What's Happening to Our Golden Retrievers?

Goldies that I have known and loved -- and miss

It's not hard to see why golden retrievers are among the most popular breeds in the U.S. year in and year out. They're cuddly cute as puppies and beautiful as adults. They're great around kids, energetic, intelligent, intensely loyal and easy to train. In fact, they often train their owners.

But many American golden retrievers are also time bombs because an extraordinary large number of them -- perhaps one in four -- succumb to cancer before living to their once typical 12- to 16-year life expectancy.

I know this all too well. I have lived with and been acquainted with a dozen or so goldens over the years, most of them pictured in the photo montage above. I have midwifed their births, taken them to the veterinarian, helped breed them and cradled them in my arms as they drew their last breaths.

It's hard to name favorites, but Ruffie (Medford Ben's Ruffles was the snooty name on her pedigree papers) would have to be at the top of my list.

Ruffie was special from the time she opened her tiny eyes. While she played with her litter mates, there was an unpuppy-like serenity about her which grew deeper as she matured. She in turn seemed to impart a Zen-like quality on her own offspring, who included Cody, the longtime companion of a good friend, and a sweetheart by the name of Luna. (That's Ruffie and Luna in the embrace of Yours Truly at the center of the montage.)

But despite careful attention to their diets, plenty of exercise, regular visits to the vets and the love and devotion of their owners, both Ruffie and Cody departed this world well before their time -- Ruffie a victim of lymphosarcoma (cancer of the lymphatic system) and Cody a victim of hemangiosarcoma (cancer of the blood).

Luna died at age three of lymphosarcoma.

The most recent victim of my acquaintance is Henry, a golden who is named for the Tennessee county where he was raised by my dear sister and her husband. Henry -- or Ahn-Ri as we call him with a faux French accent -- was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma the other day. His longterm prognosis is bleak.

Irony of ironies, the longest lived of the goldies that I have known is Homer (as in homebody), who was rescued by a friend from a puppy mill only to have a close encounter with a speeding pickup truck that shattered a rear leg. Homer is a ripe old 12 years old and has to be carried up and down stairs because of the arthritis in that leg, but he is as feisty as ever. And no signs of cancer.

WHY ARE GOLDIES DYING SO YOUNG?

An obvious explanation for golden retriever mortality is the very fact the breed is the second most popular in the U.S. (*) This has resulted in rampant inner breeding, which predisposes goldies to increased risk of disease.

But this explanation goes only so far, and from anecdotal evidence and what research has been done, it appears that goldens are especially susceptible to genetic-based diseases.

Chief among them is cancer, which is their No. 1 killer and has lowered the average golden life expectancy to barely 10 years.

A close second is canine hip dysplasia, a non-fatal malformation or abnormal looseness of the hip joint.

Other inherited conditions include idiopathic epilepsy (IE), which results in recurrent seizures, and heart disease, most often subarterial aortic stenosis (SAS). Guy, one of my own goldens, had IE and eventually succumbed to lymphosarcoma, while Henry's housemate, Tessa, a gift from my kids and myself to my sister, died of SAS.

As if things aren't grim enough, there also is evidence that goldens are increasingly falling prey to immune and autoimmune diseases, including kidney disease.

Given the vector of these diseases, it seems likely that their life expectancy will go lower.

THE BIG QUESTION

Okay, so goldens are unusually prone to genetic-based diseases and disorders. To my mind, the big question is whether they've always been that way.

In the "old" days when goldens were relatively rare and veterinary care was not nearly as comprehensive, did the breed still succumb to these fatal conditions in disproportionate numbers but their owners and vets just didn't know it? How many times did I hear as a child that So and So's dog seemed to be fine one day and had gone out into the woods the next and quietly passed away? Quite a lot.

The answer to my question is that no one knows.

Research into the deadly demons that stalk goldens is recent and baseline data goes back only to 1998 when the Golden Retriever Club of America first published a health survey that revealed the unusually high incidence of cancer. A new survey is underway.

To learn more about this and other studies, click here for the Golden Retriever Foundation, which is underwriting the mapping of the golden genome, a most exciting project, and here for the National Canine Cancer Foundation.

And if you have a golden who is ill, please ask your vet to send copies of your dog's health records to the foundation.

SHOULD THERE BE A GOLDIE IN YOUR FUTURE?

Should you consider buying or adopting a golden retriever?

I was afraid you'd ask that.

Despite the claims of some kennels that their goldens are disease free, cancer is rapidly overtaking the breed.

If you and your family are able to steel yourself to the possibility that your golden retriever may succumb at a relatively early age, then go right ahead.

Otherwise, fuggedabout about it.

There are millions of dogs in the U.S. who live lonely existences in animal shelters. Many of them are mixed breeds who are less predisposed to disease because of that. Many of them will be euthanized.

Please consider adopting one of these critters. Their love will be as unconditional as that of a goldie.

(*) Labrador retrievers are the most popular breed, followed by goldens, German shepherds, beagles, dachshunds, Yorkshire terriers, boxers, poodles, chichuahuas and shih tzus.