President's Message
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AMERICAN SPANIEL CLUB, INC. Bulletin VOLUME 56, NUMBER 4 DECEMBER, 2007 FIELD NEWS President’s Message From: Elaine Grabowski Western Region Field Committee Chair Tempus fugit! The weeks preceding the Flushing NEW MASTER HUNTER Spaniel Show are passing quickly. Information concern- Dungarvan My Boy Tucker, MH, owned by George and Noel ing the show and related forms are available from the Cacchio, completed his Master Hunting title at the Maryland ASC website – www.asc-cockerspaniel.org/events/asc.asp th Sporting Dog Association Hunt Test on October 7 , 2007. The The saga of our treasury situation continues with legal judges were Beverly Haag and Joe DeMarkis, and Noel Cacchio action. The insurance company bonding the treasurer, was his handler. Tucker was 4 years old at the time. Tucker is a after investigation, has sent ASC a check for $75,000, the therapy dog at a local nursing home, works with Noel and her other Cockers as a guide at a hunting preserve and, in his spare full amount of our coverage. Jane Harmon, ASC time, enjoys hunting Grouse with his Cocker family in the Treasurer, has deposited the check in an interest bearing Adirondacks. account so that it can earn interest. Thank you again to Special Thanks go out to the people who helped Noel train clubs and individuals who have contributed to ASC’s Tucker to be the fine hunting companion he has become — Billy financial recovery. Akkouris, Fred Bradley, George Cacchio and our training friends The State of Florida has scheduled a pretrial confer- in the Cocker Spaniel Field Trial Club of America. ence in January. This is a court hearing in which the State’s Attorney advises the judge of the fact of the crime charged. The defendant’s attorney will advise the judge of facts which they believe the judge should consider. The judge will usually indicate to the defendant the sen- tence likely to be imposed if the defendant pleads guilty or no contest. I especially want to encourage our members who feed Purina food products to send in the weight circles. A recent report indicated a low percentage of members reg- istered in the program are actually sending the weight circles. Submission means money for ASC. If you have Caption: Noel and Tucker in the field. Photo by Mary Bloom weight circles collecting at your house, send them in NOW! See contest on page 5. The Board of Directors has met frequently via confer- Field Booth, Working Dog Test & Instinct Evaluation ence calls (at no cost to ASC). We interviewed three at the National applicants for the AKC Delegate position and Julie This is the report of the Field Committee on activities associat- Virosteck was appointed to serve as our Delegate. ed with the July ASC National in OKC. The Cocker Spaniel National will be in Indianapolis in July. Long and short sleeve t-shirts and sweatshirts are Field Booth now available for purchase. The beautiful logo, The field booth was set up and manned for much of the day on Thursday and Friday. A great picture display of working Cockers designed by Rita Crowe, invites us all to be Back Home brought many interested parties to the booth. Also, people were Again in Indiana. interested in the Field Kits which included whistles, lanyards, Although our Canadian members have already cele- bumpers (some with bird wings) and the 3-book field series. The brated Thanksgiving, my wish to all is for a Happy booth also had frequent showing of the Form Follows Function Thanksgiving including our dogs. DVD. We also had available the 3-book field series for sale indi- vidually or as a package. Jane T. Williams, President, American Spaniel Club continued on page 2 Foundation Fundamentals From the desk of Bobbie Kolehouse, Grants Director Ch. Toccata’s Looking To The East Contact Bobbie at [email protected] WALLY American Spaniel Club Foundation recruits Cocker Spaniels for liver disease study Earlier this year the American Spaniel Club Foundation (ASC-F) approved supporting a new research study of canine liver problems funded through the American Kennel Club, Canine Health Foundation. Chronic liver disease can be life threatening. The liver acts as a primary filtering organ and disease can be primary or sec- ondary. Most often, the diagnosis is chronic hepatitis or portosystemic vascular anomalies, known as liver shunts. Chronic hepatitis Chronic hepatitis is inflammation of the liver that results in progressive damage to the liver cells. