All,
Available for download below is the new National Specialty Judge Selection Procedure and Judge Selection form. The mail in deadline is Oct 10th, 2008 and hand delivery must be done by the day before the General Membership meeting.
Hi Everyone,
There have been a few recent changes (corrections) and additions to the activities at the specialty that I want to update you about – please forward to anyone on the list who might have entered or is considering entering.
I think that’s it for now – entries close on Oct 1st, so I hope to see as many of you as possible at the specialty!
Denise Wedel
Dear STCA Membership:
Our scheduled sweepstakes judge has had a personal issue come up, and will be unable to judge for us at this years National. A good friend to our breed, Mr. Rade Dakic Kica (Serbia) will now be judging the National Sweepstakes classes in her stead (pending AKC Approval). A Special Thank you goes out to Kica for stepping up to help with such short notice.
See you all in October!
Lydia Castagna - 2008 National Show Chair
All,
Dr. Natasha Olby will be our guest speaker at the 2008 National Specialty banquet, on Sat.Oct. 25. She will discuss the recent development of the genetic test for cerebellar ataxia in Am Staffs, the process of making it available in the USA, and she will answer questions pertaining to the disease and the testing process.
Thanks,
Faith Beiser
I do have some more information I can share with you all about this test. The burning questions people are asking are “How good is the test?” and “Will it become available in the US?”
Taking the first question first - How good is the test? Scientific work is evaluated when data is submitted in a manuscript for publication by a journal. Following submission, the journal editors send the manuscript to external reviewers who read it and give their opinion on its value. The editors’ decision on whether to publish the work is based on these reviews and once published, of course everyone can read it and judge for themselves. This has not yet taken place for this work but will in the near future. Until that time the French group have asked me not to reveal specifics of the research, and it is fair to say that the external review process has not yet occurred. However, there are a few things I can say. Firstly, working independently, both my group and the French group identified the same chromosomal region, and narrowed the disease down to the same handful of genes. It seems unlikely that two separate research groups would reach that same point if the research was incorrect. Secondly, the data they have shared with me suggests the test is very sensitive and specific.
The second question is very pertinent to you all - (Will a test become available in the US?) and the answer to that question is yes, it is possible that the test will become available right here in the US. When I get more specific information on this I will pass it on. In the meantime, be aware that Labrador breeders use the same lab, Antagene, to test for a myopathy (the mutation was identified in France) with no problems.
Natasha Olby
