Arnold Schwarzenegger whippets

The Vivi search raised whippet awareness all over the country -- indeed, the world. So, in the spirit of that:

Recently, scientists announced that they had identified the genetic mutation responsible for "bully" whippets -- dogs that are unnaturally well muscled. If you've never seen an example of one, click here for a photo of Wendy the Whippet. Ahnold has nothing on her.

Comments

[Paula Wright]

She's no Vivi for sure! Vivi is alot more beautiful dog...but that's my opinions. :-)

[Mila]

Amazing! Wendy the whippet surely is a muscle bound girl and quite different! She is very special and I hope that her life is comfortable and filled with love and fun.
I wonder if there are health issues that come with this genetic mutation? Have any of you ever seen or heard of this before?

[Mila]

Ooops! In reading further about Wendi I see that she is well taken care of and lives a good life.
She may have a shorter life span due to her size, but I bet she makes the most of each moment!

[rooooby]

I have a feeling this "bully"Whippet aka Arnold
Schwarzenegger Whippet is a hoax...I saw the picture a long time ago and the head on the body look phoney..My opinion, but I could be wronggggg

[Mila]

Hey Rooooby!!
I did a search on whippet muscle genetic problems and Wendi's story kept coming up.

This link actually has Vivi's winning show picture up, describing her as a normal whippet.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?p=2918939

Wonder if it is a hoax?

[rooooby]

Mila,
Actually after I shot my big mouth off, I went online to see if it was a hoax and came up with nothing...Thats one weird looking Whippet..I'll check the link....Like I said, I could be wrong........first time ever huh? heh heh

[Mila]

But, Roooooby, nothing medical came up-just Wendy. Thats why I asked if it could be a hoax, too.
Should be easy enough to check on. Is there a vet in the house!!!!!!!

[Paula Wright]

Sorry Mila and Roooby! I had to laugh at both of you! But I honestly don't know if it was a hoax or not, it's hard these days how it looks on TV or on the internets. It looks real??? :-)

[Kathleen Stephenson]

I hope this works. I am trying to post the link with the pictures of the 4 AMIGOS (pitbull mixes rescued in Georgia by the Weenie crew and others). Folks, these babies need to find homes or rescues REALLY SOON. Please send this to everyone you know and get the word out about them.

They are real lovebugs from what I have heard!

Kathy in Colorado posted this today on another blog:

Hello Friends,

I’d like to introduce you to 4 very special dogs that need your help. These 4 wonderful pups had a rough start in life. Their first years and months were spent on the end of a chain in a trash-strewn yard in Lamar County, Georgia. They were never given shelter or adequate food or water. They were also deprived of any human contact or affection, the one thing every dog desires more than anything. But still, true to form, these 4 are loving, affectionate, friendly and extremely grateful. Even though they had probably never received an ounce of love in their life, they have infinite love to give.

A concerned member of the community alerted the police to their conditions. The police investigated and gave the owners one week to rectify the situation or have the dogs confiscated. Some of our dedicated volunteers learned of this situation and contacted the Sheriff’s department. They wanted to convince the Sheriff to allow us to have a chance to rescue these dogs before they were turned over the animal control, who euthanized pitbulls or pitbull mixes, no questions asked.

When Monday came around, to nobody’s surprise the owners had done NOTHING to rectify the dogs' condition (our volunteers had been checking on them daily, feeding and watering them until we knew we could safely get them out of there). When the sheriff’s department showed back up, our volunteers were waiting with the bolt cutters…and the liberation began!

A group of us put our heads together to figure out just what we could do to help these dogs. They had all ready made it through so much, we knew they deserved a shot at a full and happy life. It was obvious that they needed medical attention and a place to stay until we could find them rescue.

We brought them to East Coweta Animal Hospital. They asked for a group name for the 4, and the first thing that came to my mind was THE 4 AMIGOS!! They have obviously been through so much together, but still love each other and other people so much the name just seemed to fit! They were given vaccines, dewormed, capstarred/frontlined, weighed, rabies, etc.

The skinniest boy, we are calling him Jose, only weighed 28 pounds. He was so grateful; you could just tell.

The rolly-polly girl was named Angel (we are still not sure where she got her food from or if she was dumped at a later date).

The puppy is Margarita

The brindle boy is Antonio.

What do these dogs need now? They still need ultimate rescue or forever homes and donations for board/vetting which can be made directly to vet.

East Coweta Animal Hospital
2462 E Highway 34
Sharpsburg, Georgia
PHONE: 770-304-2600

Please contact Jayne Glaser or Michelle Tinoco if you can help.

Jayne at glaserjm@aol.com, or
Michelle T at mtinoco@brentscarbrough.com

Hope this link for pictures works:

http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x132/kstephen_photo/fourpitties.jpg

[b13]

That dog is insanely HUGE!

[Val in Buffalo]

Mila and Rooooby,
Not a hoax, unless they got entries into genetic journals cataloged into Medline.

Title: A mutation in the myostatin gene increases muscle mass and enhances racing performance in heterozygote dogs.
Author(s): Mosher, Dana S; Quignon, Pascale; Bustamante, Carlos D; Sutter, Nathan B; Mellersh, Cathryn S; Parker, Heidi G; Ostrander, Elaine A
Source: PLoS Genet 3 (5) : e79 2007 May 25 (Epub 2007 Apr 30)

The condition is the real deal and I've no doubt the dog's photo is, too. http://www.genome.gov/Multimedia/OD/ScienceWritersSeminar/6-Ostrander.ppt has a slide with several photos of normal whippets, whippets with one mutation, and then the double-muscled "bully" whippet mutation (see slide 15). The mh/+ dogs look like real fitness buffs, but the mh/mh dogs look like bodybuilders.

[Val in Buffalo]

Mila and Rooooby,
Not a hoax, unless they got entries into genetic journals cataloged into Medline.

Title: A mutation in the myostatin gene increases muscle mass and enhances racing performance in heterozygote dogs.
Author(s): Mosher, Dana S; Quignon, Pascale; Bustamante, Carlos D; Sutter, Nathan B; Mellersh, Cathryn S; Parker, Heidi G; Ostrander, Elaine A
Source: PLoS Genet 3 (5) : e79 2007 May 25 (Epub 2007 Apr 30)

The condition is the real deal and I've no doubt the dog's photo is, too. http://www.genome.gov/Multimedia/OD/ScienceWritersSeminar/6-Ostrander.ppt has a slide with several photos of normal whippets, whippets with one mutation, and then the double-muscled "bully" whippet mutation (see slide 15). The mh/+ dogs look like real fitness buffs, but the mh/mh dogs look like bodybuilders.

[rooooby]

Val in Buffalo: Isn't it bad enough I live in California with Arnie, the muscle man my gov, do I have to look at a muscle bound Whippet too? Ackkkk....Poor dog. I didn't understand what you said, but I'm impressed........haaaaaaa

Antinio one of the 4 Amigo Pitbulls has been adopted as has Butch, the Boxer mix and one we call Toothless and possible the little dear tripod, Harry..things are looking good for the WEENIE GALS and THE PEOPLE WORKING WITH THEM...Whatta a group...NOW GO FIND VIVI!
I'M SICK AND I NEED SOME MORE GOOD NEWS....cough, hack, gasp

[Kathleen Stephenson]

YES, WAY TO GO WEENIE GALS!

Roooby, I have it on the best of authority - take one bottle of vanilla vodka and some 7-Up and you will either feel better or not give a damn one (haaa). I'm going to buy some vanilla vodka and 7Up and give this a try soon.

Hope you feel better soon. Curl up with some willy whippets and get well.