By now all of you have read or heard of the new DNA test for PRA in Tollers made available through Dr. Aguirre's research at the James A. Baker Institute. Now, we are embarking on a new way of doing things with entirely different thought processes in how we choose to breed our dogs. Our gene pool is small and we must always remember that it is the "whole" Toller that is of importance to the health and welfare of the breed, not the results of this one test. We will be spending a lot of time learning how to think in this new way over the next several months and how to use this new tool in our breeding decisions.

I'm so encouraged by all the 20/20 Clinics that are being planned and the support for the test so many of you are giving by having your dogs tested. A number of you have emailed me your individual results. We believe that the most effective way to serve the entire Toller community is to be able to share the results with anyone making an inquiry. We are in the process of developing a voluntary open registry, but while you are receiving your results and they are fresh in your mind we ask that you send us the results by following the procedures outlined on the EYE REGISTRY RELEASE & LISTING FORM. We want a successful program, and we can only do that with your participation and support.

OptiGen will forward all US owned Pattern A dogs for listing in the US Toller registry. As soon as the reciprocal agreement between the US Toller Club and the Canadian Toller Club is registered with OptiGen these listings can be shared between countries.

For all of you who have reports of Pattern B and Pattern C dogs, please fill out the Release/Listing form so that in time there will be the most comprehensive collection of data possible with regard to prcd-DNA in our breed. Optigen will not send any B or C results to a club registry, so we have to use this secondary form. We strongly believe that for our database to be accurate and without question as to the validity of the information, we need your signature of authorization, a copy of the test results, and a copy of your dog's registration papers so that we can verify ownership. We will not report any Pattern B or C results without receiving this information. In addition, Pattern A results may be sent with the completed form and documentation if you want your results included in the database before the quarterly Pattern A report from Optigen is sent to Liz Corey.

Before closing, I want to take just a moment to thank every one of you for your generous financial support of this study over the past eight years. I'm so glad you never lost faith in the vision of the program. We have now moved into this new phase of the program and our vision continues. It goes without saying that the program will have greater success if support continues through shared information. Thank you for continuing your support.

You're the Greatest!
Sue Van Sloun, Chair
NSDTRC (USA) PRA Sub-Committee

The NSDTRC (USA) Health & Genetics Eye Registry accepts PRA-DNA results from anyone wishing to submit them. We do, however, recommend and encourage the owners of dogs registered outside the US to also submit results with the appropriate registry within their country of origin.

In Canada, contact:
Cheryl Tomayer
NSDTRC of Canada Hip/Eye/Heart Registrar
torlantollers@shaw.ca

Other countries, contact your parent breed club for information.