Parasitic helminths probably consitute one of the most important groups of disease agents in dogs. In the Southern and Central United States dogs are often fatally infected with the canine esophageal worm, Spirocerca lupi, and the ca nine heartworm, Dirofilaria immitis. Cestodes which can limit the growth of a dog are found throughout the United States.

Animals and social work is an emerging field, and there is a troubling lack of research that has been conducted that attempts to document or explore the experiences of the animals involved in these practices. This dissertation explores the experiences of dogs working alongside social workers, using a mixed methods approach focussing on qualitative data. Data was gathered using critical ethnographic methodology involving interviews with social workers, dog owners and service users. Extensive observational field notes were taken during the use of an emerging research-creation digital method with the dogs and sensor data technologies. This research addresses three questions: (1), How can the experiences of dogs in social work be documented? (2), Why is it important to document these experiences? (3), How are dogs experiencing their involvement in social work practice? (4), What knowledge do the social workers who work with dogs have about involving these animals in social work? The data in this study isanalyzed through a critical post-humanist lens informed by decolonial Indigenous knowledges. Important themes that emerged were interspecies relationships, dog personalities and behaviourswhile working, workplaces and responsibilities, needs and benefits, training, and use of technology in research with OTH animals. Based on the innovative findings of this study, it can be determined that partial experiences of OTH animals involved in social work practice can and should be documented and explored to understand the high levels of responsibility, professionalism, and expectations that working dogs in the field are subject to. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation uses a mixed-methods approach to explore the experiences of dogs involved in social work practice. The research addresses four questions: (1), How can the experiences of dogs in social work be documented? (2), Why is it important to document these experiences? (3), How are dogs experiencing their involvement in social work practice? (4), What knowledge do the social workers who work with dogs have about involving these animals in social work? Based on the findings, it can be determined that partial experiences of dogs involved in social work practice can and should be documented and explored to understandthe responsibility, professionalism, and expectations that working dogs are subject to.

Bakgrund: Diabetes är en kronisk sjukdom som kräver ett stort ansvarstagande och en god hälsolitteracitet från den drabbade. Idag finns många hjälpmedel för att hantera sjukdomen. Hundar har länge hjälpt människan på olika sätt och har visat sig ha stor potential när det kommer till stöttning vid hantering av olika kroniska sjukdomar eller funktionsnedsättningar. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att belysa hundars förmåga att förbättra sjukdomshanteringen för personer med diabetes mellitus. Metod: Studien var en litteraturstudie grundad av nio vetenskapliga artiklar som bearbetades genom en induktiv ansats. Resultat: Upplevelsen av att ha en hund med förmågan att detektera variationer i blodsockernivåer är generellt positiv. Många rapporterar att förekomsten av hypo- respektive hyperglykemiska episoder minskat markant sedan hundens entré. Studier som utgår från konkreta data visade dock att hundens förmåga var ytterst individuell och att hundarnas förmåga i jämförelse med en blodsockersensor brister för att en generell tolkning av hundens förmåga ska kunna göras. Konklusion: Genom att belysa den stora skillnaden mellan hundägarnas uppfattning av hundens förmåga och den mer kliniska synen på hundens förmåga, görs det tydligt att mer forskning behövs inom området för att en generell rekommendation av assistanshundar vid diabetes ska kunna etableras. / Background: Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires a lot of responsibility and health literacy from the patient. Today there are many ways to handle diabetes. Dogs has helped mankind in various ways for a long time and have proven great potential in supporting humans with different kinds of illnesses. Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate dogs ability to improve disease management for people with diabetes mellitus. Method: The study was a literature study based on nine scientific articles that were processed with an inductive approach. Results: Peoples experiences of owning a dog to handle their diabetes was in general positive. Many reported that events of hypo- or hyperglycemia had decreased since the dog entered their life. However, studies based on concrete data show that the dogs ability to warn their owner was highly individual and in comparison to a blood glucose monitor the dogs ability was hard to evaluate. Conclusion: By illustrating the difference between owners perceptions of the dogs ability and the clinical evidence of the dogs ability, it remains clear that it needs more research within the area before a general recommendation of dogs to help assist in diabetes can be established.

Dogs have a long but neglected history as companion species in Egypt history. From the most valued companion in ancient Egypt the relationship between dogs and humans has changed over time. However, in the present day the Egyptian baladi dog has been abused, neglected, unwanted for centuries. In this thesis, I investigate the nature and relationships between humans and dogs in Egypt in the past and present drawing on archeological, historical and genetic information. I will dig deeper into dog genetics to better understand the distinction between the baladi dog in relation to other breeds. Using online surveys, I interview baladi and non-baladi dog owners to understand how Egyptians perceive the baladi dog today exploring also how and why this perception is changing. Moreover, through interviews with rescuers and veterinarians I examine further the general perception of baladi dogs in Egypt from their perspectives. As I show, perceptions of the baladi dog have changed positively over the recent years both in Egypt and abroad, though there is still a long way to go. The better status of the perceptions of the baladi dog has also meant thatthe baladi is increasingly seen as a ‘breed’ or a particular dog type. The changing perceptions of the baladi dog and the debates around them is discussed and scrutinized in relation to urban planning and policy.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Ludek Zurek / Transfer of bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains between companion animals and people is likely due to close physical contacts. However, surveillance programs on prevalence of antibiotic resistance are focused mainly on food animals and very little is known about the role of companion animals in the development and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. For this study, enterococci were chosen as model organism due to intrinsic and acquired antibiotic resistance and several virulence traits that make them the 3rd most important nosocomial pathogens. In addition, increased fecal shedding of antibiotic resistant bacteria from stressed animals has been reported from studies on food animals. To determine whether the gut microbiota of pet animals serves as a reservoir of clinically important enterococci, 360 enterococcal isolates from two groups: healthy group and pyoderma (stressed) group with 9 dogs in each were identified and screened for resistance to 10 antibiotics and 4 virulence traits. The transferability of resistance determinants and clonality of selected isolates were assessed by horizontal gene transfer assays and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, respectively. In addition, overall diversity of bacteria as well as antibiotic and metal resistance genes in feces of healthy dogs was assessed by tag-encoded parallel pyrosequencing and microarray analysis, respectively. The most prevalent enterococcal species identified was E. faecalis: healthy group (70.5%); pyoderma group (44.0%). In the pyoderma group, antibiotic resistance and virulence traits (esp, gelE) were more frequent than in the healthy group; however, the overall prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains was low (< 37%) in both groups. The most prevalent resistance genes were tet(M)and tet(S). The antibiotic resistance traits were transferable in-vitro in E. faecalis (tetracycline, erythromycin, doxycycline) and E. faecium (tetracycline). Genotyping revealed less diverse E. faecalis community in pyoderma infected dogs. Pyrosequencing (~7,500 sequences per dog) revealed Firmicutes as the dominant phylum and most common genera included Turicibacter, Lactobacillus, Ruminococcus, Clostridium, and Fusobacterium. Two phyla Lentisphaerae (<1%) and Fibrobacteres (<1%) are reported for the first time from healthy dogs. Microarray data revealed the presence of several tetracycline, erythromycin, aminoglycoside, and copper resistance genes; however, most of these originated from one animal with history of chronic skin infection two year prior to our sampling. Higher prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in pyoderma infected dogs may be related to stress; however, this requires further investigation. In conclusion, based on our data, healthy and pyoderma infected dogs do not represent an important reservoir of clinically significant antibiotic resistant microbiota.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1961 A75

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1964 R47 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 F46 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 B37 / Master of Science

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1955 C68 / Master of Science