This week on Genome Barks, we welcome Linda Bell, of PetPartners Inc. who talks about the American Kennel Club’s pet healthcare plan.

The American Kennel Club^® selected PetPartners, Inc. as the dedicated provider for the AKC Pet Healthcare Plan.  Increasing numbers of pet owners are finding that pet health insurance is a more secure way of planning for unexpected veterinary bills, to avoid counting on unreliable credit options in these uncertain times.

Linda Bell, Chief Marketing Officer at PetPartners, added, “The holiday season is a perfect time to consider the gift of a healthcare plan for your pet.  Should your pet have an unexpected accident or illness, knowing that you will be able to provide the best veterinary care could be the greatest present for the whole family.”

During the busy holiday season when family and friends visit, it is easy for dogs to get up to mischief behind their owners’ backs, with tempting food, candies, toys, and tree ornaments in all too easy reach – often with expensive outcomes, such as these real claims for veterinary bills, paid by PetPartners:

• Ate a kitchen towel                                           $3,738 paid
• Ingested a chicken bone                                     $2,699 paid
• Swallowed a rubber chew toy                            $1,552 paid
• Ate Christmas garland                                       $3,325 paid
• Slipped on ice and tore cruciate ligament             $3,279 paid
• Chewed on a hand warmer                                $1,424 paid

In this week’s Genome Barks podcast, CHF Director Lee Arnold welcomes Bruce Hammerberg, DVM, PhD, a professor of immunology and parasitology at the College of Veterinary Medicine North Carolina State University.  Funded in part by the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Dr. Hammerberg has spent the last decade studying the function of mast cells and IgE in allergic diseases.

The essential cause of the itching skin that starts atopic dermatitis reactions has been well known for decades, yet we do not know why there is an alarming increase in the number of dogs afflicted with this disease and we do not know why some dogs suffer much more than others living in the same environment.  The cause of the itching skin is histamine and other mast cell products that are released when mast cells coated with the immunoglobulin IgE binds allergens such as house dust mite or pollen proteins.  All dogs have mast cells in their skin and many without the disease have IgE that specifically bind allergens.  The ever increasing numbers and complexity of genetic factors being discovered that predispose humans to allergic diseases are likely to be found as similarly daunting obstacles to fully understanding the genetic basis for canine atopic dermatitis.

Working with breeds as diverse as the West Highland White Terrier and the Rhodesian Ridgeback, Dr. Hammerberg has focused his attention on atopy (allergies) in genetically susceptible dogs, working to develop markers to predict disease development in puppies.