Meredith Johnson-Snyder writes
Now more has come in on that TV programme. Meredith
Johnson-Snyder has the world famous Rattlebridge Cavaliers in the US. Here is
her story: “The following is only my opinion, interpretation and
understanding of the BBC scandal. I have held back on commenting on the SM
debacle on the BBC which I feel is absolutely awful, degrading to reputable
breeders and erroneous. For a major source of information to present a most
likely edited programme geared toward sensationalism is totally unprofessional.
“I feel I need to state my views as a breeder who had been hit pretty hard
with SM to the point that my breeding programme was impaired. “My first
clue to the problem of SM was through a couple of my pet people who notified me
that their dog was having problems. Until then, I had been rather ignorant of
the disease. I had heard about the ‘scratching disease’ but, like
many, had paid little attention until it hit home when a couple of different
imported bloodlines and my own did not produce beautiful music together –
beautiful dogs with not so beautiful SM.
“With the Ohio State
Study (now defunct) we embarked on a series of MRIs and with the advice of the
neurosurgeons and a well known specialist in veterinary neurology in the UK, I
placed several very beautiful Cavaliers (some of whom I would not place today
as they continue to be asymptomatic). I met with the said specialist privately
in the UK and later here in the US.
Although I thought well of the research initially I soon
changed my mind as in my opinion, the welfare of our breed was taking second
place to research for advancement. At the outset, pedigree research was
conducted by using online databases, which the pedigree researchers were
advised might contain inaccuracies as they were not based on official Kennel
Club pedigrees. “The point of the OSU study was to follow a family, my
family, of Cavaliers through at least three generations which we had readily at
hand. We were interested in doing MRIs on all the progeny of an unaffected sire
and dam to try to see mode of inheritance. We were also to send blood of
affected Cavaliers, diagnosed by MRI, to a laboratory in Canada, which turned
out to not be a great idea as the laboratory seemed to drop the ball. It had
been difficult for Dr Rusbridge to do her own MRI study in England due to the
fact that she was evidently not allowed to MRI without a real reason to
diagnose a real problem, so few MRIs were done to add to her study until
breeders started to seek out MRIs on their own.
“I think that SM is very real, but that not every
dog diagnosed by MRI is always symptomatic or ever will be. Most of ours were
not and we studied dogs as old as 11 and 12 who were affected according to
their MRI but never exhibited symptoms. The truth is that I needed to put only
one down from extreme symptoms which interfered with the quality of his life
when he was about a year. The others, both living in my home and in their pet
or co-owner homes, are easily maintained on or off meds with great quality of
life. I have diagnosed and neutered dogs now living wonderful lives.
“Dr Rusbridge receives and then interprets MRIs
from all over the world. She has developed her own rating scale even to the
point of declaring only one bitch in the world to be truly clear, but I have
had a few. I declined to send the MRIs, or the evaluations, to England to be
publicised there or anywhere else. I am sure there are others who have either
never had an MRI or whose MRI has never been sent to the UK.
She has
not seen all the Cavaliers in the world or all their MRIs to be able to
proclaim any kind of percentage. “I know this for a fact – the
validity of the diagnosis of an MRI depends on the excellence and Testa
strength of the MRI machine, on the expertise and technique of the technician
doing the filming, of the positioning of the head, of a full MRI going from
skull down the neck, of the quality of the films themselves, of the expertise
and experience of the radiologist reading the MRI who should have evaluated
many MRIs to gain comparisons so as to do a rating and, of course, on the
ability, knowledge, experience, expertise, and educational background of the
neurosurgeon or neurologist doing the diagnosis on dogs within a breed or
breeds which may have a problem with SM.
