KACY VANDUINEN, DOG BREEDER
At Risk for DM by Parentage: inherited diseases
MY ACCOUNT OF BUYING A PUPPY FROM KACY VANDUINEN
DOCUMENTED IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER
EXPERIENCE ANSWERS
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THOSE WHO KNOW: ANSWERS & QUOTES
(with permission)
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Kathleen Kruh-Mallery - has raised Corgis for 36 years. She has been breeding them for over 30 years and is owner of Castell Pembroke Welsh Corgis. Over the years, Kathleen has lost eight dogs to the Degenerative Myelopathy (DM). She donated the first and last tissue DNA to the original control group that started the research, and has probably donated more DNA than any breeder in the world.
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Kathleen's comment on Kacy's “Info on DM”* on her Triple M website:
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"This article is seriously flawed regardless of it's age. DM has nothing to do with the length of the spinal cord. To date (according to Dr. Coates) NO CARRIER CORGI HAS BEEN POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED AS AFFECTED. This means that no carrier suspected of being affected has had a necropsy done to prove DM. People make a lot of assumptions writing these kinds of articles and they are usually on the negative side. I try to make assumptions on the positive side.....Yes, we want everyone to test for the presence of the SOD-1 gene but we DO want them to CONTINUE to do the other generally accepted health screenings. We're not saying put 100% effort into DM while ignoring the other problems. This article needs to be thrown out!!! It's full of misleading, false statements (I won't even call it information!)."
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Kathleen's comment regarding the percentage of At-risk dogs who do develop DM:
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All statistics are based on dogs tested. As for %, for a very long time, over 50% of dogs tested carry both mutated genes. This number is NOT improving. Regarding those that become affected, I have gone through 30 years of my breeding program and have come up with 30% becoming affected. And that's just those I know of. Because of breeders refusing to use the DNA test and participating with necropsies (whether the dog is affected or not) we may never get accurate numbers. BTW an "at risk" that does NOT become affected is a valuable donation.
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Kimberley Harvey - has been breeding purebred Arabian horses for almost 30 years (several recessive conditions, high coefficient of inbreeding to manage), partbred Arabians (requiring knowledge of several dominant and recessive conditions across multiple breeds). Kimberly has been breeding Pembrokes for almost 6 years.
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Kimberley's comments on Kacy's notion that breeding out the mutated genes for DM will destroy the breed. Kacy doesn’t want to let a "small health concern snowball into panic attacks that destroy a breed entirely"*.
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on eliminating DM: Please note I specifically said [for breeders] to choose matings where no at risk/affected puppies are produced. My male is DM clear. He has been used to help a friend recover lines from two of her early females that were at risk/affected. All puppies born in those litters were DM carriers - not at risk to develop DM. She kept daughters that were bred to DM clear males and now has had several DM clear puppies to choose from to continue her program. That is ethical and what *needs* to happen to preserve as much genetic diversity as we can in this breed.
on protecting the breed: Over 53% of Pembrokes reported to OFA are at risk/affected with another 34% carrier. When people say "breed only clears", this is why breeders roll their eyes and push back. We just can't without creating genetic bottlenecks or introducing something potentially worse, and with too few breeders believing EIC is a Pembroke disease, that theory of "clear only" could create an unviable breeding population quickly. But choosing matings where no at risk/affected puppies are produced can keep genetic diversity and work away from the mutation without putting further dogs at risk of the disease.
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How many at risk/affected dogs develop DM is a different question, and there is no scientifically backed answer. It is likely somewhere between 10 - 30%, but some people try to play it way down.
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Deanna Fry Bidwell - has experienced DM in corgis and some other inherited genetic diseases in horses. She is a strong advocate for educating and helping to end the production of these devastating diseases.
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Deanna's post on #ShadeOutDM after her love, Widget, died from DM. posted Sept. 14, 2018:
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I am devastated. I had to say goodbye yesterday to Widget, my wonderful Pembroke Corgi. She ended up having a horrible PREVENTABLE genetic disease, Degenerative Myelopathy. DM is ALS in humans. It is a VERY cruel disease. It takes a healthy, active dog to a paralyzed lump. First sign is typically a toe drag, weakness in a hind leg. Eventually they lose ALL control of their hind legs. It continues, working it's way up to the front legs and end stage - if let to continue, is SUFFOCATION!! I promised her yesterday morning that I would do my damnedest to educate and spread the word on this. DO NOT BUY ONE THAT THERE IS NO PROOF OF NEGATIVE TESTING!! I am SO DAMN ANGRY!!! As I said above, this IS preventable!! You test your damn dogs before you breed!!! It is NOT only in Pemmies - it was originally considered a German Shepherd disease - now they have found it in MANY breeds and of course mixed breed dogs too. My beef is with breeders that refuse to test - that is INEXCUSABLE!!! NO dog should be bred w/o all genetic testing done for that breed - NONE!!! The pain of watching your happy, active dog lose all control - unable to walk anymore - move to a cart for as long as the front legs work or "seal walk" around the house - THINK OF THAT!!! To any of you breeders that continue to refuse to test OR even worse, don't care about what the dog or their family go through from this disease - YOU SUCK!!! There is NO WAY you are an animal lover because NO true animal lover would turn their head & ignore this disease & keep breeding.
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Deanna's comment on Kacy's “Info on DM"* on her Triple M website:
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My personal opinion on saying 2% of all dogs die of DM is that it comes from someone who sees no wrong in intentionally breeding this horrible genetic disease forward. That upsets me VERY much! The heartbreak is real to see them go through the cruel stages of this disease. Too many "so called breeders" do not CARE what these dogs & their owners go through - ALL they care about is the money they can make off potentially sick dogs.
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Anonymous - another someone who knows how it feels to lose her corgi to DM
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The definition of love, devotion, heartbreak, and the inevitable:
DM is cloth diapers because disposal is too expensive, and daily diaper and blanket loads that eventually break your washer. It's special beds, bowls, pillows - anything to make it easier or more comfortable. It's daily baths and picking poop out of fur. It's constantly second guessing your decisions, and clinging to the sparks of personality that shine through and let you know they're still there. It's knowing they are otherwise so healthy for a long time. Then it's knowing their immune system is fighting so hard that they are more prone to infections and other diseases. It's having known three dogs in a small group of friends who have lost their lives to it and knowing you will do everything you can to avoid any other dog or owner having to suffer through it.
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A QUOTE FROM MY LITTLE AT-RISKER: (AS INTERPRETED BY ME)
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I'm at-risk for DM, and even though I might not develop that scary disease, it would be nice to know for sure that I won't. Some breeders think that DM is the risk I have to take to be good-lookin' and win fancy dog show awards. But please, I don't WANT to pay that price!!
Extra good breeders know how to do good-lookin' without all that AT RISK stuff. Hopefully one day ALL breeders will breed DM right outta here!
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