The following question was posed on the Deerhound L discussion list in the U.S. it is a very relevant discussion. Does anyone want to share thoughts on this in this forum?
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DEERHOUND-L: Discussion list for Scottish Deerhound Owners and Fanciers.
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"I would like to pose a general question to the List members both here and abroad to try to get some perspective on the recent events in my life, where two of my three hounds have developed serious problems and one,Angelina, was euthanized at age 4. At the same time that we have all heard of some early deerhound deaths from either common or uncommon causes, we also have List members celebrating the 12th and 13th birthdays of their hounds. I would especially like to hear from breeders if anyone wants to speak up and also from long time owners like myself Is it your impression that in general this breed is getting healthier over the last 25-30 years? Are we being successful in breeding out genetic problems, either through testing or through not breeding affected individuals? Or is the breed getting less healthy? Are we seeing (as a group) more "weird" diseases like autoimmune diseases, lymphoma, hemangiosarcomas, Addisons disease and liver shunts? I will take this opportunity to say that our research funds (the Bunnie Austin Fund, and the Canine Health Foundation's dollars in the deerhound"pot" have been severely depleted in the last 4-5 years. Prior to this years membership drive we had only about $1000 give or take in each fund, not enough $ to fund any serious study. I am not speaking as an SDCA board member here, but as someone involved in and committed to clinical research who may "volunteer" to try to do some fund raising for health research (Christie Keith and I have discussed this). What is the current perception out there about deerhound health in general? Thanks for participating and this is in no way meant to be a survey, but rather to get a "gestalt"."
Mary Ann Rose