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Fantastic SM announcement: Griffon breeders

Karlin

Administrator
Staff member
This is a wonderful collaborative effort amongst these international breed clubs for research that will also help our breed. :) The griffon breeders recognised very quickly that their breed is under threat and have been very active in working to get research off the ground with full club support! :rah: Griffons are the breed whose DNA will be used as a critical part of the CKCS SM genome research because not enough cavaliers could be found that were fully clear of the skull malformation -- but griffons are not as widely affected and griffon breeders hope a strong push for research will help limit its spread in their breed while helping cavaliers and other affected breeds, too.

AKC Canine Health Foundation Receives International Funding for Brussels Griffon Research
03-26-2008

RALEIGH, NC – Support for the AKC Canine Health Foundation is truly going global. The Foundation announces that three international clubs – The Griffon Bruxellois Club of Victoria (based in Australia), and The Griffon Bruxellois Breeders Association (based in the UK) and a Brussels Griffon fancier club in New Zealand – are lending their financial support to Grant Number 1004 - Syringomyelia in the Brussels Griffon: Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings, Clinicopathology, and Prevalence.

Syringomyelia (SM) is characterized by the development of fluid filled spinal cord cavitations or syrinxes, is associated with a syndrome of severe pain and weakness. Certain breeds are predisposed to SM, most notably the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Recently, SM has been diagnosed in Brussels Griffon (Griffon Bruxellois) dogs in North America, Europe and Australia. Researchers at the University of Georgia hypothesize that a subpopulation of the Brussels Griffon is affected by SM. Their goals are to identify the prevalence of SM in the Brussels Griffon; to delineate clinical signs and spinal fluid abnormalities; and to utilize MRI techniques to define structural abnormalities associated with syringomyelia in the breed.

The Australian Club came up with a unique way to raise the funds necessary to further this important research – the raffling of an MRI test from local veterinarians. "The support from the Club, its members and even other breed owners to our raffle has been both rapid and positive,” notes Lee Pieterse, fundraising liaison for the Griffon Bruxellois Club of Victoria. “From conception of the idea to 'sold out' only took slightly over 1 month.”

She continues, “We would especially like to thank the veterinarians who donated the MRI prize, Ted Humphries of Rossmore Veterinary Hospital and Blair Kurtz of Quakers Hill Veterinary Hospital, both in Sydney, NSW. This unique kind of prize has people here talking about SM which has the doubled effect of publicizing the condition. We all feel very grateful that our special little breed of Griffons will be so extensively studied by CHF for this awful condition."

“The Griffon Bruxellois Breeders Association (GBBA) is a rather small club with no more than 150-160 members – but we were determined to help with the funding for this project,” adds Pat Lee, treasurer of the GBBA. “We held an auction of Griffy memorabilia at our February open show and money from the income we made on selling our Christmas calendars combined with generous donations from certain members went towards our donation. We are also very pleased to hear that the research is going ahead.”

“Our thanks to these international clubs for their financial commitment to the CHF and for their confidence in the research we support,” adds Cindy Vogels, president of the AKC Canine Health Foundation. “No matter the geographical distance between us, together we’re working toward the shared goals of helping all our dogs live longer and stronger.”

Founded in 1995 by the American Kennel Club, the AKC Canine Health Foundation is the largest nonprofit worldwide to fund health research exclusively for canines. We work to raise the awareness and funds necessary to support non-invasive, innovative health research that helps dogs and their owners live longer and stronger. Through the financial support of the American Kennel Club, Nestle Purina PetCare Co., and the generosity of your donations – both large and small – we have allocated more than $20 million to canine health research which will benefit all dogs.
 
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