DOGS AS MAN’S BESTFRIEND:

COMBATTING DISEASES AND SECURING HEALTH

Ma. Louriza S. Circulado, S14

louriza_02@yahoo.com.ph
Miguel Dalisay, S14
migsd18788@gmail.com
Paolo Pagtalunan, S14
paolo_0711@yahoo.com
Raoul Santiago, S14
raouzy@yahoo.com
Carlo Antonio M. Valmonte, S14
valcarlo2004@yahoo.com
College of Computer Studies
Bachelor of Science in Information and Communications Technology Management

ABSTRACT The Reference given to us basically

We all know the saying that the dog is “Man’s
best friend”. In connection to this, the
relationship between man and dog will always
be how much we take care of them as much as
they take care of us. Some questions that would
come out of our minds are what specific roles
do they play in our lives? How vulnerable are
they when it comes to illnesses? What should
we do if these best friends of ours would get
sick? And what should we do to prevent these
kinds of infections or diseases? Also, how do
people on the medical field give importance to
this animal health and nutrition? How human
food affects dogs and why we should prohibit
them? Lastly, what are the emerging
technologies involved with regards to the
medical field, specifically on veterinary
medicine? Could it be considered as important
as human medicine? Answers to these questions
will be discussed later on in this paper.
contained facts about dogs such as their life
span, diseases, and the like. The reference that
we used really helped in creating our paper.
Dr. Mayem Yao is one of the many
respected veterinarians around. We used his
papers as reference to the paper we made
because it is about dog health in general and it is
suited for all pet lovers out there. This handout
he uses can make a dog lover’s dream come true
by prolonging the pet’s life span since people
consider pets as members of the family.
Another one another reference is the use
of other technologies such as the transplants are
just some treatments used on humans that now
have reached the field of animal treatment.
When people started exploring
alternative ways to help animals, transplants
was one of the treatments introduced to
veterinarians across the world.
1. INTRODUCTION

NOVEL ASPECTS In our world today, modern technologies are

becoming more and more advanced. These
Some references that we used were the handouts technologies may be related with new
given to us by Dr. Mayem Yao. advancements of genetics or it may even be
found in mobile banking. There are a lot of new
technologies available to the new generation
today, but unfortunately only few people know
about these new advancements in technologies
this is why these new technologies are not yet
used to their fullest potentials.
This paper concentrates on the emerging
technologies with regards to animal health care
specifically for dogs. Animal healthcare is really
needed when people decided to raise a pet or
raise animals for some sporting events. In this
paper that you will read, discussions will be
concentrated on the different kinds of sicknesses
that a dog can get, the different kinds of
parasites that a cat or dog can acquire, and
finally some safety measures on how to avoid
these parasites. This would provide additional
information to pet lovers and trainers so that
they will have an idea on things that they have
to remember in raising their pets.
This paper would help the reader
understand some techniques on how to keep
their pets healthy and strong, give the reader
tips on what breeds of dogs would be most fit
for their environment and activities, and share
some facts about the emerging technologies
today with regards to taking care of their dogs.
To show the readers on how things
would look like, readers would find that this
paper provides many pictures ranging from
examples of the parasites up to pictures of actual
dogs being treated because of a sickness. The
facts on this paper are based on the study of
professional veterinarians namely Dr. Mayem
Yao and Dr. Rovel Martinez. Some of the facts
on this paper were gathered information from
the Internet. The sites where we obtained our
information were from foxnews.com,
Canada.com, and seattlepi.nwsource.com.
2. LITERATURE
A dog’s ancestry can be traced from the grey
wolf. Today, dogs are known as pets of men that
either protects them or works for them, they are
also known as “Man’s best friend”. Dogs can
give and receive love unconditionally. They
don’t complain to whoever their owner is. Dogs
are also sensitive in terms on how their owners
treat them, too much depression may cause them
unhealthy feelings, otherwise they are happy
and active which will make them energetic.
There are different kinds of dogs which match
their abilities under their category. There are
Sporting Dogs, Hounds, Terriers, Toys,
Working Dogs, and Herding dogs.
Most of the dogs we know are kept in
houses as pets but we can also see some dogs
working alongside with humans with their jobs.
Some of these dogs are used hunting as pointers
alongside humans and they are called Sporting
Dogs. Sporting Dogs are trainable, active and
happy, but if they are not trained properly then
they tend to chew things, run uncontrollably and
can be insensitive as a brick. Examples of these
dogs are the Golden Retriever, the Labrador
Retriever, Pointer, Field Spaniel, Barbet,
English Setter, etc. Another kind of dog that
goes along with humans is the working dog.
Working Dogs are intelligent, trainable and
territorial. With directions, proper training
experiences and activities, they make first-rate
companions. Improper training of working dogs
may become wild, aggressive and disobedient.
They are also known as guard dogs in houses
and some of them are dogs that we see
accompanied by policemen or guards. Examples
of these dogs are Boxer, Great Dane,
Bullmastiff, Chinook, Japanese Akita, Mastiff,
Rottweiler, etc.
Dogs are easily infected by some
diseases just like humans but there are some
diseases which are found only in dogs. Dogs
have a normal temperature of 38.4 – 39.4
degrees Celsius, a normal heart rate of 70 – 120
beats per minute and a normal respiration of 18-
34 breaths per minute.

