Here is the email I put out this morning to all of our UCB contacts I had emails too. Feel free to copy and send it out to your vets, friends etc... I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of our veterinary partners, members of the UCB, those of you in rescue organizations and all friends and followers of the Upright Canine Brigade. Since its inception in October of 2012, our sole purpose for forming the UCB is to spread awareness of Canine Megaesophagus and the diseases that can cause it. We are accomplishing this through our SHARE program Support, HeadLines, Awareness, Research and Education. Support Several years ago, Jackie and Terry Donaldson created The Canine Megaesophagus Support Group on Facebook after their beloved Deezil passed away from complications of ME. It was a way to reach out to other ME parents for support. The group quickly grew in popularity and size. We are now over 2600 strong and active. ME pet parents from around the globe, come together to share ideas on feeding strategies and nutrition, medications to discuss with their vets, and suggestions on ways to make it work for their dog. They celebrate happy times, birthdays and milestones like no regurg days. And when one passes over the rainbow bridge, everyone is there to console that pet parent. HeadLines ME dogs are making the headlines in magazines, newspapers, veterinarian newsletters, vet conferences, veterinarian text books, Facebook pages, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and even National TV! June is International Canine Megaesophagus Awareness Month. The UCB kicked off a campaign called SHARE and INSPIRE and our members certainly did respond. Here is Laurie DePinas Kaiser, a GSD in Massachusetts whom was featured in his vets website and on their facebook page. mspca.org/vet-services/angell-boston/internal-medicine/canine-megaesophagus.html Here is Kate Singletons Willy and Stetson, two adorable ME goldendoodles that made their way into The Virginia-Maryland Dog Summer of 2014 magazine, highlighting BaileyChairs4dogs organization. Here is Willy and Stetsons article in the Virginia-Maryland Dog Summer of 2014! issuu/thevirginiadog/docs/vamd_dog_sum14_web/14?e=2964881%2F8167089 Bailey Chairs 4 dogs was inspired by an Instagram picture of Chrissy Wilsons Valley Bulldog, Gremlin in his feeding chair. Susan Sanchez was so taken up with Gremlin in his old chair that she decided to build Gremlin a new chair, and so it began. Susan and her husband began building these beautiful chairs out of their garage. All profit is then donated into making chairs for ME parents that cant afford a chair. They have made over 300 chairs in just over a year! Susans chairs and Canine Megaesophagus were featured in Mays addition of UKs Dogs Today Magazine. https://facebook/baileychairs4dogs/photos/pcb.261126267392386/261126057392407/?type=1&theater BTW Susan ships all over the world or will walk an ME parent through step by step instructions how to make one themselves! Chrissy Wilson and Gremlin made their appearance known at the Bark at the Bend, a fundraiser for their local SPCA in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Chrissy displayed information about ME and demonstated Gremlin being fed in his chair. The story appears in their local paper, Red Deer Advocate. reddeeradvocate/news/Bark_at_the_Bend_raises_big_bucks_for_SPCA_vet_costs_265155101.html Awareness In our ME support group it became painfully obvious that there were three issues that needed attention. The first was the general public was not aware of the disease or the signs and symptoms. Pet parents were not aware of the difference between regurgitation and vomiting. The veterinarian community, many times, were not asking that important question or explaining the difference between vomiting and regurgitation. Therefore, post after post we were noticing ME dogs were taking a long time to be diagnosed. Many times, the ME discovery would not be made until the dog had aspiration pneumonia and an x-ray was taken. The second problem was many of the vets were not aware of the newer techniques, medicines and nutritional modifications that are in place now in the ME community. These new methods are helping these dogs live long healthy lives with the right management system in place. There was a lot of doom and gloom and talk of euthanasia. The third problem was there was not enough testing for possible underlying diseases that may cause the megaesophagus. For example; Myasthenia Gravis, an autoimmune, neuromuscular disease is said to be the underlying disease in as much as 25-30% of the cases. In the case of focal MG, the esophagus may be the only muscle group effected. Hypothyroidism and Addisons disease are other known underlying factors that can cause ME. With all of these diseases, the ME can resolve once the proper medicines are in place. In the case of a young puppy born with ME, PRAA (Persistent Right Aortic Arch) should be ruled out. Many times puppies with PRAA do not have true megaesophagus and once the stricture is removed the puppy can live a healthy normal life. In one swift post, we brainstormed and Melissa Shaw, our graphic artist and web designer, came up with the Upright Canine Brigade or the UCB. From here we established our own facebook page, Melissa created our Logo and we set our goals to dispel the notion that ME is rare and untreatable. Being in sales, I knew how important it is to have brochures on hand in the waiting area and also for doctors to refer their patients for further help. I decided after finding that there were no ready made brochures on Canine Megaesophagus and Canine Myasthenia Gravis available, I would make our own. Through out network system from our facebook pages, we have sent hundreds of brochures out all over the country and Canada. Weve made them available in our file section for anyone that wants to copy them and distribute. In our effort to bring awareness to the public, last year (2013) the UCB was represented in Pet events in Medford, Manahawkin, Forked River, Cape May- NJ, Providence RI, Calgary Canada, Huntsville AL, South Park PA, and Evans NY. Displays on what ME is, how it is managed and chair demonstrations were on exhibit. We have a Zazzle account where members can buy UCB t-shirt, sweatshirts, dog tees, posters, bumper stickers, mug, ties and more with our logo on it. zazzle/gifts?ch=3iggies. Weve set up in Virginia and Red Deer, Canada so far this year with the season just starting! Research Our group likes participating in research that will help other ME dogs and their parents! Three research projects on ME and MG are currently available to participate in. - The University of California- San Diego has been collecting samples for a genetic study of Canine Acquired Myasthenia Gravis. - Study of Congenital Megaesophagus in Great Danes, Clemson University is collecting blood or cheek swabs. - Mississippi State Veterinary School is conducting a study on the effects of Upright Feeding and dogs with Idiopathic Megaesophagus with the use of fluoroscopic technology. Several of our pups have made the journey to Ole Miss for this research project! Attached is a copy of our very own Batman! Education Education is the key to success. Our UCB Facebook page has 294 files to access at anytime. You can find everything related to ME, MG and other chronic conditions associated with ME. There are helpful tips and recipes in there as well. Website We are aware that Facebook is not everyones cup of tea so we have developed a website to access all the best from our facebook pages. caninemegaesophagusinfo On this site you will find instructions on managing ME, videos, recipes, documents on Myasthenia Gravis, PRAA, Underlying Causes, UCB information, and even places we love to shop for our pups! Be sure to stop by and check us out. Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. We read our comments! Thank you for reading! I hope we can be of service to you or your group in the near future. We are solely here to help others through this disease for the love of our dogs. We are non-profit, and everyone that participates is a volunteer. Have a wonderful day! 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Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 00:07:35 +0000
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