Update on Golden Retrievers

There was quite a response to my post the other day on What's Killing Our Golden Retrievers?

I was not surprised since golden lovers are a passionate bunch. But several did email me to ask why I didn't consider environmental factors in discussing why the life expectancy of these wonderful animals has dropped from 12 to 16 years to only 10 and is likely to drop further.

The reason is simple: While it makes sense to suggest that close human contact and other environmental factors play a role in the high incidence of cancer in goldens, there is not a shred of evidence to prove that this is so.

This makes it even more important to support organizations like the Golden Retriever Foundation and the National Canine Cancer Foundation, which are underwriting genome and morbidity studies. Just click on the organization names to link to their websites.