OVC Cancer Research, 'Singing Dogs' Featured on TV
November 12, 2013 - In the News
Ontario Veterinary College professor Paul Woods has been hitting the small screen to promote OVC’s cancer research and the release of a new video for the Pet Trust Fund.
Woods, a clinical studies professor and co-director of OVC’s Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation, was on CP 24’s Animal House Calls Tuesday night and Global TV’s The Morning Show last week.
About one in four dogs and one in eight cats die of cancer. Groundbreaking research at OVC is improving survival rates and knowledge of the disease in both animals and humans.
“What we are learning from treating cancer in dogs and cats is impacting directly on pets and providing new insights into treating human cancers,” said Woods. He is also a veterinary cancer specialist at OVC’s Mona Campbell Centre for Animal Cancer.
“For example, dogs and humans are prone to similar types of cancer, including lymphoma, osteosarcoma, melanoma and bladder cancer. The more we can learn about canine forms of the disease, the more the potential exists for advances in treatment for cancer in humans.”
OVC’s Pet Trust has launched an awareness and fundraising campaign called “Keep Cancer on a Leash.” A music video to be released Monday will feature dogs, including several cancer survivors, “singing” in a recording studio.
Purina Canada has sponsored the video and will match individual donations up to a total of $125,000. The video was produced by Red Urban, a Toronto-based advertising agency.
“The music video is really a tongues-and-tails-wagging way to spread the word that, thanks to donations to OVC Pet Trust, we’re making some amazing progress in treating different forms of cancer in pets,” said Woods, “and that holds tremendous promise in the fight against similar cancers in human beings.”
Established in 1986, OVC Pet Trust is Canada’s first charitable fund devoted to the health and well-being of companion animals. Opened in 2012, the centre is Canada’s most comprehensive animal cancer treatment and research centre, offering the most advanced tools for cancer diagnosis, treatment and teaching.
