60 Saber Tails Spring 2017

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

Additional photos from National and Regional Specialties will be featured when photos are available and space in Saber 

Tails allows, and depending on availability from the photographer, including the following:

Best Opposite Sex 

 

 

Best Veteran

Best 

of 

Winners 

   Best 

Puppy

Winners Bitch  

 

 

Best Bred By Exhibit

Reserve Winners Bitch  

 

Best Owner Handler

Winners Dog  

 

 

Non-regular class wins such as Brood Bitch, Stud Dog, etc.

Reserve Winners Dog  

 

Select Dog and Bitch

Awards of Merit 

 

 

Class Winners as available

Photos provided by the show photographer for use in Saber Tails will NOT be disseminated to anyone.  They are for use 

in Saber Tails only.  If the owner, handler, etc wants a photo of their win, they must purchase from the photographer 

individually.

Cont’d from previous page

Cont’d p 68

Pancreatitis in the PBGV 

by Laura Liscum, PBGVCA Health Committee

Inflammatory: (adjective) relating to or causing inflammation 
of a part of the body; arousing or intending to arouse angry or 
violent feelings. Provoking. Rabble-rousing.

P

ancreatitis is an inflammatory disease. Imagine that 
inside the pancreas there is a tiny Thanksgiving din-

ner table that brings together your Democrat and Repub-
lican relatives. In a typical year, the conversation might be 
a little tense and discussions might get a bit heated. But 
this isolated incident of inflammation is mild and revers-
ible and the family bonds survive. Thanksgiving 2016, 
however, the political discussion would likely have been 
much more heated. This dinner likely resembled a severe 
acute pancreatitis attack in which there is permanent dam-
age to the pancreas along with far-reaching inflammation 
that leads to multi-organ failure. This can have devastating 
consequences with a low survival rate despite rapid inten-
sive care.

P

ancreatitis in dogs is a poorly understood disease. The 
Journal of Small Animal Practice devoted its January 

2015 issue to pancreatitis in dogs and cats, and the accom-
panying editorial stated, “The pancreas is a difficult organ 
to study because of its inaccessibility; no non-invasive di-
agnostic test is as sensitive and specific as we would wish 
and biopsy is invasive and has a risk of significant morbid-
ity [causing illness]; the causes of pancreatitis in small 
animals are often unknown and treatment remains non-
specific and supportive. . . . [T]he problems are more acute 
in dogs and cats because there is limited research and so 

little evidence on which to base our decisions on diagnosis 
and treatment.”

T

his sounds grim, but fortunately PBGVs are not pre-
disposed to developing pancreatitis. Nevertheless, oc-

casionally PBGVs are stricken with this disease and, for 
some of those dogs and their families, the outcome can be 
devastating.

C

hance was a fit, active 9-year-old PBGV who had never 
been sick before. One evening he was in sudden pain 

and vomiting. The vet ruled out bowel obstruction and 
gastric dilation/volvulus (bloat). Chance was quickly trans-
ferred to a tertiary care hospital affiliated with a veterinary 
school, where he received a battery of pain meds. They 
suspected pancreatitis and took a needle biopsy, the results 
of which were consistent with pancreatitis. Unfortunately, 
intensive treatment failed to help. Chance developed dis-
seminated intravascular coagulation (that is, blood clotted 
throughout his body), which led to multi-organ failure. He 
went from a vibrant dog to euthanasia in 10 days. The cli-
nicians could not find a risk factor that explained his acute 
disease. His family was left baffled and heartbroken.

W

hat does the pancreas do? The pancreas is an ab-
dominal gland that helps us convert the food that 

we eat into fuel for our body. It is divided into two parts. 
The more well-known part of the pancreas is the endocrine 
part, which secretes insulin and glucagon into the blood 
to control blood sugar levels. When the endocrine part of