Six months ago I reported that my lovely Pagan - Verdellho Halloween Doll - had been diagnosed with a terminal heart condition that would kill her suddenly anytime between right then until 6-7 years of age.
Inspite of being pre-warned it was still an awful shock to wake up & find her dead on the bed beside me two weeks before her 2nd birthday. At the time I was suffering from a virus & running a raging temperature with a chest infection - to have to struggle outside with a spade & bury her that day was something I wouldn't wish on anybody. God, it was an awful day.
When she was 18 months old, a newly qualified vet picked up an unusual heart rythmn with a stethascope & advised me to have an ECG done if I was considering breeding with her. I took her the following week & was told she had a VENTRICULAR ECTOPY which could kill her anytime between right now & approx. 6-7 years of age. I, naturally, wanted a second opinion so the report was sent off to the head of the canine cardiolog at Melbourne University Vet. Dept. He verified the original diagnosis & told me, under no circumstances breed with her; she would not survive whelping. What's more they also advised against putting her under anaesthetic unless it was absolutely necessary so I couldn't even spay her. Re-homing to a pet home was, of course, out of the question.
Throughout all this she presented with no symptoms whatsoever. She was bright, breezy, happy & a grade A pest from the moment her eyes opened every day.
Two weeks before she died I took her to a different vet because the little monster had caught & killed a parrot on the wing & eaten it before I could get outside & stop her. This gave her an upset stomach which meant a trip to the vet. I asked him to check her heart & he said it was absolutely fine. When I told him about the ECG he said he wasn't a heart specialist & couldn't be expected to pick up irregular heart rythmns (w00t) . Needless to say I won't be going back there again. How many more vets like him are out there? Too many I'll bet.
If she had been a human she would have been fitted with a pacemaker to regulate her heartbeats. What actually killed her was a LETHAL ARRYTHMIA. It is thought to have been inhereted & caused because she was too inbred. Her litter siblings may, or may not, be similarly affected, time will tell. So far they're all okay except the one with auto-imune arthritis who is, so far, still alive - just - & costing his owners an absolute fortune in drugs.
When I phoned the vet who did the ECG he said he had just read on an international vet's forum on the internet that vets around the world are starting to notice heart problems & sudden deaths in whippets. He asked if he could have all details & a pedigree of hers to contribute to the worldwide common knowledge so, I am going to make available anything & everything required to these vets. A detailed pedigree, a DNA profile & her COI when I can finally get the production of it right. If that upsets any of you, I don't care. The welfare of the breed itself is much more important than the ego of any one of us. I am determined she won't have died in vain.
There is no point, whatsoever, in pointing fingers or inferring blame on any breeder/s for what has happened. What's done is done & no-one could be accused of doing it deliberately. It's what happens from now on that matters & I beg you, all of you, yes YOU sitting there reading this to have your dogs' hearts checked before you breed them again. From the occasional once-in-a-blue-moon breeder to those of you who always have a litter of two for sale, the responsibility rests with YOU to stop this NOW. This inbreeding of closely related individuals is, perhaps, not such a good idea any more. I think Genetic Diversity needs to be the catch cry for the next 10 years or so at least. This has certainly changed my way of thinking, please God it has changed yours too because if it hasn't the breed is in serious trouble, We are on the very edge of turning a healthy breed into a cardiac cot case, a la Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - don't let that dreadful BBC documentary apply to us. It's up to us, people, no one else.
Gail.
Inspite of being pre-warned it was still an awful shock to wake up & find her dead on the bed beside me two weeks before her 2nd birthday. At the time I was suffering from a virus & running a raging temperature with a chest infection - to have to struggle outside with a spade & bury her that day was something I wouldn't wish on anybody. God, it was an awful day.
When she was 18 months old, a newly qualified vet picked up an unusual heart rythmn with a stethascope & advised me to have an ECG done if I was considering breeding with her. I took her the following week & was told she had a VENTRICULAR ECTOPY which could kill her anytime between right now & approx. 6-7 years of age. I, naturally, wanted a second opinion so the report was sent off to the head of the canine cardiolog at Melbourne University Vet. Dept. He verified the original diagnosis & told me, under no circumstances breed with her; she would not survive whelping. What's more they also advised against putting her under anaesthetic unless it was absolutely necessary so I couldn't even spay her. Re-homing to a pet home was, of course, out of the question.
Throughout all this she presented with no symptoms whatsoever. She was bright, breezy, happy & a grade A pest from the moment her eyes opened every day.
Two weeks before she died I took her to a different vet because the little monster had caught & killed a parrot on the wing & eaten it before I could get outside & stop her. This gave her an upset stomach which meant a trip to the vet. I asked him to check her heart & he said it was absolutely fine. When I told him about the ECG he said he wasn't a heart specialist & couldn't be expected to pick up irregular heart rythmns (w00t) . Needless to say I won't be going back there again. How many more vets like him are out there? Too many I'll bet.
If she had been a human she would have been fitted with a pacemaker to regulate her heartbeats. What actually killed her was a LETHAL ARRYTHMIA. It is thought to have been inhereted & caused because she was too inbred. Her litter siblings may, or may not, be similarly affected, time will tell. So far they're all okay except the one with auto-imune arthritis who is, so far, still alive - just - & costing his owners an absolute fortune in drugs.
When I phoned the vet who did the ECG he said he had just read on an international vet's forum on the internet that vets around the world are starting to notice heart problems & sudden deaths in whippets. He asked if he could have all details & a pedigree of hers to contribute to the worldwide common knowledge so, I am going to make available anything & everything required to these vets. A detailed pedigree, a DNA profile & her COI when I can finally get the production of it right. If that upsets any of you, I don't care. The welfare of the breed itself is much more important than the ego of any one of us. I am determined she won't have died in vain.
There is no point, whatsoever, in pointing fingers or inferring blame on any breeder/s for what has happened. What's done is done & no-one could be accused of doing it deliberately. It's what happens from now on that matters & I beg you, all of you, yes YOU sitting there reading this to have your dogs' hearts checked before you breed them again. From the occasional once-in-a-blue-moon breeder to those of you who always have a litter of two for sale, the responsibility rests with YOU to stop this NOW. This inbreeding of closely related individuals is, perhaps, not such a good idea any more. I think Genetic Diversity needs to be the catch cry for the next 10 years or so at least. This has certainly changed my way of thinking, please God it has changed yours too because if it hasn't the breed is in serious trouble, We are on the very edge of turning a healthy breed into a cardiac cot case, a la Cavalier King Charles Spaniels - don't let that dreadful BBC documentary apply to us. It's up to us, people, no one else.
Gail.
It is very hard to see a beautiful young dog die well before her time for any reason.
