gloria Erskine
Fearghus – Beth Barkley
Gypsy – Pam Anderson
University of Minnesota
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
College of Veterinary Medicine
1333 Gortner Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55108
1-800-605-8787/612-625-8787
Fax: 612-624-8707
/ Frieda: Skeletal - Spine
Reka: Skeletal/Neuro—Spinal Deg.
Lily: Skeletal/Neuro—Spinal Deg..
Jake: Cancer - Hemangiosarcoma
Dreamer: Cancer - Hemangio
Mac: Skel/Neuro—Spine/DM*
Daytona: Skeletal--Spine / Frieda – Pat Malinowski
Reka – Judy Grumdahl
Lily – Judy Grumdahl
Jake – Kitty Mohs
Dreamer – Judy Grumdahl
Mac – Pat Malinowski
Daytona – Shawn McGee
University of Missouri-Columbia
College of Veterinary Medicine
379 East Campus Drive
Columbia, MO 65211
573-882-7821
Fax: 573-884-7563
Vet Med Diagnostic Lab
573-882-6811
Fax: 573-882-1411 / Pat: Skeletal --Spine / Pat – Terri Vest
Iowa State University
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
College of Veterinary Medicine
Ames, Iowa 500121-1250
515-294-1950
Fax: 515-294-3564 / Tygre: Skeletal--Spine / Tygre – Brad Hansen
Oregon State University
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
P.O. Box 429
Corvallis, OR 97339-0429
541-737-3261
Fax: 541-737-6817
/ Super: Skeletal –Spine
Maya: Misc — Angiomatosis / Super – Rhonda McMahan
Maya – Oliver Lambert
Diagnostic Laboratory
Colorado State University
300 West Drake
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1644
970-297-1281
Dr. John McGee / Cantik: Misc—Toxicity / Cantik – Esther Cohen
Avia Klein
University of Idaho
Caine Vet Teaching Center
1020 East Homedale Rd.
Caldwell, ID 83607
208-454-8657 / Bear: Cardiac—Hyper Cardio / Bear – Brian & Lori McGeorge
Tufts University
School of Vet Medicine
200 Westboro Rd.
Grafton, MA 01536
508-839-7900 / Dylan: Cancer—Hemangiosarcoma / Dylan – Susan & Jim Ewart
Kansas State
Vet Diagnostic Lab
1800 Denison Ave.
Manhattan, KS 66506-5606
866-512-5650
Dr. Gordan Andrews
KSU Vet Teaching Hosp –Kande / Kerstin: Anesthesia
Kenya: Digestive.– Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Kande: Digestive – Inflammatory Bowel disease / Kerstin – Alicia Lips
Kenya – Alicia Lips
Kande – Alicia Lips
University of Illinois
College of Vet Medicine
2001 S. Lincoln Ave.
Urbana, IL 61802-6199
217-333-1620
Case Coordinator: VALLI/AKARB / Buddy: Misc – Toxicity: Renal Failure / Buddy – Deb & Jim Zafiratos
Purdue University
Vet Teaching Hospital
406 S. University St.
West Lafayette, IN 47907-2065
765-494-7440
Dr. Laura Baseler & Steve Lenz / Maggie Mae: Cancer – Neuro Endocrine Carcinoma / Maggie Mae – Susan Mcgrath & Cindi Walczak
VETERINARY CLINICS
Veterinarians / Info / Necropsies performed for:
Winterset Animal Hospital
315 East Madison
Winterset IA, 50273
515-462-2650
Dr. Jim Pottebaum / Ben: Digestive – Diaphramatic Hernia / Ben – Michael Wright
IDEXX REF. LAB
Rippowam Animal Hospital 888 High Ridge Rd.
Stamford, CT 06905
203-329-8811 / Kelly: Skeletal — Spine / Kelly – Robin Davey
Selah Vet Hospital
151 McGonagle Rd.
Selah, WA 98942
Dr. T. M. Beksinski
509-697-6111 / Sadie: Cancer— Hemangiosarcoma / Sadie – Noel Groves
CANADA:
Edgemont Veterinary Clinic
#12, 34 Edgedale Drive, N.W.
Calgary, Alberta, T3A2R4
403-239-4657
Fax: 403-241-1308 / Kayte: Digestive – Mesenteric Torsion
Blizzard: Cancer - Thynoma
Caprice: Cancer – Squamous Cell Carcinoma / Kayte – Bette Gordon
Blizzard – Bette Gordon
Caprice – Bette Gordon
Yager-Best Histovet
Histological and Cytological Services
Suite A210, 49 York Road
Duelph, ON
N1E 6V1 / Diva: Digestive – Inflammatory Bowel Disease / Diva – Debbie Martin (Real)
University of Guelph
Animal Laboratory
Guelph, Ontario, N1H GR8
519-824-4120 x 54501
Fax: 519-821-8072 / Lazarus: Skeletal - Hemivertebra
Seara: Cancer-Hemangiosarco.
Star: Cancer – Mammary Carcinoma / Lazarus – Marion Lopizzo
Seara – Hannah Blacquier
Star – Marion Lopizzo
NSDA Vet Diag. Lab
Dartmouth Vet Hospital
61 Tacoma Dr.
Dartmouth, NS B2W 3E7
Dr. Paul Robb
902-893-6540 / Shaely: Skeletal --Spine / Shaely – Trudy Scholfield
The diseases or conditions listed next to the dogs’ names were proven by necropsy OR thought to be the condition for which the dog was euthanized based on the symptoms. See complete necropsy reports:
Age Range
Diseases and Conditions / No.Dogs / <1 / 1-4 / 5-7 / 8-10 / =11
CANCER (19 Total Dogs)
Hemangiosarcoma / 10 / 5 / 5
Other cancers / 9 / 1 / 4 / 4
SKELETAL / 18 / 1 / 6 / 11
NEUROLOGICAL (included with skeletal—5)
CARDIAC / 2 / 1 / 1
DIGESTIVE (5 Total Dogs)
Inflammatory Bowel Disease / 3 / 1 / 2
Other / 2 / 1 / 1
MISC (7 Total Dogs)
Anesthesia / 1
Hypomyelination (< normal myelin) / 1
Angiomatosis / 1
Toxic Etiology / 1
Renal Failure / 1
Uterine Infection / 1
Zoonotic - Leptospirosis / 1
TOTALS / 51 / 3 / 3 / 4 / 21 / 20
See details below:
C=Cancers, various: 19 Dogs
DMN—Disseminated malignant neoplasia=1
HAS—Hemangiosarcoma=11
MM—Multiple Myeloma=1
TH—Thyoma=1
SC—Squamous Cell Carcinoma=2
D=Digestive System 5 Dogs
DH—Diaphragmatic hernia=1
MT—Mesentaric Torsion=1
EPI—Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency=1
IBD—Inflammatory Bowel Disease=3
Heart/Cardiac 2 Dogs
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
NeurologicalStill not definitive/5 overlap with skeletal
DM—Degenerative Myelopathy
S=Skeletal (All are listed as spine because some dogs have all) 18 Dogs
IVDD—Intervertebral Disc Disease
LS—Lumbosacral Stenosis
Sp—Spondylosis
R—Rear, general issues/old age
Miscellaneous ______7 Dogs
TE—Consistent with toxic etiology=1
M—Angiomatosis within abdomen=1
Z—Zoonotic—Leptospirosis=1
A—Anesthesia—died while having a surgical procedure=1
H—Hypomyelination of peripheral white matter tracts of spinal cord=1
U-- Uterine infection and Renal failure=2
TOTAL: 51 Dogs
Updated August 28, 2012