Dr. Kelly Diehl, Senior Director of Science and Communications at Morris Animal Foundation, is here with Ginger and Yer Big Dog this week to talk about their monumental research project that’s been ongoing for over a decade.
The Golden Retriever Lifetime Study is a game changer in veterinary oncology as well as comparative science with over 3,000 enrollees who have been followed and studied throughout their life. It’s an expensive, ambitious effort that Yer Big Dog played a minor part in during Walk 1 and the history here is important. Having talked to hundreds of parents at the time who lost their canine companions to cancer, the folks at Morris wanted to know what I learned. I conveyed to them that what I heard most is people want to know what’s causing cancer, that is, what are the major risk factors so they could take better preventative measures. I knew even back then the challenge would be herculean and I’m extremely proud of the work the Morris Animal Foundation has done with it!
In addition to what they’re learning with over 500 cancer cases, the Girls (GRLS) Study (Insider’s joke!) has become a platform for further research with other partners looking at disease states beyond cancer. Morris has open sourced their samples at no cost and this is critical for a new model of collaboration.
Morris hopes to make the initial phase of the study available to the public in 2024 so we look forward to having Dr. Kelly Diehl back on Fuzzybutts & Friends! It’s an exciting episode and we hope you take some time to learn about and support all the incredible work Morris Animal Foundation does for fuzzybutts of all kinds – https://www.morrisanimalfoundation.org/ ——– #FuzzybuttsAndFriends #yerbigdog #lukerobinson #gingermorgan #MorrisAnimalFoundation #KellyDiehl #GoldenRetriever #GoldenRetrieverLifetimeStudy #caninecancer #comparativeoncology #PuppyUp
