Canine Health Foundation, Inc.

Helping dogs live longer, healthier lives by preventing, treating and curing canine diseases like cancer, epilepsy and heart disease. Our work furthers human health research too.

Why do we exist?

The Canine Health Foundation is the largest organization in the world focusing solely on canine health research.  We support scientists and veterinary professionals in innovative research that concerns the origins of canine illness, diagnosis of canine diseases, development of effective treatments, and the identification of disease prevention strategies.  We fund non-invasive, innovative health research that helps dogs and their owners live longer, healthier lives.  We have been successful at selecting quality research proposals from across the world with the goal to improve the health of dogs and, through comparative medicine, improve the health of their owners.  Nearly $24 million have been allocated to over 500 research projects which benefit all dogs.

What have you accomplished?

CHF supported research projects have provided significant advancements in veterinary medicine and research which results in happier, healthier dogs. Examples include:

• Mapping of the canine genome which enabled the discovery of genetic tests preventing the diseases in future generation of dogs.  Tests have been developed for diseases such as Cystinuria, Cataracts, Exercise Induced Collapse, Degenerative Myelopathy, Neonatal Encephalopathy, and von Willebrand’s Disease.

• Improved clinical treatments for epilepsy and cancer among others which improve the dog’s quality of life and keep their tails wagging.

• Diagnostic tests for more accurate and earlier detection of diseases such as cancer, heart defects, and infectious diseases.

• Disease characterization to better understand disease progression and identify potential treatment methods.

A specific example of how our work helped dogs is that we funded the original study that identified a missing gene in blind Briard puppies’ eyes.  This study led to further research by other organizations that developed a therapy to enable the blind puppies to see. The first puppies to receive this therapy are happy, healthy adults today and see as well as any dog. This disease, called congenital stationary night blindness, is similar to a disease that humans inherit.

Another example of how our work has helped dogs is specific to the treatment of canine cancer.  In 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration announced the approval for the first anti-cancer drug created specifically for use in veterinary medicine. The research efforts to develop Palladia, which is used to treat skin-based mast cell tumors, was led by Dr. Cheryl London of the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

The Canine Health Foundation began funding mast cell tumor research in 2000 with a grant to Dr. London, then at the University of California, Davis. Since then, CHF has allocated more than $200,000 in support of mast cell research. Dr. London's original work studied the biological effects of c-kit mutations on mast cells, leading to a more detailed understanding of canine mast cell tumors. This early work provided a framework for the development of new therapies and disease prevention. Dr. London has also spent time researching the biology of normal mast cells to provide a platform for future work investigating the genetic basis of mast cell disease in dogs.

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