I just received GREAT NEWS! I just received e-mails on 5 of my girls including my Foundation bitch Jolie and her 3
oldest daughters, Sophia, Diana and Spirit. Also on Destiny who I bought from Sarah & Vicki Kennedy. All have
tested NORMAL. What a relief! As soon as I receive my official Certificates, I will be sending copies of them into
OFA to register them in the new data base, as I hope everyone else will also do.
With the exchange rate at the time I sent my kits in, it cost me $130.00 per test. This is the only Lab to date that is
qualified to do this DNA Test. Next I will send in DNA samples for Ali and Gracie. I have not used any of my
Champion males for stud yet, but will send DNA also in on them for: TJ, Movado and Gus.
Sue LeCalsey
Achates Bostons
************************************************************************************************************************************
SYMONE INGRAM <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk> wrote:
Subject: DNA TEST FOR JUVENILE HEREDITARY CATARACT
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:40:40 +0100
From: "SYMONE INGRAM" <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk>
To: <AchatesBostons@ Ameritech. net>
CC: "VIKKI LETT" <vikki.lett@aht. org.uk>
Re: BJ117 (Bleugras Jolie of Buena Vista )
Owner: Sue & Lou LeCalsey
Dear Sir/Madam,
The result for your DNA test is:
Ch Bleugras Jolie of Buena Vista - normal
Certificate will follow shortly.
Vikki Lett (Mrs)
The Animal Health Trust
Genetics Services
Lanwades Park
Kennet
Newmarket
Suffolk
CB8 7UU
Tel: 08700 509144
Please visit our website at www.aht.org. uk
***********************************************************************************************************************************
Subject: DNA TEST FOR JUVENILE HEREDITARY CATARACT
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:40:51 +0100
From: "SYMONE INGRAM" <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: AchatesBostons@ Ameritech. net
CC: "VIKKI LETT" vikki.lett@aht. org.uk
Re: BJ118 (Achates Critics Choice)
Owner: Sue & Lou LeCalsey
Dear Sir/Madam,
The result for your DNA test is:
Ch Achates Critics Choice - normal
Certificate will follow shortly.
Vikki Lett (Mrs)
The Animal Health Trust
************************************************************************************************************************************
Subject: DNA TEST FOR JUVENILE HEREDITARY CATARACT
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:40:12 +0100
From: "SYMONE INGRAM" <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: AchatesBostons@ Ameritech. net
CC: "VIKKI LETT" vikki.lett@aht. org.uk
Re: BJ115 (Achates Definitely A Keeper)
Owner: Sue & Lou LeCalsey
Dear Sir/Madam,
The result for your DNA test is:
Ch Achates Definitely A Keeper - normal
Certificate will follow shortly.
Vikki Lett (Mrs)
The Animal Health Trust
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Subject: DNA TEST FOR JUVENILE HEREDITARY CATARACT
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:39:20 +0100
From: "SYMONE INGRAM" <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: AchatesBostons@ Ameritech. net
CC: "VIKKI LETT" vikki.lett@aht. org.uk
Re: BJ114 (Achates D'Keeper of the Spirit)
Owner: Sue & Lou LeCalsey
Dear Sir/Madam,
The result for your DNA test is:
Ch Achates D'Keeper of the Spirit - normal
Certificate will follow shortly.
Vikki Lett (Mrs)
The Animal Health Trust
**********************************************************************************************************************************
Subject: DNA TEST FOR JUVENILE HEREDITARY CATARACT
Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 12:40:29 +0100
From: "SYMONE INGRAM" <symone.ingram@ aht.org.uk> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: AchatesBostons@ Ameritech. net
CC: "VIKKI LETT" vikki.lett@aht. org.uk
Re: BJ116 (Kennedy's The Legend Gets Better At Achates)
Owner: Sue & Lou LeCalsey
Dear Sir/Madam,
The result for your DNA test is:
Ch Kennedy's The Legend Gets Better At Achates - normal
Certificate will follow shortly.
Vikki Lett (Mrs)
The Animal Health Trust
This is correspondence from Trudy Sample and the geneticist who led the cataract research.
-----Original Message-----
From: NSampl@aol.com [mailto:NSampl@aol.com]
Sent: 01 February 2006 23:39
To: MAIRE O'BRIEN
Subject: New Gene test for Juvenile Cataracts in Boston Terriers
To: Mr Keith Reid:
Re: Juvenile Cataracts
Dear Mr. Reid,
The Boston Terrier people in the United States are eagerly awaiting an anouncement on the discovery of the gene
that causes juvenile cataracts in our Boston Terriers. We are aware that the genetic test has been
posted on the website of the AHT, but no announcement has been made yet.
I am particularly concerned about the fact that some of the people in England have announced that they will
eliminate cataracts in one generation by testing. Below is a paragraph from the AHT web site announcing the
discovery of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier juvenile cataract gene.
Please reconsider this posting and the damage that can be done to a breed by removing all the carriers in a single
generation as I have been told some breeders in the U.K. plan to do. Consider posting on your website genetic
advice for all the Boston Terrier people in England and the U.S.A.. They need to learn how to use genetic testing
wisely and well.
"The mutation responsible for the disease has recently been identified at the Animal Health Trust. Using the
information from this research, we have developed a DNA test for the disease. This test not only diagnoses dogs
affected with the disease but can also detect those dogs which are carriers, displaying no symptoms of the disease
but able to produce affected pups. Under most circumstances, there will be a much
greater number of carriers than affected animals in a population. It is important to eliminate such carriers from a
breeding population since they represent a hidden reservoir of the disease that can produce affected dogs at any
time."
Trudy Sample
Former Health Chairman for the Boston Terrier Club of America
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Trudy,
Your email has been forwarded to me as I am the geneticist who lead the research and developed the test for
juvenile cataract in the Boston.
You are quite correct - if breeders aim to eliminate these cataracts in one generation they will do more harm to the
breed than they do good.
This mutation is likely to be very prevalent in the Boston population and for this reason geneticists at the AHT
advise against eliminating carriers from the breeding population because doing so will result in an unacceptable
reduction in the gene pool that can never be recovered.
Instead, our advice is to test all dogs that might be used for breeding, and if a dog is identified as a carrier of either
HC they should only be mated to dogs that have tested clear and any resulting puppies that may be used for
breeding should also be tested. This practice will allow gradual elimination of the mutation from the breeding
population, while also allowing those desirable characteristics exhibited by the carriers to be passed to future
generations. As long as carriers are always bred to clear dogs no affected puppies will be produced and although
some carriers will be bred they will be perfectly healthy with respect to this disease. The
driving force behind selecting which dogs to breed with should be choosing dogs that the correct form and
temperament for the breed - not whether they are free of the HC mutation. Being a carrier of HC does the dog NO
HARM whatsoever - in fact we and our dogs are probably all carriers of something.
I agree with you that the wording on our website could be misleading - it doesn't say carriers need to be eliminated
in a single generation I understand that could be the implication. I will try to get it changed.
Cathryn