September 2020

Dear Spinosti

Sorry for the delay in the update from Mr Bawd, but I was hoping that there would be some good news on the horizon, sadly it would appear that once again we are heading into another period of uncertainty that will disrupt our ‘doggy’ lives.

AHT
when the AHT closed its doors in July, Elaine, Cathy and Linda immediately sprang into action on behalf of the ISCGB. Cathy to see if the club had any financial claim on the AHT and Elaine and Linda regarding the CA test, plus other things the AHT do for us. As has already been announced on the ISCGB Website and Facebook pages, at this current time, there is not a valid test available for Spinone CA. The KC have temporarily removed it from their mandatory list of health tests for Spinone, however when a valid test becomes available in the future, the requirement to test for CA will be reintroduced with immediate effect. This is a sad blip for the Spinone and all those that worked so hard to find a solution to this disease in the past. Elaine and Linda continue to liaise with Dr Cathryn Mellersh and her genetics team and it is their intention to resume CA testing for us once they are settled into their new premises later this year. The results for every dog tested by the AHT are shown on their website page, including those from overseas.

FIELD TRIALS
BASC are currently updating their Covid guidelines and at time of writing it is still hoped that field trials and shooting will be able to take place this season as they may well be covered by any exemptions. However this is an ever changing situation and who knows?

AGM
as with most other breed clubs we’ve been unable to hold our AGM this year, official permission from the KC was sought and granted to delay our 2020 AGM. The accounts are ready to be presented to the membership and there are no rule changes, other than the KCs own or AOB to be discussed. BUT I’m pleased to say that we are able to announce the result of the President’s vote and that the Club now has a new President: Ms Pat Wilkinson.

MERCHANDISE
one area which has most definitely been busy during lockdown and beyond. Our merchandising team, but mainly Linda Stanley has been working tirelessly to not just get orders out promptly but to source new items at reasonable prices to add to the ‘Spinone Shop’ I think that Linda must have been keeping her local Post Office in business! Check out our merchandise on the Facebook page and website.

R & R
a difficult time for all breeds and let’s hope we don’t see the predicted surge of unwanted puppies coming through the club. Hard for Janet and Kerry to do the usual home checks and visits due to the distancing required, but it was comforting to see how quickly a Spinone owner in distress was picked up on social media by one of the team with the promise of help/fostering services if needed. Well done Janet and Kerry…….

From W.Bawd

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