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Diagnosis of coccidioidomycosis in dogs is challenging due to the fact that the symptoms are not specific for this disease. Coccidioidomycosis can be diagnosed via a biopsy however the most common method is testing for antibodies to the fungus. These tests are often sent to third party labs delaying confirmation of the disease. This study looks to evaluate a potential point of care rapid test which would be able to provide a positive or negative result indicating the presence or absence of antibodies, respectively, within 30-60 minutes. The diagnosis of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis can be difficult because clinical signs overlap with many other respiratory tract disorders and dogs can have positive Valley Fever antibody titers without active clinical infection. Acute phase proteins are useful biomarkers for many other disorders and our hope is to determine whether they can facilitate making a diagnosis of pulmonary coccidioidomycosis in dogs. For additional details or questions please contact Dr. Jaffey ([email protected]).

Canine chronic bronchitis and eosinophilic lung disease are inflammatory diseases characterized by cough for > 2 months without another identifiable cause. Dogs with chronic bronchitis have persistent airway neutrophilic inflammation. The foundation of long-term therapy is corticosteroids. Oral prednisone is commonly used but has a litany of possible adverse effects. Inhaled steroids is an alternative to avoid the adverse effects of prednisone but the only available option is fluticasone. This medication is expensive and has variable efficacy. Inhaled budesonide is a medication used in humans to treat a similar airway disorder and is a fraction of the cost. This study aims to investigate the benefit of inhaled budesonide on respiratory tract symptoms in dogs with inflammatory airway disorders.

Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in dogs with few treatment options available. Traditional injectable chemotherapeutic drugs have been used to extend quality of life, achieve clinical remissions, and slow cancer progression, but are not feasible options for many families. Additional safe, low cost therapies are needed for canine patients. Multi-agent chemotherapy plus prednisone (an oral steroid pill) is the standard treatment. However, this is not a viable option for many families with affected dogs. Cyclophosphamide is also given by mouth, inexpensive, and part of the standard of care chemotherapy protocol for dogs with lymphoma, but it's effectiveness as a single agent has not been well-studied or reported. We want to learn about what happens when prednisone, an antibiotic, and cyclophosphamide are used together. Our goal is to develop a well-tolerated, effective, oral chemotherapy protocol as an alternative for families that want to avoid injectable chemotherapy.