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AKC/UKC CHAMPION SIENNA'S THUNDER ALLEY,
CGC
"ALI"
AKC/UKC Champion ... owner handled ALL the way !
UKC Multiple Group WINNER ....... Top Ten RR
in UKC much of 2003
Ranked in Rhodesian Ridgeback Quarterly's AKC Top 20 for fall quarter 1998...
This is the stuff dreams are made of ....
Ali, age 5 years old ...
Shades of Africa -- out hunting in the tall grass
------
and here she is at 9 years and 9 months old ...
she wanted to go back out to the show ...
Best in Veterans Sweeps
and AGAIN at 12, Ali beats all the younger veterans
to win Best In Veterans Sweeps
under Susan Ralston
Ali's first ring appearance at 6 months old to the day:
Ali won Best of Breed from the Puppy Class that DAY over the adults.......
AND
she never looked back.
Ali went on to capture
so many BOB's from the Puppy Class
she was ranked #20 by Rhodesian Ridgeback
Quarterly.
Thank you Trish and Deb.
Trish Little of Spurridge, breeder and
Deb Hopper Danford of Sienna, breeder.
Thanks also to Chuckwagon and Paula Howeth
for all the encouragement.
This
is THE SHOW dog of a lifetime, the PET of a lifetime.
What a dear
girl she is.
She's such a sweetheart, she even
has "dog purrs..."
Ali finished her AKC title, taking the Foothills Cluster
by storm,
WB every day, with 4 point majors on Saturday and Sunday.
In the final analysis on Sunday, judge
Jane Ropollo came up to her, she
wagged her tail, and she won.
Temperament counts so much....
Jane Ropollo confessed she won on the wag of her tail .
Ali with daughter MoonBeam and son Hunter
in their favorite chair ... together !
Ali's son, BRUNO who visits from time to time.
She is
home enjoying the good life with her children.
Ali, lying on her back LEFT,
practices synchronized back rubbing with daughter, MoonBeam
while son, Hunter, watches
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this beautiful boy is Ali's son, BRUNO
And this stunning beauty is Ali's daughter, MoonBeam
MoonBeam's registered name is: Ynda's Thunder Finale
this beautiful boy is Ali's son, THUNDER-HUNTER
Ynda's Roaring Thunder of SpurRidge, co-owned with Trish Little of
Spurridge
this beautiful boy is 'Aslan', another of Ali's sons
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Ali is
CHIC # 9694, a 3rd generation OFA Excellent. She has OFA Cardiac, OFEL,
OFA Thyroid and CERF clearances. She was bred
only once, and produced a lovely litter.
These are the 3 'problems' that have evidenced in this litter.
Twelve pups were carried to term and whelped, 10 survived. There were
3 Ridgeless puppies and 3 Dermoid Sinus puppies in the litter. Of the
dermoids, 2 were base of the tail, and 1 was in the neck. There are
also 2 epileptic puppies from this litter.
We believe in the betterment of the breed by helping researchers map the
genes for inherited diseases and problems such as dermoid sinus,
ridgelessness, and epilepsy. The litter and Ali are participating in
the RRCUS sponsored epilepsy study at University of California-Davis.
They are also participating in the Canine Health Foundation sponsored
epilepsy study at University of Missouri. Their DNA is available to
the Dermoid Sinus and the Ridgelessness studies.
Ali, MoonBeam and Thunder-Hunter were the first 3 Ridgebacks enrolled in
the CHIC DNA Depository. We are also proud to add that the remainder
of Ali's litter has also participated in the CHIC DNA registry, and you can
see her pups listed in the registry.
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The Story of Idiopathic Epilepsy: Sadly, although
both of the parents are perfectly
normal, two of Ali's pups have been diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. Both
of these youngsters suffer from tonic-clonic 'grand mal' types of
seizures, and both are on medication with only partial control of their
seizures. We salute their owners for their care and dedication to
these very special Ridgebacks -- Scott and Monica Bayus, owners of Aeres
and Kim and David Hearn, owners of Abby. These loving and devoted
owners have refused our offers to take back their youngsters, preferring
instead to watch over them as cherished members of their families.
Those of you reading this page who also have epileptic dogs can
understand the herculean efforts sometimes needed to care for a dog with
this disease. Scott, Monica, Kim and David -- WE SALUTE YOU and
keep you in our hearts and prayers each day.
Consequently, we have spayed Ali and MoonBeam, and Thunder-Hunter is
neutered. The rest of the litter had already been spayed or
neutered as puppies who were placed in pet homes. Several of these
youngsters were stunning show prospects as you can see by some of their
photos on this site.
The mechanism for inheritance of this type of epilepsy is unknown in
this breed. We believe that by being 'open' about the problems we
have encountered and by supporting scientific research, we will help the
breed, and we hope to help other breeders.
Ethics and Epilepsy: We believe
that the show ring is where you 'prove' your breeding stock, and is just
plain isn't right to compete with dogs you have no intention of breeding
OR to compete with dogs who should NOT be bred due to 'carrier'
status. By competing and winning, you are taking away from the
dogs who should remain in the breeding population, and those are the
dogs who need to be 'tested' or 'proven' in the show rings.
As far as we are concerned, the buck stops
here regarding the epilepsy. We feel it is our responsibility not to
breed proven/high-probability carriers UNLESS a genetic test exists so
that they can be mated ONLY to non-carriers. We believe without a
genetic test to determine carrier status that it is UNETHICAL TO BREED
LITTERMATES OF DOGS AFFECTED WITH EPILEPSY. By breeding
littermates of affected dogs and descendents of those littermates, the
problem can be perpetuated into new generations.
EPILEPSY IS: Epilepsy is a
disease that can be life-threatening to the dog whose
seizures cannot be controlled or lessened by medication or other
treatment. At the very least for the dog, epilepsy is most often a
life-long disease that usually restricts the quality of life of
the dog in some way -- medication to be taken, changes in daily
supervision or routine, restriction in play times or playmates, perhaps
a change in diet and elimination of favorite foods .... At the worst,
epilepsy causes repeated seizures which may be of various types or
lengths ... Epilepsy is a disease that is both horrifying and
emotionally devastating to owners who have accepted a dog as their
family member. Epilepsy is expensive to diagnose and the cost of
treatment remains for the life of the dog.
Because MoonBeam and Hunter have 2 affected
littermates, the probability of each of them also being a carrier of
epilepsy is 75% or higher. These odds are just too high for us to
breed either in good conscience, or to consider breeding Ali again.
Sadly, all the wonderful, truly fabulous
things will also be lost -- the conformation that just takes your breath
away, the beautiful heads, the balance and movement, and oh, those sweet
and truly devoted Ridgeback personalities (sweet and devoted without
being vicious, sweet and devoted that will listen and obey, sweet and
devoted that can be 'called off'. )
We will have the benefit of enjoying Ali,
MoonBeam and Thunder-Hunter all of their days here at YNDA.
Visitors are welcome by appointment. Their favorite activities are
chasing deer and turkeys from the pasture, running around their pond,
chasing the imaginary lions, synchronized back rubbing, and of course
sleeping on the sofas, digging in the cedar chips, eating at any hour of
the day or night, alerting us to the presence of rabbits under the bird
feeders, and loudly greeting all visitors and delivery people with
woofs. We dearly love each of them and cherish every day we share
with them. We remain dedicated to the
Ridgeback breed and look forward to always having at least one Ridgie
here at YNDA. Marti is a member of the 'parent club' , Rhodesian
Ridgeback Club of the United States:
www.rrcus.org . |
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