Alabama Tornado Victims and their Pets Need Our Help

I have a friend with a Boerboel pup who lives in Northern Alabama and was caught up in the horrific tornadoes that ripped through the area last week.  My friend lost his house, his barns, his champion reining stallion and a few mares.  His 9-month-old Boerboel pup was ripped from his arms as he was trying to hold him down.  Thankfully, some friends spotted the pup a few days later wandering around in a field.  A veterinarian is graciously taking care of the pup while his owner tries to get back on his feet.

The Alabama tornado victims need our help in getting veterinarian care to the thousands of displaced dogs, cats and horses roaming through the area.   There are some veterinarians in the area who are working around the clock to help care for these animals. Many of the dogs, cats and horses are still displaced, and no one knows who they belong to. The vets aren't turning any animals down because they don't know who the owners are.  I urge everyone to help if they can.  This link is to a ChipIn site where the donations go directly to a veterinarian clinic in the area that is taking in 4-legged victims of the AL tornadoes.  Please help!

Zoey the Boerboel Has Been Rescued!

OFA and Hip Extended View X-Rays to Determine HD in Dogs -- A Scam?

Here are two recent articles written by the veterinarian profession that question the value of hip-extended view x-rays as a way to determine HD in dogs.  Note that although these articles are written with regard to OFA, the hip-extended view x-rays are the same method used by BVA, FCI, etc.  The more I research this topic, the more I realize that the traditional hip-extended x-rays are nearly a waste of time and money.  For a vet to admit that it is a scam makes it even more believable.  I read about so many breeders who brag about their Boerboel's "perfect" hip x-rays!  If they are relying on anything other than PennHip, it looks the breeder can get more value out of those hip x-rays by using them as a tool to light their fireplace.  

Is It Time to Put OFA to Sleep?

In a day and age when veterinarians are calling for evidence based medicine, perhaps we should start following the medicine we have evidence for and stop recommending OFA certification in young patients. Perhaps we should put the following disclaimer out to pet owners before we perform an OFA evaluation…

“Hey owner – I have this test we can do to look for hip dysplasia. It really only works well if your dog has severe disease. In most cases, where disease is so sever that this test will be meaningful, I can detect disease by simply feeling your dog's hips.  In the vast majority of cases, however, the test does not really tell us much and we don’t even do a great job interpreting it anyway. I even have a radiologist  that I can sent the test to who will tell us that unless things are really severe we don’t know much about whether or not your dog will develop hip dysplasia. If you are cool with that, I would be happy to take your money."

Evaluation of the Relationship between OFA Hip Scores and PennHip DI in Dogs

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance—Dogs judged as phenotypically normal by the OFA harbored clinically important passive hip joint laxity as determined via distraction radiography. Results suggested that OFA scoring of HE radiographs underestimated susceptibility to osteoarthritis in dogs, which may impede progress in reducing or eliminating hip dysplasia through breeding.

Zoey - A Female Boerboel Rescue Looking for a Home

Great News!  Zoey has been rescued and is living the good life at her new home with Julie at Mostly Molossers Menagerie.  Julie, you are awesome!

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Zoey is a female Boerboel located in Pennsylvania, USA that is looking for a home. She is a former brood bitch. She was rescued from spending the rest of her life being bred. She is good with children and adults, but she isn't great with dogs. Julie made a cute slideshow of Zoey that shows some additional pictures of her:

Zoey Slideshow

For anyone interested, she is currently with Perry County Animal Rescue in Central Pennsylvania:

Perry County Animal Rescue 

For additional information, you can send an e-mail to: PerryCountyAnimalRescue @ yahoo.com, or you can call 717-589-3005. 

Jaf - Animation

Jaf Running - Click on the Photo to Animate it

A Prayer for Morgan the Boerboel

Great news!  Morgan has been rescued by our good friend Paul in Plant City, FL.  Paul opened up his heart to the plight of this poor girl, and marched out to the training center that had her and picked her up a few minutes before she was scheduled to be euth'd by a vet.  Julie of Mostly Molossers Menagerie helped with the transition to Paul's house.  


Thanks go out to Paul for giving Morgan a chance at life in a home where she can know love and kindness.  


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My heart is heavy tonight after hearing about the fate of Morgan the female Boerboel from Tampa, Florida.  Morgan will be 4 years old in April, but she won't get to see her 4th birthday.  Her owners purchased her as a puppy, but they soon discovered they couldn't handle her and sent her off to a professional trainer.  She has been living at the kennel/training facility since May 2009 in a 54" crate.  Her owners have been paying her bills, but they never came back and got her.  


Since that time, she was diagnosed with severe HD.  Johnson's Mostly Mastiffs Menagerie has been trying for several months to get her shipped to Pennsylvania where she could have a warm, loving home with a family.  Unfortunately, at the recommendation of a board certified ortho veterinarian, it was determined that Morgan's health problems were so severe that she would not have a good quality of life.   

Dr. Pardo from PVSEC graciously went over all of Morgan's records, x-rays, photos and videos today, and the short version is that her hip dysplasia and muscle atrophy is so severe that she is not a good candidate for any surgery that will either work or help her in the long run.  She also has at least one bad knee, and probably two.  There were no guarantees for her future, or that she would ever truly be pain-free.  Morgan will be 4 years old on April 12, 2011.  She has resided in a kennel/training facility since May 2009 in a 54" crate waiting for someone to give her what she needed.  Morgan has been failed by every person up until the last few weeks.  It is undeniably painful and sad.  Audrey has been the one person in Morgan's life who cared enough to work 'round the clock to find an end for Morgan's misery one way or the other.  Morgan deserves the life we want for all of them -- a loving home and a happy, healthy, playful, pain-free life, but for Morgan hers now will be instead one of a peaceful release tomorrow, March 16, 2011.


Keep Morgan in your thoughts and prayers...and in your hearts going forward.

Snow Play - Boerboels Have Fun!

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf), shows his athleticism in the freshly fallen snow

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf) does one of his patented slides and turns

Quo Vadis Barracuda (Jaf)

Jaf with another one of his patented moves

Jaf enjoys his ball on a rope