AKC Canine Health Foundation Fundraiser

[Dr. William B. Neff]

Today I am expecting a LOT of checks to arrive in my mailbox in support of our fundraiser to fight cancer in Berners. I already have 3 checks totalling $80 and the fundraiser is only five days old. I'm hoping that many of you have already mailed your checks for this important cause. Remember, there are ONLY SIX DAYS LEFT for you to buy tickets for this fundraiser and to support the AKC Canine Health Foundation study to fight Malignant Histiocytosis. This is a fundraiser that EVERYONE CAN SUPPORT!! The fundraiser started on November 13th and will run until November 23rd. The drawing will take place on Thanksgiving Day, November 28th. Let's give ourselves something to be really thankful for, by each of us making a donation to the AKC CHF study and hopefully they will find a marker for Malignant Histiocytosis so that this dreaded disease can be elimated through breeding and a cure can be found.

A very generous gentleman artist from the Netherlands has donated two lovely paintings of Berners to help raise money for cancer research. Willem Wijnberg, a hobby painter, lost his Berner several years ago to cancer. Willem is legally blind and uses special tools to paint his beautiful Berner portraits. He wants to help us raise money to go towards a study being done in the Ostrander Lab at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Heidi Parker and her colleagues are trying to identify the DNA variants that cause Malignant Histiocytosis. Once an association is found, the team will define the region of the dog genome that is associated with Malignant Histiocytosis and they will then begin searching for the markers and mutations that contribute to developing the disease. The efforts of these researchers will, it is hoped, lead, in the next three to four years, to a DNA test using associated markers for this disease. By the way, if you have a dog of any age who has been diagnosed with Malignant Histiocytosis or a ten year or older dog who has never been diagnosed with any type of histiocytosis, you can donate a blood sample to this study. Heidi currently has 22 samples from control dogs and 6 samples from dogs with Malignant Histiocytosis. She needs at least 18 more samples from control dogs and 34 samples from dogs with Malignant Histiocytosis in order to start her study. Please consider being part of this study - the Berners you help and their owners will be forever thankful if this leads to finding a marker for this dreaded disease or leads to finding a cure.

Karen Pickel has once again made a terrific website for our fundraiser, so you can see Willem's paintings. Be sure to check it out and also to click on the link for information on the study and how you can help: http://www.overthefence.com/raffle/CHF/

The first painting (14 x 14 inches) is of Yasper, the father of Willem's Berner, Dingo, who died from Malignant Histiocytosis.

The second painting (12 x 10 inches) is of Jean Cheesman's puppy, Sam (from England) who died about 3 years ago from cancer.

Tickets for the fundraiser are:
$5 each........OR........3 tickets for $10........OR........8 tickets for $20

Make your US checks payable to AKC CHF (contributions to AKC CHF are tax deductible) and in the memo part of your check, write "Grant #2214." Please mail your check to:

Joye M. Neff
1182 Firwood Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15243-1825

Please send me the following information with your check:
Name
Address
Phone Number
E-Mail Address
How you want to distribute your tickets

As usual, I can accept foreign cheques, with no extra charge from my bank. Make these cheques payable to "Joye M. Neff," so I can convert them to US dollars.

Remember the money that you donate will have matching funds donated to the study. It is not a 100% match, but any match will be helpful since it will mean more money is being donated through your generous donations.

Please help us fight Malignant Histiocytosis. There are far too many young and old Berners who lose the battle to this terrible disease every day. We need to find a way to eliminate Malignant Histiocytosis. Won't you please be part of the solution - we CAN and WILL make a difference!! Thank you for your support of this vital fundraiser

Joye Neff and Winston (Samantha and Ben)
Mt. Lebanon, Pittsburgh, PA