Indy was a lovely dog from our first litter that we co-owned with Katheryn and Brad Taylor. He was an exceptionally good natured family dog who helped to raise their four children. Indy was also Brad's pheasant hunting companion. Sadly Indy was diagnosed with cancer shortly after his 9th birthday.
Katheryn and Brad kindly agreed to have Indy's blood sent to the Breen Lab at North Carolina State University to be used in genetically-based research projects investigating several different cancers in a variety of breeds, including flat-coated retrievers. These projects are delving into the genetic causes of some canine cancers and their results will help both dogs and humans over time. Indy's pathology report showed that he had histiocytic sarcoma, one of the cancers that is being studied.
From a recent article in Science News (http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/348433/description/A_Cancer_Patients_Best_Friend):
"In 2012, a team of researchers that included Ostrander and Breen announced the location of a gene for histiocytic sarcoma, a form of lymphoma that is rare in humans but strikes up to a quarter of Bernese mountain dogs and flat-coated retrievers. It is an aggressive malignancy with no cure. In a cover article in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, the researchers described a genetic mutation that appears to be associated with the cancer in these dogs."
Indy will be very much missed by us and by his family and his best buddy, Pharoah.
If you have a flat-coated retriever with cancer, please consider participating in cancer research. To find out more, contact the Flat-coated Retriever Society of America's Cancer Support Team (see http://www.fcrsainc.org/health/cancersupportteam.html).
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