NewfCare: Research & Rescue

3rd Quarter 2024

NewfCare:

RESEARCH & RESCUE

Creating A Safe and Healthy Future

for Every Newfoundland

Celebrating Cathy Derench

Last weekend people from all walks of life showed up in Coventry, Connecticut to celebrate the life of Cathy Derench. If you were a bystander driving by you would be wondering what in the world was going on in the neighborhood with all these cars lining up on the main road and side streets. You saw small groups of people with dogs that look like bears walking down the road and then disappearing over the hill. I had the privilege of being one of the people walking down the hill. I came upon an arch way “Rainbow Bridge” with bright flowers on the each side of the path. While walking down I heard Cathy’s voice come over a hidden speaker saying, “hey how are you?” I started tearing up because I didn’t think I would ever hear her voice again. When I reached the bottom of the hill all the Newfoundlands were out playing and one refusing to come out of the pond because he was having the time of his life swimming. Then there were tons of laughing, hugging and of course tears but most of all there was the feeling of togetherness. Cathy Derench’s life touched so many folks near and far. Her legacy will live on for forever. - Windy Reed

Learn more about the NCA Rescue Program and how you can help.

Research News

Breed Reference Dog Needed

Peter Muir BVSc, MVetClinStud, PhD, Diplomate ACVS, ECVS, FRCVS, UW Madison

Dr Muir has received an established investigator grant with the AKC Canine Health Foundation. Funding from this award will allow continued to work Cranial Cruciate Rupture genomic sequencing in the across-breed prediction problem, focusing in the Newfoundland breed. The preliminary data from the work conducted with the Newfoundland Charitable Trust during the first part of the study was very helpful in this regard. This project will include building a high quality reference genome for the Newfoundland breed, which will be valuable to other researchers with a focus on disease studies in the Newfoundland breed.

Right now, the researchers are struggling to identify a Newfoundland with an owner in the Madison area who might be willing for their dog to be the Newfoundland breed reference dog for this study. They are looking for a female/spayed female Newfoundland who is 5 years or older and does not have cruciate ligament rupture.

The ask of the owner would be have their dog examined at UW-Madison to confirm the clinical status, which would involve standing knee radiographs if this has not already been done. The researchers would then collect a blood sample that is a bigger volume than is typical to have a relatively large DNA sample for the whole genome sequencing needed for a reference genome dog. Ideally they would also want to collect a small skin biopsy to establish a fibroblast cell line. This would allow the dog’s genome to be available in the future, even after the dog has passed away.

Learn more about the NCA Health Challenge and how you can support Research

Fundraising activities at the NCA National Specialty replenishes the Trust’s resources to fulfill the Trust’s mission – “….to manage and distribute research grants to study health issues affecting Newfoundlands, to provide necessary monetary aid for Newfoundland rescue assistance, to award educational scholarships to junior Newfoundland fanciers, and to provide general education….”

Raffle tickets and donations raised over $5,000.00 for the Newfoundland Health Challenge and Newfoundland Rescue, proceeds realized from collectibles from the estates of Mary W. Price, Ann Dunnigan, Roger Frey and new items donated and transported by volunteers. Trust Board member Denise Hatakeyama and Barbara Jenness, NFLA chair, worked each day in the Trust booth managed by Mary L. Price - guiding collectors and buyers through the various offerings and Clyde Dunphy encouraged raffle tickets sales by explaining NCA’s connections to the donors for new and experienced collectors. Trust Board members Lori Littleford, Roger Powell, Mary Lou Cuddy and John Cornell spoke with visitors and explained the work of the Trust.

We want to extend our deep thanks to each donor, supporter, volunteer and advocate who make the work of the Newfoundland Club of America Charitable Trust possible.

Ways To Help

You've banked your Newf's DNA. What's next? Something ONLY you can do!

The CHIC DNA Repository collects and stores canine DNA samples along with corresponding genealogic and phenotypic information to facilitate future research and testing aimed at reducing the incidence of inherited disease in dogs. It's goals are to facilitate more rapid research progress by expediting the sample collection process, provide researchers with optimized family groups needed for research, allow breeders to take advantage of future DNA-based disease tests as they become available, and foster a team environment between breeders/owners and the research community, improving the likelihood of genetic discovery.

Several of the presentations at the 2023 AKC/CHF National Parent Club Canine Health Conference highlighted the utility of the banked DNA in jumpstarting research. Newfoundlands currently have 2016 banked blood samples. Thanks in large part the dedicated collection efforts at National Specialities and Trust support for the submission fees, these samples respresent over 2% of the entire DNA collection! To be of the MOST value to researchers, we must also make the commitment to update each Newf's veterinary history and their human's contact information periodically.

The samples collected at National Specialities are typically young dogs and generally healthy at the time of collection. While some conditions are diagnosed early, many conditions develop later in life. This collection is particularly useful for control (unaffected) samples. If your sample is selected as a possible control, OFA will contact you to confirm there have been no changes to that Newf's health status. If your Newf does develop a problem, reporting it may help develop prevention strategies or effective treatments in the future.

When should you send an update? Please report any new definitive diagnosis. Please report date of death particularly if you have a definitive cause of death. Report any transfer of ownership of the Newf as well as any change your email address. And please do it BEFORE something happens to YOU as YOU may be the ONLY one who knows this information and can make that crucial link to your donated DNA sample. Do it NOW then set an annual reminder on your calendar!

How to report? If your dog has DNA banked in the CHIC DNA Repository and has had any significant health status changes since filling out the original phenotypic health survey, please remember to email the OFA with updates. Include the dog’s name/number, as well as any updated diagnosis. As the number of researchers interested in this resource continues to increase, it is important to keep the health histories up to date, as that is typically the primary selection criteria for supplying samples to a given research proposal. Email updates to: ofa@offa.org. Thank You!

Lori Littleford, Research Advisory Committee Chair

Email The OFA

Planned Giving

The NCA Charitable Trust has many planned giving opportunities, please contact us to learn more - - Learn More

NCA Charitable Trust

We are a 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Corporation Federal ID 06-1500326

Connect with us

info@ncacharities.org