everyfourweeks,andherdosehadtobeincreasedeachtime.
Sadly,shehadthesameadverseeffecteachtimethedosewas
increased.Duringthisperiod,shehadtwourinarytractinfections
thatweattributetoTrilostaneaffectingtheimmunesystem.
Thereareotherdrugsavailable;however,thiswasthebestforus
becauseweareamultiple-dogfamilyandwithTrilostaneyou
don’thavetomeasurewaterintake.Thediseaseiscontrollednow
andJoujouisactinglikeapupagain.”
“Throughregulartestingandtweakingofhermedications,we
feltwegotPrincess’stestresultswheretheyneededtobe.She
seemedtosuffernoilleffects,butremainedhealthy,activeand
alert.Nothingwouldhaveindicatedshehadsuchasyndrome.
Wehadacoupleofroughpatches—oncewhenshewas
diagnosedwithpancreatitis.Aswestrictlywatchfoodanddiet,
wefeltitwasduetotheCushing’sbeingoutofwhack.Wegot
theneededtreatmentsandPrincessneverhadanotherflare-up
ofpancreatitis,wasnotsubjecttomultipleinfectionsand
maintainedgoodweight.”
Whatisthelong-termoutcomeforaPBGVwith
Cushing’s?PBGVsdiagnosedwithCushing’saretypically
seniordogsthatmayhaveotherhealthissues.SeveralPBGV
ownersdescribedthecostoftreatment.
“Thereisnodoubtthediseasehasputabigdentinour
pocketbook.Thereweremonthlybloodtests,at$400each,until
hernumberswereinthenormalrange.Thetrilostaneis$40a
month,obtainedfromacompoundingpharmacy.Whenshe
needsCereniaforvomiting,itis$35aday,unlessa$100
injectionisneeded.Thisdiseaseeasilyrunsintothethousands.”
“IamnotsureofCharlie’slong-termoutcomegivenhisage
andseverelycompromisedimmunesystem.Thecostoftesting
andtreatmentwouldalsobeprohibitiveforalotofpeople.”
Princess’sownerleavesuswiththesewordsofwisdom:
“Getagoodspecialistwhohastreatedthediseasesuccessfully
beforeandhasagoodtrackrecord.
“Neartheendofherlife,Princessexhibitedsymptomsagain.
Thelastsixmonthsofherlife(atage18)becameaguessing
game.Wewereatthevet’sofficealotandworkedcloselywith
themtokeephercomfortableandgoingaslongaswefeltshe
wantedto.Intheend,weneverfeltCushing’stookherfromus,
ratheracombinationofoldageandherlittlebodyjustwearing
out.Wehavealwaysfeltthatshewasanawesomeexampleof
howadogwithCushing’sdidnotneedtogiveupqualityoflife.
Sheremainedalertandwithusuntiltheend.Asfarasimpacton
herlifeorours,wefeltvirtuallynothing.Princessneverstopped
doingwhatshe’dalwaysdone—shepatrolledforvermininthe
yardwithhernose(agingdidgivehercataractsanddiminished
vision),barkedtodemandherchowatfeedingtimes,criedfor
attentionwhensheneededbellyrubs.Wechangednothingaswe
arenotbigtravelersbutareprettymuchhomebodies.Weprefer
tobeonthecouchwiththekiddoesbesideus.Pillsweregivenat
appropriateintervalsandneveraburdentoadminister.
“Princesswasmyonce-in-a-lifetimeloveandImisshertothis
day.Iwashonoredtohaveherasacompanionandconfidante
for13years.ThethingItryhardesttoconveytopeoplefacing
Cushing’sisthatitismanageable.Itiscostlyinthebeginning,so
thefirstyearcanberoughfromacheckbookpointofview,but
afterthatregulartestingcangiveyoumanyyearsofgoodquality
lifeandcompanionship.”
I
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lawschooloutreach
programforfuturelegislatorsandpolicymakers.TheCanine
LegislativeSupportFundEducationalGrantsProgram
supportsclubs’educationalactivitiestoadvanceresponsible
dogownershipandtoprotectfutureownersandbreeders.
TheAKChasamissionofbeingtheleadingauthorityfor
andvoiceofdogs.Breederswhofollowparentclubhealth
testingrecommendationswillbeidentifiedontheAKC’s
websiteforpeoplelookingforapuppy.In2013,theAKC
had20millionindividualvisitors,and95millionpage
views,ofwhich3.2millionwerethebreederclassifieds.A
subcommitteeoftheParentClubCommitteeispullingthis
projecttogether.
Mr.Kalterreportedthataproposalisbeingmadetothe
boardtotelevisetheAKC/EukanubaNationalChampionship.
Mr.KaltercongratulatedtheAKC’scommunicationteamfor
gettingsomeverypositiveexposureonthe“Today”show,
andavideowasshowntothedelegates.
PresidentReport.Mr.DennisSprungrecognizedthe
25thaniversaryofAKC’sCanineGoodCitizenProgram.
AKC’swebsiteWOOFipedia,launchedayearago,achieved
1.1millionuniquevisitorsand4.2millionpageviewsin
August.Thissiteaddressesyoungerpeoplelookingfor
informationaboutdogs,andprovidespositiveinformation
aboutbreedersandresponsibledogownership.
TheNationalOwner-HandledSeriesisofferedsome600
timesin2014withmanyclubsseeinganincreaseinentries.
ClubsofferingtheNOHSwillreceiveassistancefromthe
AKCpromotingtheeventthroughemailspriortotheshow.
CFO’sReport.Mr.PeterFarnsworthreportedthat
revenueYTDisabout$38million,about$1milliondown
from2013,butexpensesarelowerthanin2013sonet
operatingprofitisabout$4million.Revenuerelatedto
coreactivitiesissteady,butrevenuerelatedtoroyalties,
sponsorshipsandadvertisingaredown.Personnelcosts
aredownin2014becausepeoplewholefthavenotbeen
replaced.Investmentsequalabout$112million.TheAKCis
investinginthedevelopmentofnewandeasierservicesfor
us,includingTheOnlineCompetitionManagementSystem,
theBreederEasyRegistration,ourwebsiteandoutreach,and
ourFacebookpresence.
ExecutiveSecretaryJimCrowleyreadtheproposed
amendmenttoChapter14,Section11of“TheFieldTrial
RulesandStandardProceduresforRetrievers.”Mr.Timothy
Carrion,delegatefortheAmericanCheasapeakeClub,
commentedontheproposedamendmentandsaidhis
clubwouldbeofferinganamendmenttotheamendment
readtoday.
Mr.Crowleyreadthenamesofthreedelegateswhohave
served25yearsandcongratulatedtheNewJerseyBeagle
Clubforcelebrating100yearsofAKCmembership.
Mr.Crowleyreadthenamesofthenominatingcommittee
forcandidatesfortheAKCBoardofDirectors,Classof2019.
Itswrittenreporthasbeenreceived,anddelegateswill
receivethenamesoftheproposedslatewithinfivedays.
AnydelegatewishingtorunbypetitionwillhaveuntilNov.
15tosubmittherequired50signaturestobecomeacandidate.
Todate,candidatesincludeMr.SteveGladstone,Mr.
CarmenBattaglia,Dr.TomDaviesandDr.GregoryPaveza.
Mr.CrowleyreportedthattheTeller’sReportfortheAKC
DelegateCommitteesisn’tyetreadytobeannounced.The
resultswillbeannouncedduringlunch.
I