Figure 1. Control Parvo Distemper
In order to have a healthy and full
vaccination, puppies undergo one of the newest
technological tests, the ELISA (Enzyme Linked
Immunosorbent Assay) test. It is a diagnostic
tool to check for the pup’s immunoglobulin G
titers or the immune system of the puppy. The
Immunoglobulin is represented as “lg”, the
higher the pup’s lg G titers are the more they are
protected to diseases. There are some matters
that affect the immunity of the puppy, these
things are unquantifiable and the only way to
know for certain when the right time to
vaccinate would be is to have the pup’s
antibodies checked prior to vaccination that is
done by ELISA. This figure shows us an
example of the ELISA used to measure the
immunity of the dog’s Immunoglobulin
Dogs are also prone to ticks and fleas
which is a very common parasite to them. Tick
is a small, blood-sucking mite. It lives in larger
animals like antelopes and can be hosted by
humans as well. A tick carries a disease called
Lyme disease, a variety of symptoms, including
changes in affecting the skin, heart and joints.
Flea on the other hand, is a wingless,
bloodsucking insect, with flattened bodies and
three pairs of powerful jointed legs, which they
use for jumping. There are four ways to prevent
these insects. First is to treat your dogs using
anti-flea and anti-tick sprays to lessen the
infestation of fleas and ticks to every pet. Before
using the spray, it is advised to give the dog a
bath because the spray only takes effect when
the insects come into contact with the skin of
the dog. Second is to treat the backyard, ticks
tend to hide on walls and grassy areas, while
fleas hide under papers or cartons. It is advised
to spray the areas where insects can normally
hide or live before they attack your dog.
Common anti-insect sprays do not work on ticks
and fleas. It is advised to stay away from the
sprayed area and to enclose the area to ensure
the anti-tick and flea spray takes effect. You can
keep your pets free from such pests by cleaning
and maintaining its surroundings and the pets
themselves.
Aside from exterior parasites, dogs also
have interior parasites just like humans. Some of
the most common parasites of dogs are worms,
which can also be found in humans. There are
four worms attacking the intestinal organs of
dogs, these are the roundworms, hookworms,
whipworms and tapeworms. Roundworms are
found in the mother’s tissues and can transfer
right to the developing puppy through the
mother’s uterus. If the mother of the puppy is
infected by this parasite, then it could possibly
be transferred to their puppies. They can also be
transferred during the nursing of puppies
through the mother’s milk. Hookworms can also
transfer during nursing through the mother’s
milk. These worms can do severe damage to the
puppies since hookworms suck blood through
the walls of the intestine. The effect on the
puppies may cause loss of blood or anemia. To
older dogs they can get blood diarrhea, weight
loss, anemia and progressive weakness.
Whipworms can be found in the Cecum, the
first section of the large intestine. Infestations of
whipworms are a difficult to exterminate for the
veterinarians. Whipworms do not lay many eggs
unlike the other worms. They seldom cause the
dog’s death but they are difficult to diagnose.
Deworming the dogs to the veterinarian can
solve the whipworm problem. Tapeworms can
be transmitted if the dog accidentally ingests a
flea since fleas eat tapeworm when they suck uncomfortable which can cause weakness and
blood. Terminal segments or eggs can be found vomiting. Laying some poisons to kill other
on the skin of the dogs. A specific treatment for pests may accidentally poison your dog as well.
tapeworms is required to cure a tapeworm It is called Warfarin poisoning, which has a
infestation. slow signs of infections. The signs of the poison
