BAER Testing DNA Collection 2017 Finals

BAER Testing and DNA Sample Collection at the 2017 Sheepdog Finals

As a service to ABCA members and to advance.research into the genetic conditions that affect our Border Collies, the ABCA Health & Education Foundation will be offering free hearing tests for ABC registered dogs at the USBCHA Sheepdog Finals this year, and will also be collecting DNA samples to be used for deafness research and to be stored in our DNA bank. The BAER and sample clinics will take place on Sept 27-29 (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) at the trial site. BAER testing will be done by Dr. Colette Williams, whose credentials are excellent and who was the tester at last year’s BAER clinic. We hope that our members — especially owners of dogs with suspected hearing loss, from lines known to have hearing loss, or those from previous finals clinics recommended for follow-up — will take advantage of this BAER testing opportunity.

To participate, please fill out a copy of this questionnaire/consent form for each dog and send it, together with a copy of the dog’s pedigree, to Eileen Stein. The documents can be sent either by email (Eileen Stein) or by postal mail (PO Box 41, Shady Side, MD 20764), so long as they are received by September 21. If you are unable to submit the documents in advance, please bring two copies of each with you to the clinic. Dogs will be entered on the BAER list when paperwork is received and will need to submit a DNA sample at the clinic.

All health information submitted to the Foundation will be treated as strictly confidential, and will not be used in any way that would disclose identifiable information or testing results to anyone but the dog’s owner.