“I know a fellow breeder who had her MRIs done by a
supposed neurologist who admitted to knowing nothing of the disease and was not
sure how to read an MRI for this disease, but passed the dog anyway. This is a
true story and there are others like it. Many vets and neurologists in our
country alone have no real knowledge of the disease or how to expertly read
MRIs with the result that affected dogs are cleared and unaffected dogs are
misdiagnosed with SM. One of the other real problems, as I have already stated,
is that full scale MRIs are not always done. “Dr Mike Harrington, a very
well known neurosurgeon in Seattle, told me that the canine brain is the same
size whether rattling around in a Saint Bernard’s head (only kidding) or
being crammed into a toy’s head where compression of the cerebellum may
occur. From what I understand, if the bottom part of the skull with the right
shape and density of bone and an adequate opening of the foramen magnum so that
no herniation is evident, then that dog may be clear of SM. “Other factors
may enter into the picture such as hydrocephalus and maybe a more deeply curved
back skull with the occiput placed in a more downward position rather than at
the top of the back skull. I am a layman so do not take my evaluation as
gospel. This is just the way I understand the problem after doing MRIs on quite
a few of my dogs and looking at head shapes. SM cannot be diagnosed without a
full scale MRI.
“In my opinion, we cannot play God and predict the
result of breeding or give advice on which dogs are safe for breeding. Those
doing this are doing a disservice to our breed. Clearing up a problem totally
in a breed is nearly impossible, in my opinion, or will be until we can isolate
a gene responsible for each disease – which our sending blood to the
laboratory in Canada was supposed to help accomplish. “Reputable breeders
do their best, but so many factors enter into the genetics and environment
behind each dog. We are not the only breed with a problem: German Shepherds
with elbows, hips and bloat; Goldens and Flat-coats with cancer; Dobermanns
with cardiomyopathy; Boxers, a breed I really love, with cardiomyopathy and
SAS; Dalmatians with deafness; many breeds with elbow, hip or patella problems;
and breeds with eye problems and so on and so on. “Having started in
German Shepherds, I know that one can breed dogs free of hip dysplasia for
three generations and get wiped out in the fourth. Genetics can bite one in the
behind when least expected. No dog is perfect or human being for that matter.
Breeding, as we all know, is a balancing act full of compromises trying to get
the perfect dog with beauty, type, structure, temperament, and health. What an
awesome task! We get blamed for problems sometimes created by unreputable
breeders. No breeder, as I said, can predict animal husbandry. We do the best
job we can with the best of intentions. No one wants to breed a problem dog who
will break a family’s heart.
“We are now in an era with the animal rightists
trying to destroy and discredit breeders of purebred dogs. It is duly noted
that there are no health statistics kept on mixed breeds, just on purebred
dogs. Who knows how many mixed breeds die of disease or breed problems gotten
genetically from their mixed parentage? Yes, our dogs do have health problems
which are recognised by the public because purebred dogs are recognisable and
parent clubs try to keep a record of problems, fund research to increase
diagnosis, treatment and hopefully someday elimination of problems. “We
need to educate the public about the problems in our breed not hide our heads.
We build trust by being open. One of the problems has always and continues to
be the reluctance of some breeders to ever admit that there has ever been a
problem in their breeding programme. Because it is known that I have dealt with
SM, I get quite a few calls about SM from pet owners who tell me that they have
a Cavalier with SM whose breeder totally denied having ever produced such a
problem. I do repeat any information but suggest that the pet owner contact the
breeder. I know I have been told by a breeder that mitral valve and SM has
never been a problem for that breeder when I know that at least one pet owner
buying two dogs from that breeder has encountered early MVD and SM. Why not
just be honest? No-one has ever not bought a dog from me because I was honest.
“One of the best ways to increase the respect of
the public is to admit to the problems in our breed and in our own breeding
programmes. That is what can set us apart from the commercial breeders and
puppy mills. I have a place on my pet bill of sale for the new owner and myself
to initial that we have discussed the genetic problems in our breed. This is
not to scare them, but to educate. No- one has failed to take their puppy home
because of this clause. Nor have I had any of my pet owners blame me if their
dog has come down with a problem because they know that I want to know, I want
to help and I have already stated that no breeder is God able to predict animal
husbandry.
“We are now forced to fight back. Perhaps what we
should do is run advertisements in every major dog magazine and major city
newspaper to contact the parent clubs in all countries about our breed. Our
health committees must get on top of this. We must be proactive. We must unite
and stay united to defeat the animal rightists who are behind all the
misinformation and would like nothing more than to divide and destroy breeders.
“I am responsible for my dogs and my breeding programme. We should not
rely on self-appointed gurus who hold themselves above the rest of us. We are
the reputable breeders and we must tell the world that we are responsible from
birth to death for the Cavaliers we bring into the world.”
Approval to publish will be granted, just ask me first
please. Meredith
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