Dogs can also be poisoned by humans are bleeding, discoloration and bruising of skin.
due to certain activities that are unpleasant to Household items such as alcohol, chlorine, and
the health of dogs. The most common poison corrosive substances are difficult to treat since
that they have is the Organophosphates. These most dogs do not simply vomit the poison out.
poisons are found in household insecticides and Some dogs which can vomit the poison out will
bug sprays and are commonly use by humans. have skin burns. Lead and paint are also
When dogs interact with this poison, they will poisonous to dogs which can cause them
experience vomiting and difficulty in breathing. abdominal pains and hyperacidity.
Most of these poisons are ingredients in anti-
tick and flea sprays, which is why it is important
to keep the dogs away from the sprayed area.
Next is the Carbamate poison which is one of
the substances of the anti-tick and flea soaps and
shampoos. It has the same effect with
Organophosphates. Invermectin poison is the
one used to protect the heart of the dog during
de-worming. High quantities of de-worming can
poison the dog as well. The dog will experience
hyper-salivation. Next are the foods we eat. Not
all human food can be fed to dogs. Some foods
may even be deadly to dogs. Careless owners
may think that their dogs can eat anything that
they eat, not knowing that they are causing the
sicknesses of their pets. Onions and Garlic can
cause the dog’s red blood cells to burst which
lead to anemia and enlarged abdominal areas.
Chocolates are one of the poisonous foods that
can damage the organs of the dogs. Dogs lack
the enzymes and they cannot fully metabolize
this component in their bodies. It will eventually
become toxic once ingested and causes damage
to their liver and their kidneys. Raisins and
Grapes cause renal failures, although the
mechanism of action is still unknown, It
decreases the urine of the dog or it is unable to
urinate, and can also cause abdominal pains.
Avocado can cause myocardial necrosis. Raw
Bread dough is harmful to dogs because of the
presence of yeast, it will cause Gastric
Distention. Macadamia Nuts do not cause fatal
effects but it will make your pets very
 Dog and Cat Parasite Eggs As Seen Under The Microscope In A Stool
Sample Analysis
Ascarid (Round Whipworm Egg
Worm) Egg
Figure 2. Dog and Cat Parasite Eggs As Seen Under The Microscope In A Stool Sample Analysis
3. CONCLUSION
We can say that a pet’s life is just as important
as any other life. Dogs nowadays are not treated
merely as pets, but companions as well. Now
that technologies in veterinary medicine are
emerging to further protect and help save these
animals, we should never deny them the
privilege of getting the same kind of treatment
that we humans are getting. Indeed dogs are
man’s best friends, but men are dog’s best
friends as well. They accompany us in our
everyday lives, help us with our jobs, give us
unconditional love and uncanny loyalty. We
should return the favor by doing further research
on technologies that would ultimately lead to
the good health of our pets.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS
Possible recommendations for this paper are
that people today have neglected their pet’s
health and resorted to self-medication using
vitamins and having just a “wait-and-see”
attitude. Pet owners today have invested more
than 20 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. This is
what people considered them to be, an important
part of their family. It is important to note that
our pets just have more concern for their own
health just as any other human on this earth. We
Hookworm Eggs Tapeworm Egg Packet
are the only ones capable of taking care of these
animals.
5. FURTHER STUDY
One example of an emerging technology in the
industry of animal health care is the bone
