Since many people in our Club own Great Pyrenees dogs, I am passing on a request from a veterinarian who is doing research on why Great Pyrs get cancer. She wants to get as many DNA samples from these gentle giants as possible. Please see her message below and help her if you can with a DNA sample from your dog.We would appreciate your help in both collecting samples from purebred Pyrs (they do not have to be registered, but they do need to be purebred), and in getting the word out to owners.
The CHCC is studying several types of cancers in varying breeds of dogs, and would very much appreciate buccal (cheek) swabs from as many Great Pyrenees as possible. These swabs will be used in studies looking at osteosarcoma and also dwarfism in Pyrs.
The kits are very user friendly and easy for owners to do at home. There is no charge for the kits, and they include prepaid return mailers. Drs. Duesbery and Neff are the primary investigators on these studies; I work in sample collection.
Owners can contact us at:
to request kits. Also, if there are owners of Pyrs who are affected with bone cancer currently, simple blood samples from those dogs are also very helpful. I’ll be happy to answer questions.
Thank you again,
Roe
Roe Froman, DVM
Senior Veterinary Research Scientist
Van Andel Institute
