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Healthsurveyslikethisprovideanimportantsnapshot

ofabreed’shealth.Whencomparedtoprevioussurveys,
itispossibletodeterminewhichdisordershavebeen
successfullyreducedoreliminatedinthebreed,and
whichareincreasing.The2011surveyformwasshortand
uncomplicated,sowhydidonly40percentoftheclub
membershipparticipate?

Werecognizedthatsomebreedersmightbeconcerned

thatpublicknowledgeoftheirkennel’shealthissuesmight
affectthebreeder’sreputation.Toallaythesefears,our
snapshothealthsurveyswerecollectedbyaclubmember
whoisnotabreederbutwhohadyearsofexperiencein
collatingandpresentingde-identifiedhealthdata.Forfuture
surveys,wehopetoturntotheOrthopedicFoundationof
America,whichoffersbreedsurveysforanumberofbreed
parentclubs.Wewillalsoparticipateinsurveysorganized
bytheWorldHealthCommittee(discussedbelow).

HealthSeminars.Eachnationalspecialtyfeaturesa

seminarbyanationallyrecognizedveterinaryclinician/
researcher.Theseminarsservetwopurposes.First,they
educatetheclubmembershiponanaspectofcaninehealth
orbehaviorrelevanttothePBGV.Second,theyintroduce
veterinaryclinicianscientiststothePBGVcommunityand
announceourwillingnesstoparticipateinresearchstudies.

HealthClinics.CentraltothemissionoftheHealth

CommitteeisthecollectionofDNAsamplesforsubmission
totheCanineHealthInformationCenterDNARepository.
Ownerswhoattendanationalspecialtywiththeirdogscan
participateintheannualcollectionclinicorganizedbythe
HealthCommittee.Alternatively,bloodcanbedrawn
duringaroutineveterinarycheckandsubmittedtothe
repository.Forseveralyears,eyeclinicshavebeenheldin
whichaboard-certifiedveterinaryophthalmologistperforms
aneyeexam,tonometry(tomeasurepressurewithinthe
eye)andgonioscopy(toassesseyestructure).Thelattertwo
testswilldetectearlystagesofglaucomaandapredisposition
toclosed-angleglaucoma,respectively.Wehavealsohada
heartclinicinwhichaboard-certifiedveterinarycardiologist
offeredcardiacauscultationandechocardiogram.

PBGVHealth&RescueFoundation.Keepingthe

PBGVhealthyrequiresfunds;thus,thePBGVHealth&
RescueFoundationwasformed.TheFoundationisan
independent501(c)3organizationthatcanaccepttax
exemptdonationsandprovidesfundingtosupportthe
goalsofthePBGVCAHealthandRescueCommittees.The
Foundationsponsorsthehealthseminarsandhealthclinics
atthenationalspecialties.Ifbloodisdrawnataroutine
veterinarycheckinsteadofahealthclinic,thecostofthe
blooddrawandshippingisreimbursed.TheFoundation
examinestheresearchgrantportfoliooftheAKCCanine
HealthFoundationandselectsgrantsforsponsorshipthat
arerelevanttoPBGVhealth.

Alloftheseactivitiesrequirefundraising.Initiativesthat

havebeensuccessfulincludeinsertingdonationenvelopes
intoSaberTails,50/50rafflesandauctioninggetawaysat
clubmembers’vacationhomes.TheHugYourHounds
t-shirtcampaignwasabighit.Clubmembersarealsoable
todonateusedvehiclesandleaveabequestinawillor
livingtrust.Intheend,mostoftheFoundationincome
comesfromsmalldonationsfromPBGVloverswhoreadin
SaberTailsorontheFoundationFacebookpageaboutthe
goodworksoftheHealth&Rescuecommittees.

