Another well-received Epi4Dogs participation at the
2014 Nashville ACVIM Conference !!! 

Epi4Dogs had another successful experience at an ACVIM Conference. Each time we are lucky enough to attend a conference, we come away with a different experience from the last conference.  This time was no different.   The thing that surprised us that most though is that so, so many vets and vet internists, and even some researchers too KNEW who we were ! Many comments were: “they have us book marked, they use our site all the time for info, they send their vets (these were from the internists) to our site/great resource, many said they send all their EPI clients to our site, our support group is very well appreciated. we even got a few “Epi4Dogs and EnzymeDiane are our heroes”. And a few vets even offered to help us with any questions that we might have! There was a big interest in the cat EPI information that we had too. In addition i now have a rather large list of internists and vets that liked our EPI Quick Guide… so i will be emailing the PDF of the EPI Quick Guide to them so that they can easily share the info with their clients. One internist was so appreciative of what we do that she was ready to whip out her check book and make a contribution….. but we had to stop her because we are not a 501c3…. (more on this below). One day we were even stopped by a California Gastroenterologist in the hotel hallway because of the EPI T-shirts we were wearing (Thank You Susan and Ms. Butterbean) who had a long chat with us about our Epi4dogs website and the forum and he ended up taking a picture with us because he wanted to use it in a presentation he was doing
(all because of our epi shirts !!!).

Our conference Table

 

Paula, Olesia and Diane at the Epi4Dogs table

One of the isles at the Conference

The networking with vet researchers was by far the best at this conference!

In addition to meeting with the vets and internists, we also had a delightful dinner and discussion Wednesday with Dr. David Williams (research developer of the EPI TLI test), who everyone just adored (he is such a nice man!).

Dr. Cyrus from Texas A&M Gastrointestinal Lab also visited with us and more great research discussions ensued. Then we met another geneticist who is very interested in possibly teaming up with Dr. Clark at Clemson with regards to EPI Research in breeds other than the GSD. And last but not least, myself, Dr. Williams and a Bioengineering company are excited about another future possibility working with acinar cell transplantation. Although not feasible at this moment…. still a possibility in the future ….. once some of the technical difficulties can be resolved at a more reasonable cost.

 

Olesia and Dr. David Williams

Anyway….. this is all just a snapshot of the wonderful opportunities that we had the good fortune to experience because of ACVIM networking.

SO…. about that donation that we put the brakes on ….well… i have been thinking about setting up Epi4Dogs as a “501c3 Not for Profit” for a long time, but have not been in a position to do so.  I am now beyond pleased that a wonderful couple, who asked to remain anonymous, has offered to pay the 501c3 filing expense.  This is HUGE for Epi4Dogs and is a crucial step in our ability to successfully organize and fund future EPI research. My deepest appreciation to this amazingly wonderful, kind and very caring couple. THANK YOU!

The Nashville Gaylord Hotel was massive!  The facility sat on 9 acres of land with 2,881 rooms, 600,000 square feet, there was a river in the middle of the hotel, with boat rides, waterfalls, an atrium and one Epi4Dogs member that kept mumbling “where AM i ??????”. It was like a city under a glass dome. Diane had to literally lead me around like a child… i was so lost!

This is the view from our room

This is the river in the center of the hotel with shops in the center part

and the 44 foot waterfall … inside the hotel

Nashville was great. A city full of energy, the music was amazing and the people were very nice!

Thank you to each and every one of you for being a part of this EPI community, for sharing your time, observations and EPI experiences with others. Because of each of you, epi4dogs has evolved into a well-respected all-encompassing EPI resource center and support group. Because of  you, epi4dogs was able to attend the ACVIM FORUM and meet so many wonderful internal medicine vets that appreciate what we are doing, who send their EPI care-givers to our site for support and are very interested in working with us and using our EPI Registry in possible future clinical studies/trials.  None of this would be possible with out each of you

So although words don’t even come close to expressing what an amazing difference each of you have made in the lives of so many….. please accept these humble words…. THANK YOU!

 We are very pleased that Epi4Dogs was invited to attend the  2012 ACVIM Forum in New Orleans

This was a great opportunity to bring better awareness of EPI4dogs resources to the internal veterinarian medicine community and to let this community know that we provide a support group for EPI clients. In addition, this was a great venue to share Dr. Clark’s EPI Genetic Research and to let researchers know we now have an EPI Registry to assist with future clinical trials.

in photo above is (L to R) Olesia, Dr. Leigh Anne Clark, Dr. David Williams, Diane  In attendance at our booth #7:

Dr. David A. Williams, MA Vet MB PhD, Diplomate ACVIM, Diplomate ECVIM-CA, Developer of the TLI test for EPI, Gastrointestinal Consultant at Texas A&M  http://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilab/staff

Dr. Leigh Anne Clark, PhD., Ass’t Professor Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University SC. (EPI Geneticist) http://www.clemson.edu/genbiochem/people/lclark.php

http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=DhkKyVUAAAAJ&hl=en 

http://www.clemsoncaninegenetics.com/

Diane Sloan of EnzymeDiane http://www.enzymediane.com/

Olesia Kennedy of Epi4Dogs http://www.epi4dogs.com/

What a great experience!!! We met so many wonderful internal medicine vets and researchers that were very appreciative and interested in the resources that we have to offer. Quite a few were surprised that our purpose is solely as an informational EPI resource for vets and pet owners and as a support group for EPI caregivers.  But, on the flip side what surprised me even more is that many internal medicine vets already knew of us and came up to tell us how much they appreciated our EPI community, our efforts, resources and that they have sent many of their EPI caregivers to our site for support! The one most stand out comment we received over and over again is how much the specialists appreciate that we, as an EPI community, understand and share with owners of newly diagnosed EPI patients that not all EPI patients  respond equally the same to treatment and that sometimes there may be quite a degree of variance until the right balance of treatment is worked out for the individual patient. Also what is greatly appreciated is that we at epi4dogs highly recommend that members please print whatever we suggest and share with their vet. The one thing we have to fix though is the “grain-free” food terminology…it really is all about finding an appropriate diet for the individual EPI patient with the main concern being fiber – – but therein lies the conundrum….first we need to suggest an acceptable percentage of the fiber content (which we do 4% or less), then what needs to understood is what type of fiber is best for the patient whether it is soluble or insoluble and how much of each (and it gets even MORE convoluted)…. because then what also has to be considered is how much fermentable or poorly fermentable fiber should be used. In short, the term “grain-free” is simply a marketing lingo the dog food companies have coined and it can be very mis-leading….  so, even though dog food labeled “grain-free” most often works best and it is easiest for us to identify when shopping, we really need to be able to better define what it really is so we better understand what to look for. The best example i can give right now of how the term “grain-free” can be mis-leading is that a food might be made with potato… but the reason why one brand might be tolerated better than another brand is (for example) one might use just the inside of a potato (good fiber) and be agreeable, while another brand may use the whole potato including the skin (bad fiber), which may not be as readily tolerated…… SO it is not really about grain, but rather the fiber from grain AND what type of fiber from non-grain products also. I obviously will need some time to work on this .

  OUR SILENT AUCTION ITEM

Box of Epi4Dogs “For the Love of Dogs” wine showcased with Susan’s “Butterbean”

 to see the complete list….. please go to http://www.acvim.org/websites/forum2011/index.php?p=589 

 One of New Orleans famous trolley’s…

Street view of downtown New Orleans at night

An artist’s memorial of Hurricane Katrina