Scheduled Events:
Board of Directors Meeting Tuesday, March 21, 2023 at 7:30 PM MST via Zoom 

Paws To People  Nonprofit Makes $13,500 Grant to Further Study of Canine Dysautonomia

$13,500 was awarded by the Paws To People Board of Directors’ to fund an investigation into the role of a botulinm toxin as the cause of canine dysautonomia. This possibility has been speculated about for many years but few studies have been undertaken to asses the reality of this connection.

The award, Paws To People’s fourth grant since it’s founding in 2013, is the first made since the pandemic redirected most research to COVID and closed down many University departments.

The grant was awarded to Dr. Jonathan Fox (lead),  Dr. Van Sandt (an expert in spinal cord disease), and Dr. Songeroth (veterinary microbiology) – all from the University of Wyoming. The team also includes Professor Harkin, a small animal internal medicine specialist at the University of Kansas. Dr. Fox, a Board Certified veterinary pathologist, has focused on the mechanisms of neurodegeneration.

Dr. Fox believes Paws To People is a good match for the team’s “long term goal to develop preventative and treatment approaches through translational research.” To do this, he believes, “it is first necessary to unequivocally determine the cause.”

Very little research has been completed on canine dysautonomia, Fox acknowledges. It is particularly challenging to obtain large amounts of funds to start research projects without pilot data. The Paws To People funds will allow us to develop data that could allow us to be competitive for larger grants from other agencies.”

Canine Dysautonomia, according to Dr. Fox, “is an uncommon, but regionally important disease of young dogs in the USA. The vast majority of cases in the Kansas and Missouri area, with fewer cases in surrounding states. The disease results in dysfunction and loss of nerve cells of the autonomic nervous system. “ This potentially causes vomiting, dry eyes, motor dysfunction, and abnormalities of heart rate. The disease has a high mortality rate.

“This research is designed to address the gap in knowledge about the cause of Canine Dysfunction,” Susan Sehi Smith, founder of Paws To People explains. “Understanding the cause is essential for the development of preventions and new treatments.”

Paws To People is at the front line to help define a new approach to medicine and to rediscover our connectedness to the rest of our planet. By building bridges we will find innovative solutions to how we detect, prevent and cure diseases that take too pets and humans too soon.

People, Pets & the Planet
Paws To People is committed to achieving lasting change that transforms the lives of humans and pets suffering from catastrophic disease. Through our grant making, we support innovative thinkers, researchers, and organizations that are working to find causes, preventions, and cures for catastrophic diseases (especially those focused on the nearly 1,500 shared by people and animals).
Saving the Lives of People and Pets

  • 2015  $10,000 grant to Bridgewater State University to find a better way to diagnose Lyme disease in dogs
  • 2016, $6,500 to Central Michigan University to collect and analyze data about end of life decision-making in animals and humans
  • 2018 $10,000 to Central Michigan University to study water quality and possible correlations to autoimmune diseases
  • 2022 $13,500 to the University of Wyoming to study environmental causes of Dysautonomia in dogs

Call for Research Grant Applicants

Paws To People is committed to achieving lasting change that transforms the lives of humans and pets suffering from catastrophic disease. Through our grant making, we support innovative thinkers, researchers, and organizations that are working to find causes, preventions, and cures for catastrophic diseases (especially those focused on the nearly 400 shared by people and animals).

 We invite you to CLICK HERE and download the FAQs and application to apply for funding.

Contact
Paws To People
204 Hermosa Dr NE
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA 87108

Email Address & Phone Number
info@bridgestocures.org   (505) 232-7996)