MGM's To Be My Funny Valentine

Toby

Toby was born on Valentines Day 2003. Toby is an apricot brindle that is 34 inches at the withers and 176lbs. Toby was my 2nd show dog and the first one I handled. We did learn the ropes together. Toby is my eternal puppy, always playful and full of mischief. Toby's idea of a good time is sitting in the pool, when he swims it's only so he can splash and try and catch his splashes otherwise he's just a lounger. As with life there are no guarantees. In 2004 one of his littermates Pearl lost her life to renal failure and another littermate to Auto Immune Hemolytic Anemia in 2005. As part of my standard all my dogs are health tested and Toby's testing had begun at the age of 1. I had a baseline blood panel done on him all his values were within normal ranges. 8 months later Toby is in the beginning stages of renal failure. In addition Toby has tested positive for Cystinuria, a disease that also attacks the kidneys and can cause cystine stones to form that can be life threatening since these stones can cause a blockage. Due to these 2 diseases and his dislike for the show ring Toby has been neutered and is living a happy life at home as a well loved pet. To try and help researcher find the gene that causes Cystinuria in mastiffs samples of urine, blood and a biopsy of his testes were sent to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine where research is currently under way. I hope that one day soon the genetic marker can be identified and in some way Toby was able to help in it's discovery. 

For more information on Cystinuria or for those that have dogs that are Cystinuria positive please visit. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CanineCystinuria/

For those that have dogs in any stage of kidney failure another wonderful group is the k9kidneydiet list. This is a group of individuals that provide valuable information, support and even shoulders to cry on when needed.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/

To see other pictures of Toby please go to photo gallery.