The March 2011 Issue of the ASLA Times
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ASLA TIMES the American Sloughi Association, Inc . March/April 2011 AKC National Parent Club for the Sloughi. Table of Contents Message From the President Editorial Dear ASLA Members and Friends, A Shark in The Gene Pool: Addisonʼs Disease and the Sloughi . 4 In this newsletter, we bring you the news of the dis- covery of the Addisonʼs disease in the Sloughi that, About Addisonʼs Disease in the Sloughi .. 9 until January 2011, ASLA breeders had never heard about before in our precious breed. I have heard of AKC Meet the Breeds, November 2011 . 12 other breeders in the U.S. having dogs that died sud- denly from routine surgery or from suspected kidney AKC & CAR Helping Pet Victims of Storms . .18 failure, and of course, now we know that those dogs might have had Addisonʼs disease that was not properly AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Days 2011 . .18 diagnosed. AKC Changes to its Grand Champion Program . 19 As said already by our vice president, Erika Walsh, in the following pages, our Intissarʼs Daghar and Bandola The ASLA Store . .16 Kaheela de Moreau were very healthy as they had been all their lives, when we bred them. We had no reason to Photo Gallery . 20 know or to suspect that Daghar would become ill later. As of today, at 8 years old, Bandola is still healthy and Annual Dues . 2 in great shape. Message from the President . 2 Some years after this breeding, Daghar became ill with IBD (irritable bowel disease like in humans), a different autoimmune disorder that Addisonʼs disease. Almost 2 years later, he passed away, after having been treated for that entire period of time. Our veterinarian did not check for Addisonʼs because Dagharʼs symptoms were more consistent with IBD. I asked for an autopsy but this clinic was not able to do it. So, we will never know Cover photograph: for sure. Dakhla in Morocco Breeder and Owner: Mohammed Soujaa However, Daghar certainly had the Addisonʼs gene and Photo © 2011 Karim Houmane Bandola has it too, knowing now that their son Dakir has this disease. Like the PRA, for a dog to have the disease, the 2 parents must carry the gene. Unfortu- nately, even with the disease being known in many oth- American Sloughi Association, Inc. (ASLA) er breeds, the gene has not been discovered yet for any P.O. Box 466 breed. So, we canʼt test our dogs before breeding them Como, TX 75431 as we do PRA as ASLA recommends for all breeding Telephone: 903.348.5792 candidates. We hope to be able to do that in the nearest www.sloughi-international.com possible future. [email protected] I will add that ASLA is not asking owners to spay or © 2009 American Sloughi Association. This entire publi- neuter the siblings and offspring of Dakir; that is the cation, including its texts, graphics and photographs, are decision of each owner. Bandola, Dakirʼs mother, has protected under applicable copyright laws and may not be been spayed. But it is mandatory for ASLA members to reproduced without expressed, written permission. not breed Dakirʼs siblings or offspring until a test is de- 2 veloped for the Addisonʼs gene or genes and those close relatives can be demonstrated not to carry the gene. Membership Dues 2011 If some of you in Europe, for example, have knowledge of the disease in our breed, please donʼt hesitate to talk Membership dues are as follows: about it and to tell us. We all should not hide the prob- lem! Thatʼs the reason why Erika Walsh, Erica Tolar Individual Membership: $25.00 and I are talking openly about it. It is for the safety of Family Membership: $40.00 our wonderful breed and to better protect the Sloughi gene pool. Regular membership includes an electronic only subscription to the ASLA Times. For those who wish With Warm Regards, to receive a hard copy subscription, the prices are as Ermine Moreau-Sipière follows: US subscription: $36.00 Foreign subscription: $48.00 2011 Specialty Contributions Membership dues and subscriptions can be sent in hard copy to ASLA, P.O. Box 466, Como, Texas, 75431. Members wishing to contribute to the 2011 ASLA Na- tional Specialty and Specialty Cluster may do so via Dues and subscriptions may also be submitted elec- check or money order to Attn: 2011 Specialty Fund, tronically via Paypal to [email protected]. Please ASLA, P.O. Box 466, Como, Texas, 75431. add an additional $1 to submit dues using Paypal. Donations can also be made via Paypal to [email protected]. If you use Paypal, please make sure to note that you wish for your contribution to be Advertising Rates applied to the 2011 Specialty fund. ASLA Times welcomes your advertisements in color or black and white. Color Advertising: Full Page, print ready: $40.00 Half Page, print ready: $30.00 Quarter Page, print ready: $20.00 Black and White Advertising: Full Page, print ready: $20.00 Half Page, print ready: $15.00 2011 ASLA Calendars are On Sale Now! Quarter Page, print ready: $10.00 ASLA offers a 20% discount on 5 issues of .Please visit the ASLA Store to order your 2011 advertising, purchased together. Sloughi calendar: www.cafepress.com/americansloughi For assistance with your advertisement, please contact . Erika Walsh at [email protected]. 