Scientists in the University of Cambridge, after several years of diligent study, recently discovered the genetic mutation responsible for Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) in English Shepherd dogs. This mutation leads to sudden and irreversible blindness around the early age of 4 years old. Thankfully, with this breakthrough, these knowledgeable researchers have created a genetic test to help prevent the disease in upcoming generations of this breed.
While we knew we had no dogs affected, we couldn't be sure about possible carrier potential so we swabbed our three current breeding dogs - Copper, Laddie (remote at stud), and Gemma - in August and shipped the samples across the world to the UK for testing.
We just received our results this week and are delighted to report that all three of them tested CLEAR!!! This is wonderful news for our program and our puppy owners! Wahoo!!
Copper = Gandalf Laddie = Pheonix Gemma = Flag
Comments