Canine influenza (dog flu) is influenza occurring in canine animals. Canine influenza is caused by varieties of influenzavirus A, such as equine influenza virus H3N8, which in 2004 was discovered to cause disease in dogs. Because of the lack of previous exposure to this virus, dogs have no natural immunity to this virus. Therefore, the disease is rapidly transmitted between individual dogs. Canine influenza may be endemic in some regional dog populations of the United States. It is a disease with a high morbidity but a low mortality.

The highly contagious equine influenza A virus subtype H3N8 was found to have been the cause of Greyhound race dog fatalities from a respiratory illness at a Florida racetrack in January 2004. The exposure and transfer apparently occurred at horse racing tracks, where dog racing had also occurred. This was the first evidence of an influenza A virus causing disease in dogs. However, serum collected from racing Greyhounds between 1984 and 2004 and tested for canine influenza virus (CIV) in 2007 had positive tests going as far back as 1999. CIV possibly caused some of the respiratory disease outbreaks at tracks between 1999 and 2003.

The domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), is a subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), a member of the Canidae family of the mammilian order Carnivora. The term "domestic dog" is generally used for both domesticated and feral varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in human history. The word "dog" may also mean the male of a canine species, as opposed to the word "bitch" for the female of the species.

The present lineage of dogs was domesticated from gray wolves about 15,000 years ago. Remains of domesticated dogs have been found in Siberia and Belgium from about 33,000 years ago. None of these early domestication lineages seem to have survived the Last Glacial Maximum. Although mDNA suggest a split between dogs and wolves around 100,000 years ago no specimens predate 33,000 years ago that are clearly morphologically domesticated dog.

Dogs' value to early human hunter-gatherers led to them quickly becoming ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This impact on human society has given them the nickname "Man's Best Friend" in the Western world. In some cultures, dogs are also source of meat. In 2001, there were estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.

Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses), that affects birds and mammals. The most common symptoms of the disease are chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness/fatigue and general discomfort. Although it is often confused with other influenza-like illnesses, especially the common cold, influenza is a more severe disease than the common cold and is caused by a different type of virus. Influenza may produce nausea and vomiting, particularly in children, but these symptoms are more common in the unrelated gastroenteritis, which is sometimes, inaccurately, referred to as "stomach flu." Approximately 33% of persons with influenza are asymptomatic.

On the other side of the spectrum, flu can occasionally lead to pneumonia, either direct viral pneumonia or secondary bacterial pneumonia, even for persons who are usually very healthy. In particular it is a warning sign if a child (or presumably an adult) seems to be getting better and then relapses with a high fever as this relapse may be bacterial pneumonia. Another warning sign is if the person starts to have trouble breathing. A 2009 New England Journal of Medicine article stated that it is difficult to tell bacterial from viral pneumonia and recommended that patients with influenza who show signs of pneumonia be treated with both antivirals and antibiotics.

Kim Crane Hammond (born October 12, 1944 in Miami, Florida) is a Judge in Flagler County, Florida and was an outstanding quarterback for Florida State University. For Seminole fans, he is best remembered for quarterbacking the team's first victory over rival Florida in Gainesville, 21-16.

After a year as a redshirt, then two as backup to Gary Pajcic, Hammond got his first start in the second game of his senior year against Alabama. The Crimson Tide was riding a 21-game winning streak, but Hammond and the Seminoles were ready. FSU had lost in 1965 by the score of 21-0, but instead of being dominated, they embarrassed Bear Bryant by scoring more points than Alabama had allowed the entire previous season. The final score was 37-37, but the tie was probably the most impressive game the Seminoles had played. FSU lost its next game to North Carolina State 20-10 before winning the remaining 7 regular season games. As a reward for their 7-2-1 season, they were invited to the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. Hammond played in the 1967 Senior Bowl and was named MVP. He was a second team All-American quarterback in his senior year and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting [1]. The Florida State University Hall of Fame inducted him in 1978.