At the May 1998 National Specialty meeting, the CSCA Board of Directors approved the implementation of a project that should have lasting, positive implications for all Clumbers and the people who love them.
The Clumber Spaniel Club of America subsidizes a DNA bank, which allows us to
store DNA from *all* Clumbers, pets and show dogs alike. This DNA bank, housed at
the University of Missouri, requires ten mls of blood in an EDTA (purple top) tube.
Many veterinarians have graciously drawn these samples at little or no charge, when
seeing a Clumber patient for another reason. Again, contact Liz Hansen at University of Missouri for further submission details.
This project is entirely confidential (no names of owners or dogs will be used in any future research studies), and can only be beneficial to our beloved breed. The information gathered from this ongoing project will be invaluable in the future, when we hope to be able to fund Clumber-specific research projects into various heritable diseases (such as intervertebral disc disease, epilepsy, hip dysplasia, and eye problems). The more normal dogs we can bank, and even more important those dogs with known health problems, the faster we can make progress.
Your help is both requested and needed. The CSCA has agreed to help underwrite the cost of this program until it can become self-supporting. Having the blood drawn is as easy as a heartworm or thyroid test sample collection, and the test itself probably costs less than either! Working together, we hope to be able to ensure happy, healthy Clumbers forever.
I will be happy to answer any questions potential participants may have.
Roe Froman, DVM
Chairman, CSCA Genetic Health Committee
The CSCA is the official
AKC Parent Club for the Clumber Spaniel.