marrow transplant for dogs. According to
seattlepi.nwsource.com, Washington State
University is going to offer bone marrow
transplants for dogs. In an article by Tom
Paulson, it is stated that “The bone marrow or
stem cell transplant, a procedure that every year
saves tens of thousands of lives and won for the
Seattle physician who pioneered it the 1990
Nobel Prize in Medicine, appears poised to
come full circle and finally become more widely
available to those who first made it all possible,
Dogs.” It is said that dogs before were actually
used to test this kind of procedure because of
their broad genetic diversity like humans.
According to the article, The WSU
transplant program is intended to make the
procedures available to pet owners for about
$15,000 to $20,000 per dog. Although pricey,
there appears to be enough demand among pet
owners to support the program.
"We could never have done this in the
first place without dogs," said Dr. Rainer Storb,
head of transplant biology at the Fred
Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and one of
the original members of the team of Seattle
scientists led by Nobel Laureate Dr. E. Donnall
Thomas that worked to perfect the procedure in
humans during the 1960s and '70s.
The article also quoted Dr. Edmund
Sullivan who said:
"So it's only fair that we now make this
as widely available as a treatment option for
them as well,"
Dr. Edmund Sullivan is a Bellingham
veterinarian uniformly credited with doing one
of the first non-experimental marrow transplants
for a dog in this region -- in 2004 on a golden
retriever named Comet who had T-cell
lymphoma.
Andy Rogers / P-I
Dr. Janean Fidel, left, veterinary technologist Betsy
Wheeler and Dr. Jeffrey Bryan react to bouquets of
flowers they received from a dog owner as thanks
for their medical work in Pullman on Kirby, a dog
with throat cancer.
Comet was successfully treated for the
lymphoma, and enjoyed more years of life, but
died last month at age 10 from a different
cancer, said his owner, Darrell Hallett, a Seattle
attorney.
Andy Rogers / P-I
Dr. Chelsea Tripp, a resident of oncology, shaves the leg
of Amber while preparing her for a dose of
chemotherapy to treat her bladder cancer at the
Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Washington State
University in December. She is assisted by student
Shannon Urza.
On the other hand, there is
chemotherapy, wherein in its most general
sense, refers to treatment of disease
by chemicals that kill cells, specifically those of
micro-organisms or cancer.
Cancer therapy is a rapidly expanding
discipline in veterinary medicine. For many
forms of cancer, chemotherapy is a treatment
option to prolong the life of your pet. But we've
all heard of the very radical, toxic therapies
often given to human cancer patients battling
cancer.
Learning that a pet has cancer is very
difficult. You are suddenly flooded with all sorts
of emotions and questions and the choices to be
made have no easy right or wrong answers.
The decision is a very personal one. "The
decision to pursue chemotherapy has to be a
joint decision between you, your veterinarian,
and all family members. Everyone should
support the decision and be there for the pet in
the rare case of complications," says Renowned
veterinary Dr. Tim Fan.
REFERENCES
Dr. Rovel Martinez.“Top Poison”.Retrieved
March 9, 2009.
“Intestinal Worms in Dogs and
Cat”.(2009).ThePetCenter.com.
 Retrieved March 9, 2009 from
http://thepetcenter.com/.

Dr. Mayem Yao.“Tick and Flea

Problems”.Retrieved March 9, 2009.

Dr. Rovel Martinez.“Working and Sporting

Dogs’ Healthcare”.Retrieved March 9,
2009.

Kilcommos, B. & Wilson, S.“Good Owners,

Great Dogs”, Time Warner Company,
1271 Avenue of the Americas, New
York, September 1999.

Paulson, T.(2008).WSU to offer bone marrow

transplants to sick pets. Retrieved March
9, 2009 from seattlepi.nwsource.com.