WorldHealthCommittee.Anexcitingnew

developmentinthePBGVworldwasthe2014organization
ofaBassetGriffonVendéenWorldHealthCommittee,
spearheadedbytheUKBGVClub.Sofar,thisefforthas
representationfromclubsintheUK,US,France,Holland,
Denmark,Sweden,Norway,Finland,GermanyandAustralia.
Theobjectiveistogetallcountriesworkingtogetherto
sharebestpracticesandinformationregardinghealthstatus
ofbothPetitandGrandBassetGriffonVendéens.Thefirst
prioritiesaredevelopingaworldwidehealthsurveyand
focusingonglaucomaandepilepsy.Coordinationofthese
effortsisabigstepintherightdirection.Youwillbehearing
muchmoreaboutthiscommitteeinthenearfuture.

Glaucoma—APBGVHealthSuccessStory.Finally,

Iwanttoendwithanincrediblesuccessstory.Glaucomaisa
wordthatwasrarelyspokenbyPBGVbreedersadecadeago.
Thenwestartedtohearofafewcasesofprimaryopenangle
glaucoma(POAG);thenweheardofmore.POAGisa
painful,blindingdisease.Thenormaleyehascellsthat
producefluid,andthedrainageofthisfluidfromtheeye
mustmatchitsproductioninordertomaintainnormal
pressurewithintheeye.Whendrainageisblocked,the
increasedintraocularpressuredamagestheopticnerveand
resultsinpainandimpairedvision.

POAGisaninheriteddisease.IntheUK,theBGVClub

teamedupwithDr.CathrynMellersh,headoftheKennel
ClubGeneticsCentreattheAnimalHealthTrust,who
beganasearchforthegeneleadingtoPOAGinourbreed.
IntheUnitedStates,Dr.AndrásKomáromy,aveterinary
ophthalmologistfromMichiganStateUniversity,gavethe
healthseminaratthe2013PBGVCANationalSpecialty,
conductedeyeexaminationsandcollectedDNAsamples
forDr.Mellersh’sproject.Dr.Komáromyreturnedtothe
nationalspecialtyin2014tocollectadditionalsamplesand
giveanupdateonthePOAGgenehunt.Inlate2014,Dr.
Mellersh’slabfoundthePOAGgeneinPBGVs.InMarch
2015,theAnimalHealthTrustlaunchedthefirstDNA
healthtestforcanineglaucoma,whichtestsforthePBGV
mutation.Itisveryexcitingtorealizethatthisdiseasecan
beeliminatedfromourbreedbeforeitbecomesprevalent.

Nowthatthistestisavailable,it’syourturntoact.

Steponeistotestyourdog.TheHealthCommittee

recommendsthatyouorderthesimple,non-invasivecheek
swabtestkitfromtheAnimalHealthTrustWebshop.A
kitwillbemailedtoyoualongwithinstructions.Goto
www.ahtdnatesting.co.uktoorderyourkit.Alldogsina
breedingprogramshouldbetested;however,itisimperative
toknowthestatusofthemostpopularsiresanddams.
Evenifyourdoghasbeenneutered/spayed,s/hemay
haveinheritedbadPOAGgenesfrombothparentsandbe
destinedtodevelopglaucoma.TheDNAtestwilldetermine
yourdog’sPOAGstatus.

Steptwoistosubmityourdog’stestresultstothe

OrthopedicFoundationforAnimals’opendatabase.The
OFAwebsitewrites:“Inrecentyears,anumberofDNAtests
forspecificdiseaseshavebeendeveloped.Thesetestsremain
the‘goldstandard’sinceactualgenotypicinformationis
derived.Testresults,theirsubmissionintoahealthdatabase
andtheapplieduseofthedatabasecanhavesignificant
resultsinreducingtheprevalenceofadisease.”TheHealth
Committeeasksyoutodownloadthesubmissionformfrom
theOFAwebsite:http://www.offa.org/pdf/dnaapp_bw.pdf.
Andwehavegoodnews:Yourtestresultsmaybesubmitted
toOFAfreethroughtheendofAugust2015!

SaberTails

ISummer2015