CHAPTER FOURTEEN
HIATUS CONTINUES
Philadelphia, PA—The American Kennel Club confirmed this morning that its beloved National Dog Show remains on hiatus this year. AKC officials first suspended the competition—televised each year on Thanksgiving Day—four years ago, as the canine epidemic took hold in North America.
“The few folks lucky enough to have a show-quality dog still alive are keeping them under quarantine,” said AKC President Patricia Hernandez. “They don’t want to risk exposure, and we can’t blame them.”
Canine facial tumor disease (CFTD) was first reported in South Asia and bore a striking similarity to another disease that affects the Tasmanian devil, a marsupial once native to Australia, but today found only in Tasmania. Researchers identified both diseases as transmissible soft-tissue tumors that are spread by physical contact with an affected animal. Dogs’ natural social tendencies makes them particularly vulnerable to the spread.
CFTD typically manifests as visible and painful tumors affecting the nose, mouth, and snout of infected animals. These tumors soon metastasize into the lymph nodes and lungs, requiring euthanasia within four to six weeks. Radiation and chemotherapy fail to halt the progression of the tumor, and efforts to develop a cure have been unsuccessful despite considerable funding from both government organizations and private industry. As a result, canine populations plummeted more than ninety-five percent in most parts of the world.
The precise origin of CFTD is controversial. Some organizations believe it “jumped” from Tasmanian devils to dogs. Others, including the international task force assembled to address the epidemic, have suggested that CFTD came out of a research laboratory, possibly one devoted to genetic modifications of canine species.
According to the AKC, some dog owners have kept their pets alive using strict quarantine procedures. So-called “canine clean rooms” prevent exposure to other dogs, which is the most common route of infection. Yet even these extreme measures sometimes prove unsuccessful. Canine populations continue to decline. Dog parks remain empty.
With this bleak outlook, many families who lost dogs to CFTD are turning to other species for pets. The number of households with cats, hedgehogs, domesticated pigs, or more exotic pet species have more than tripled in the last three years. Even so, man’s best friend leaves behind a void that’s difficult to fill with other animals. Canine instincts made them imminently trainable, and hundreds of years of specialized breeding allowed dogs to take on many roles in our society, from sniffing out explosives and contraband to assisting the visually impaired and providing emotional support. Perhaps other animals will be able to perform some of these tasks, but for the vast majority, the loss of dogs is sorely felt.