Canine osteosarcoma is often extremely painful, has high metastatic ability and poor prognosis. Homeopaths have anecdotally reported treatment outcomes exceeding the expected survival time in affected dogs. This study asks whether homeopathy in addition to non-steroidal pain relief extends survival time compared with that in dogs treated with non-steroidals alone. MethodsThis cohort study compares survival time in dogs with limb osteosarcoma treated with homeopathy and non-steroidal analgesia with those treated with non-steroidal drugs alone. Dogs were those where owners had declined surgical, radiotherapeutic or chemotherapeutic treatment options. Diagnosis was confirmed radiologically. Dogs were monitored by quality of life assessments and using videos of animals exercising provided by owners. Euthanasia was performed when pain was not treatable with non-steroidal analgesia with end of life decisions made by the owner and referring veterinarians. Survival times in the two cohorts were compared using a Student's T test. ResultsTo date 13 dogs have been entered to the homeopathy arm of the study and 20 in the NSAID arm. All dogs on the study have been euthanased. Survival times are 155±74 days in the homeopathy cohort and 136±112 days in the NSAID cohort, this difference not statistically significant at p=0.86. Statement (conclusions)While to date the study does not show a benefit of using homeopathy in addition to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs we look forward to completing the study by increasing the number of dogs in each cohort to 30. The study was funded through a grant from the Association of British Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons.

To evaluate clinical features of dogs with cholelithiasis and compare outcomes with medical treatment (MT), surgical treatment (ST) and no treatment (NT). MethodsRetrospective review of medical records of dogs with cholelithiasis identified on abdominal ultrasound (AUS) between 2010-2019. Cases were assigned as clinically affected (CA) or incidentally detected (ID) and divided into MT, ST and NT groups. Biochemical parameters and cholelith location were compared between groups with Mann-Whitney U and Chi-squared testing, respectively. Survival times were compared with Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results18 dogs were CA and 20 where ID. CA dogs had significantly higher ALP, GGT and ALT than ID dogs. 8 cases were ST, 15 MT and 15 NT. ST dogs had significantly higher ALP, GGT, ALT and bilirubin than NT dogs. A significantly higher proportion of ST dogs had choleliths in the common bile duct than MT. 17 cases had follow-up AUS: cholelithiasis completely resolved at follow-up in 4/10 MT, 4/5 ST and 1/2 NT; decreased cholelith size or number occurred in 1/10 MT and 1/5 ST. Two MT dogs progressed to require surgery. Median survival time was 457.4 days, with no significant differences in survival between groups. Statement (conclusions)Dogs clinically affected by cholelithiasis have higher ALP, GGT and ALT than dogs with incidental cholelithiasis. 5/10 MT dogs had resolution or improvement of cholelithiasis, showing MT is effective for management of canine cholelithiasis with clinical signs and cholelith location playing a role in treatment decision-making. Survival time was not negatively affected by treatment choice.