Re: [PyrNet-L] SAS- Threat to Pyrs?

[JGentzel@aol.com]

Linda Weisser kindly wrote to me in response to an email exchange we were 
having.  The information is timely and germane to the SAS heart problem.

Linda writes as follows:

Hi there,

We are working on something for the next Bulletin.  Inheritance is not
recessive.  Some postulate polygenic.  The Newf club now thinks perhaps
dominant with incomplete penatrance which may make it impossible to get rid
of once it becomes established.  This is a pretty frightening turn of
events.  At the moment we know of three cases.  All related.  I cannot
share who; however, if there are three cases, there are
undoubtedly more.

Information on how to check for it, etc., will be in the Bulletin and we will
have successive articles in the future.  This is another issue of the
necessity of breeders being completely upfront with their buyers and with
people who have related dogs, before this stuff get spread widely in the
breed as did dwarfism.  However, SAS can be fatal.  Dwarfs are just little
dogs.  As you know, the club has no ability to "force" people to be honest
and upfront.  All we can do is educate and warn.

I don't think that, at the moment, we are calling for *all* dogs to be
cardiac checked.  If the breeder (or breeders)
involved is not willing to be up front, we may end up calling for heart
checks for a lot of dogs that may not be in any way involved.

Thank you Linda for the information to share with us all.