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue and reduces the functioning of the liver. Known environmental causes are toxic exposures, drug toxicity, and infectious disease. Dr. Lauren Trepanier, DVM, PhD, Dip. ACVIM, Dip. ACVCP is an associate professor in the Department of Medical Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. So far, her research team has identified a pattern of antibodies that is present in about one third of dogs in the study diagnosed with chronic hepatitis. Their next step is to identify the liver proteins affected by the disease to “understand whether certain antibodies are associated with a particular pattern on liver biopsy or a response to cer- tain medications,” Dr. Trepanier said. “Testing for these antibodies could tell veterinarians which treatment is most likely to be effective and, most important, might enable diagnosis without a surgical biopsy,” she added. Liver Shunts Cocker Spaniels can be affected by congenital portosystemic vascular anomalies (PSVA) though the condition can develop because of other illnesses such as hepatitis or cirrhosis. Cocker liver shunts tend to occur outside the liver and are known as being “extrahepatic”. Typically the condition involves two large veins and is relatively simple to correct. Symptoms of PSVA are lethargy, circling, confusion, blind staggers, head pressing, staring or seizures. Owners are likely to notice a lack of vitality, stunted growth, and poor coat quality. Clinical signs are typically seen before the dog is a year old and often before the dog is 12 weeks. PSVA is diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans (uses magnets and sound waves) or computed tomography (CT) scans (uses x-rays). Shannon Holmes, D.V.M., Washington State University, explained how veterinarians can treat patients better if they know how the blood is flowing, and in their recently completed MRI study, demonstrated how the path of the abnormal vessel is eas- ily seen and that reduces time in surgery. It also reduces unnecessary exploratory surgery. A new study may soon be announced looking at canine liver disease focusing on liver shunts proposed to the AKC Canine Health Foundation and led by Sharon Center, DVM, Cornell University. The ASC-F will provide information on participating when it is available. In the meantime, Cocker owners with animals diagnosed with chronic hepatitis are encouraged to participate in Dr. Trepanier’s study. Thanks to Beth Speich and Bill Mixon for this great Specialty weekend.Wally is sired To participate in the CHF study Dr. Trepanier needs: by Toccata’s Crowd Control (Ch. Dynamite’s Master Charge x Ch. Toccata’s * a serum sample from the dog prior to receiving any steroids, Pre-Heated) and out of Ch. Newsong’s Annie Toccata (Ch. Kaibab’s Krismyth * a copy of the liver biopsy report. Performance x Ch. Newsong’s Note Worthy). Co-breeder Tanda Shirrod. He For more information on submitting samples, owners or their veterinarians can contact Dr. Trepanier at 608-265-9022, FAX finished from the Bred By Exhibitor Class. 608-265-8020. E-mail [email protected] The American Spaniel Club Foundation, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the health and well-being of all Spaniels and particularly to Cocker Spaniels. Breeder/Owner Handler Kathy Egeland [email protected] Page 2 AMERICAN SPANIEL CLUB, INC. BULLETIN December 2007 AMERICAN SPANIEL CLUB, INC. BULLETIN December 2007 Page 3 JANUARY PLANS… FIELD NEWS, CONTINUED… There was a great deal of interest in explor- by Bettie Campbell, Show Chair ing the working aspect of these dogs. Lots of folks signed up, at the booth, for Saturday’s 88th Annual Flushing Spaniel Specialty Show WD Test and Instinct Evaluation. [email protected] Working Dog Test The working dog test was held on Saturday FIVE WEEKS AND COUNTING! Plans are moving along to make this 7/21 at nearby historic Fort Reno: American Spaniel Club Flushing Spaniel Specialty a truly memorable start http://www.fortreno.org/index.htm. Fort to 2008! Reno is 30 miles due west of OKC. The The Annual Meeting will be held on SATURDAY evening in the show grounds were made available to us at no cost area. Plan to attend to be a part of the discussion and voting. Make your by the US Government, specifically the voice and opinion heard! United States Department of Agriculture’s Immediately following the meeting, a reception will be held featuring Agricultural Research Grazinglands Research live auction of surprise items, appetizers provided by Purina Hospitality Center at Fort Reno. Fund and a cash bar. ASC will provide one drink per member and mem- We were required to apply for a permit to bers will be encouraged to mingle and visit with our foreign members! use the grounds, and we were required to pro- They carry our banner across the World and are an integral part of our vide a certificate of insurance covering the use Fancy! of guns and live ammo. Judi Kline is gathering items from all the Flushing breeds for her raffle The turnout for the WD Test was wonder- table. She also is filling her tables with baskets from the Zones and ful. Not only did we have some very talented Specialty Clubs...Items can be sent to me and I will deliver them to you at American Cockers showing off their field the show to be assembled so that those flying in can still contribute.