3 Multi BIS and BISS GRCH Dakir Kaheela de Moreau February 12, 2011 A Shark in the Gene Pool: Addison’s Disease and the Sloughi By Erika N. Walsh Until now, the Sloughi has been a relatively healthy lowest range. To confirm the diagnosis, we returned on breed in this country. However, in February of this Monday and my veterinarian administered the ACTH year, a silent predator lurking in the recessive genes response test which confirmed that Dakir has atypical of our gene pool called Addisonʼs disease stepped Addisonʼs disease. out of the shadows and into the spotlight. This is the first known case of Addisonʼs disease to ASLA. More can be read about Addisonʼs disease elsewhere in this issue. In atypical Addisonʼs, the dogʼs electrolytes Because Addisonʼs disease is recessive, it can remain remain normal and it lacks only cortisol. Most atypical hidden for generations, only revealing itself when two Addisonian dogs become fully Addisonian over time carrier Sloughis who are phenotypically healthy, are and regular testing is necessary to determine when mated and the stealth recessive meets up with its mate, adjustments must be made to its medications. producing a Sloughi that will be affected by Addisonʼs disease, a potentially fatal affliction that requires We were lucky. We were lucky because Dakir was medication and management for life. not in Addisonian crisis (cardiac arrest) by the time I took him to the vet. We were lucky because my vet On November 23, 2010, we tragically lost our beloved was tenacious about diagnosing Dakirʼs problem. And BIS CH Djordan Kaheela de Moreau to an accident. we were lucky because I had the support of Dakirʼs Shortly after Djordanʼs death, his litter brother, Multi breeder, Ermine Moreau-Sipière and the Chair of the BIS/BISS GRCH Dakir Kaheela de Moreau, lost his ASLA Health Committee, Erica Tolar, DVM, DACVO, appetite, became depressed, and generally was failing behind us 100%. Dakir is now on a regular course to thrive. We thought he was suffering from the loss of of prednisone, which keeps him happy and keeps his his brother. appetite up. He was later diagnosed as also having irritable bowel disease, and he takes medication for Dakir went for his regular, annual vet check up in that as well. He will be medicated for life, but on his early December. At that time, he weighed in at 68 lbs. medications, he leads a relatively normal life. His depression continued into January and at the end of January, he stopped eating entirely on a Friday. I It is no secret that Dakir was bred by the Moreau-Sipière immediately made an appointment for him to see my vet family. At the time that Ermine bred Dakirʼs parents, the following morning. The changes in his appearance she had no reason to know, or even to suspect, that were drastic: he had grayed throughout his entire body, there was a problem. Both parents were healthy and was moving like a dog well beyond his 5 and 1⁄2 years, vibrant without health complications at the time of the and he had lost a significant amount of weight. breeding. There is no known history of Addisonʼs in their bloodlines, and indeed, no one in ASLA had ever By January 29th, Dakir was down to 53 lbs. My vet heard of Addisonʼs disease in our breed before January did a full blood panel which came up with nothing out of this year. of the ordinary. He did a full set of radiographs, which showed that his heart was slightly undersized, but were Upon learning of Dakirʼs confirmed diagnosis, Ermine otherwise unremarkable. At that point, he began to was in immediate agreement that we had to make the suspect Addisonʼs and sent blood to the lab to check his issue of Addisonʼs disease known. She was adamant cortisol level. He gave him a shot of dexamethasone that we advise the owners of Dakirʼs offspring, and and we went home to await results. Dakir was not his siblings that these dogs should be removed from noticably better that night, but he did eat some chicken, breeding consideration. I am grateful to her for rising cut into small pieces and only if I hand fed it to him. to the occasion and putting the welfare of the Sloughi ahead of anything else.