💩 Dogs Are Overdosing on Drug-laced Poo

In Today’s Email:

• New fear unlocked: Drug-laced poo? Really. 💩

• Dog cancer is powering human cancer treatments 🩺

• “The Squeeze” aka The Internet’s Best Dog News in 60 seconds.

• The Last Laugh: What we’re laughing with. Not at.

Wait…Are Dogs Really Overdosing on Drug-Laced Poop?! 💩

This isn’t your elementary school D.A.R.E class…

…In a recent article published by ABC7 News, pet parents across the country are racing to vets to make sure their dogs aren’t consuming drug-laced poop.

The Poodemic is real. The eye of the storm? San Francisco.

A city renowned for its vibrant culture and picturesque landscapes, San Francisco has unfortunately gained notoriety for a darker and more insidious issue: drug overdoses. It’s been so bad that Mayor Breed declared an official state of emergency surrounding the issue.

Accidental drug overdose deaths began to spike in the mid- to late 2010s as fentanyl infiltrated the local drug market. Fentanyl can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin and lethal even in very small doses. Just 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be deadly.

Public spaces frequented by drug users have become inadvertent minefields for unsuspecting pets. Drug users disposing their waste, intentionally or unintentionally, has inadvertently created a perilous environment for dogs.

How dangerous?

We aren’t talking Tylenol, Edna. The substances found in these contaminated feces have included cannabis, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, posing severe risks to canines with a hankering for doo doo.

Symptoms of an overdose may include tremors, disorientation, seizures, vomiting, diarrhea, increased heart rate, and, in some cases, death.

Veterinarians in the area have reported an increase in cases of dogs experiencing drug intoxication as a result of consuming contaminated feces. They emphasize the need for dog owners to be vigilant during walks and pay close attention to what their pets are sniffing or ingesting.

Is the “Poodemic” confined to San Francisco?

Hardly. Cases have been identified as far as Germany as well as Vancouver… and if you haven’t had to deal with your dog eating poo, you may be unaware that this is a very common practice…

Coprophagia (the scientific term for poo-eating) is fairly common among canines, though depending on whom you ask or what you Google their reasons for doing so range widely from “it’s a manifestation of their anxiety” to “they think it tastes good.”

So, what can we do?

It’s pretty obvious, but in order to prevent dogs from encountering drug-laced poop, pet owners are advised to supervise their dogs closely during walks and prevent them from coming into contact with suspicious substances. We get it…it’s easy to lose focus whenever we get lost in that Spotify playlist…

…however, training dogs with commands like "leave it" or "drop it" can be the difference when you witness an impulsive moment happen.

Here’s a 5-minute video to teach “leave it”:

Stay vigilant, city strollers. ✊

Overheard at a coffee shop:

“Omg! I got a 511 on my MCATs! Harvard Medical School is a real possibility!”

“That’s great, Steph. I fix my dog’s ear whenever it’s inside out, so let’s apply together…”

- Comma Coffee, Carson City, Nevada

K9 Sacrifice: Dogs are Powering Human Cancer Treatments

This year, nearly 6 million dogs in the U.S. will receive a cancer diagnosis. Let that sink in…

That’s approximately three times greater than the number of Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer this year, even though humans are estimated to outnumber dogs by nearly 4 to 1.

But there’s hope! 

Genetic similarities are the key to treating cancer for both humans and dogs.

Dog and human cancers are genetically homologous, occur naturally at similar rates, and respond to the same treatments.

Canines are about as perfect a model of human cancers that we could hope for. But until recently they have been an untapped resource in the human fight against the disease.

In 2019, One Health began building what has become the world’s largest dog cancer clinico-genomic dataset. Since 2019, they have collected genomic data from the tumors of more than 4,000 dogs being treated for cancer at 900 vet clinics across the country.

They just published a study on a subset of those dogs (2,119 to be exact), and the results are wild.

After gathering over 1.2 billion data points (that’s billion with a “b”, people), they uncovered an unmistakable pattern that revealed how closely the canine cancer journey mirrors the human journey:

1. Dogs develop the same types of cancers as humans

2. Dogs respond to the same cancer drugs

3. Dogs have the same overall prognosis

So, are canine studies going to benefit humans battling cancer?

In short, yes.

Pharmaceutical companies are starting to pay attention to this new drug development landscape. One of the first to recognize the potential of canine cancer patient data was Eisai, a Japanese pharmaceutical company that used One Health’s findings to launch a study to see whether one of their existing cancer treatments, a drug called eribulin used to treat breast cancer and liposarcoma, might also be effective in treating angiosarcoma. The results are promising to say the least and its widening the human cancer treatment efforts.

But who’s pioneering further testing?

The National Cancer Institute awarded $11.5 million in grants to six veterinary schools to study cancer immunotherapies in pet dogs, which has already led to two Phase 1 clinical trials in humans led by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Colorado.

…and the vet clinics?

Today, sadly, most veterinary clinics aren’t collecting the genomic data on canine cancer patients that is needed to provide the most effective care for their patients and drive new insights on effective therapies. But before we start marching to vet clinics with torches and pitchforks, know that vets simply aren’t aware of the data they need to collect at this point.

It’s a downstream problem, sure, but time will make data gathering a two-way street.

So long as the future prioritizes making potent new treatments available to canine cancer patients, collecting genomic data, and monitoring the outcomes, we can usher in a new chapter in cancer drug development that has the potential to save millions of dog and human lives…

…and we think that’s pretty fluffing cool.

“The Squeeze”: Dog News In 60 Seconds

• 🤖 Hang on, AI. Meta is admitting that dogs are still smarter. What? Your surprised?

• 💊 Want your dog to live longer? Don’t give your pet a pill. It’s time to give them the socialization that they (and their heart) deserve.

• 💀 Oh no, Toto! Cairn Terriers are at risk of extinction! We’re on our knees begging the almighty Oz to fix this.

• 🇪🇬 What do Cocker Spaniels, Labradors, Poodles, Malinoises, Pomeranians, Jack Russells, Great Danes, White Shepherds, Malteses, and Samoyeds have in common? They’re now banned in Egypt. 😬

• 🌈 Petsmart joined in on Pride month and faced a serious boycott. Let the dogs celebrate, too!

• 🫂 “Don’t hug your dog!” We didn’t say it. A neuropsychological researcher did. 🤷

• 📣 Attention Maryland and Virginia: your top dog names were just revealed. “Bella” is conquering the country like a Risk board.

• 🍔 The Windy City has a new menu for your pup, and we’re wondering why lines aren’t all the way to the Bean.

• 🎓 Loki, a 5-year-old Rottweiler, just got a “Dogtorate” from the University of Maryland Baltimore. Rumor has it she dodged tuition.

Today’s Last Laugh:

“Officer! This is oral breaking and entering…”