Health Recognition Awards
Health Recognition Awards Program Description (PDF)
Health Recognition Award Application (PDF)
Rationale
Conventional wisdom dictates Health Screenings are beneficial in improving the health for future generations of dogs. With the scientific advances now available for heritable disease detection, health testing is an essential component of any breeding program. The purpose of the Great Pyrenees Club of America Health Award Program is to encourage both breeders and companion owners to have their animals screened and provide recognition for those who do so. This program is not a mandate for screenings, but an incentive which provides recognition for those individuals screening dogs they own or bred.
Disclaimer
Receipt of a GPCA Health Award is not intended to be an endorsement of a Dog for purposes of breeding or used as a means to promote an animal, but to recognize those members who are screening their dogs and disclosing the results.
The Awards
There are two levels of screening recognized:
Gold Awards are for owners of dogs passing six (6) of the recommended screenings: OFA Hip, Patella, Elbow, Cardiac, Thyroid, OCD Shoulder, CERF (eyes), BAER (hearing). Glanzmanns Thrombasthenia Genetic Clearance, Canine Multifocal Retinopathy Genetic Clearance.
Silver Awards are for owners of dogs passing three (3) of the recommended screenings.
Star Awards recognize the owners and breeders who have achieved a Gold or Silver award for multiple dogs (cumulative). A Star Award will be received by the owner upon having three (3) of their dogs achieve a Health Award (cumulative). A Star award will be received by the breeder when five (5) dogs of their breeding achieve a Health Award (cumulative).
Requirements
Copies (not originals, please) of health certifications, dog’s registered name, registration number, as well as owner(s) and breeder(s) information shall be submitted to the GPCA Health Committee’s Health Award Program Administrator. A Health Award Certificate will be sent to the owner. Additional copies of the certificate may be purchased for $5.00 plus S&H. To be eligible for a Health Award, the dog must receive certified results & number (Passing evaluation) from the certifying agency. (OFA) Those eligible for participation must be GPCA members, Associate members, or a member of GPCA Affiliated Club & in good standing. Dogs possessing a CHIC (Canine Health Information Center) number may be eligible for this award -but the application process and submission must be completed. Recipients of the Award will be published in the Bulletin and posted on the GPCA Health Committee website on an annual basis.
Examination Requirements
- OFA Hip – certification 24 months of age and above to receive a number
- OFA Elbow – certification 24 months of age and above to receive a number
- OFA OCD Shoulder – 24 months of age and above to receive a number
- OFA Patella – certification 12 months of age or above to receive a number
- OFA Cardiac – certification 12 months of age or above to receive a number
- CERF (eye clearances) – 24 months of age or above to be cleared *
- OFA Autoimmune Thyroiditis (clearance) – 24 months of age or above to be cleared BAER (hearing) clearance – no age requirement *
- GT Genetic Clearance – no age requirement
- CMR Genetic Clearance – no age requirement
- CHIC DNA Bank
* Those examinations requiring re-certification on a bi-annual basis must be submitted within 12 months of the certification. (CERF and OFA Autoimmune Thyroiditis)
Award Recipients in PDF Format
Longevity Award Program
Purpose
The Great Pyrenees Club of America has developed a Longevity Award Program to recognize Great Pyrenees who have reached the age of ten (10) years or older. The purpose of the program is to provide recognition to Great Pyrenees who has reached advanced age and to gather important health information. Obtaining health information about the longest lived of the Great Pyrenees will assist the GPCA Health Committee in determining the primary health problems affecting the breed.
Program Description/Eligibility
Membership in the GPCA or an Affiliated Regional Club is not required for an owner to apply for the award. However, owners of Great Pyrenees living in foreign countries must be a member of the GPCA. Any Great Pyrenees whose age can be verified and is age 10 or greater is eligible to apply for the award. Application for the program is also available posthumously.
A Longevity Certificate (LC) number will be assigned to each Great Pyrenees attaining the certification and the longevity information will be retained by the program administrator. Living Great Pyrenees will be issued a certificate with a number ending in -L. When this dog passes away, the owner or breeder can send verification of the date of death to the program administrator and a second and final certificate will be issued. The final certificate will retain the original number and the ending designation will be changed to -D. For example, a certificate is issued at age 10 & receives the number 103-L and lives to age 13, a new certificate will be issued with the number 103-D. The longevity information will be updated to show the age of the dog at the time of death. Great Pyrenees deceased at the time of the application will automatically be assigned a number ending in -D.
Applicants are encouraged to nominate any Great Pyrenees that have verifiable information, including those who lived long ago. Verification of the date of birth will consist of a copy of the registration papers from the American Kennel Club (AKC) or a registry recognized by the American Kennel Club, including but not limited to: the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC), the Federation Cynologique Internationale (FCI), and the Kennel Club of Great Britain. Since many companion Great Pyrenees are not individually registered or were adopted through a Rescue organization or other means, verification of the date of birth or the age at the time the dog was acquired can also be made by supplying a copy of the sales or adoption contract which includes confirmation of the dog’s age. Verification of the date of death or current living status of a Great Pyrenees can be made by obtaining a written statement from a veterinarian or a GPCA Member in good standing (other than the owner(s)/or breeder(s) of record). At the discretion of the Program Administrator, memorial ads or information from the GPCA archives will be acceptable documentation.
Application Process
To apply for a GPCA Longevity Award please submit a completed application. With the following documentation: 1. A copy of the registration certificate, or a copy of sales/ adoption contract with the dog’s estimated age at the time of adoption (do not send originals as the documents will not be returned); 2. Current status (living or deceased – refer to the above paragraphs for means of verification of status). and 3. Mail a completed health survey to the Independent Tabulator. To update a certificate for a dog that has a Longevity Certificate, provide verification of the date of death and send an updated health survey to the independent tabulator. For those Great Pyrenees that lived long ago, the completion of a health survey will be optional, although encouraged for the health committee Database. Health information obtained for our longest lived Pyrenees will assist the GPCA Health Committee in determining the most prevalent health problems affecting our breed. Recognition of the dogs, as well as their owners/breeders will be published in the GPCA Bulletin and posted on the Health Committee website on an annual basis. A summary report describing the number of Great Pyrenees, their status and age information will be provided to the membership on an annual basis.
Completed applications should be sent to the Longevity Program Administrator:
Flo Laicher
RD 12
286 Dixon Rd.
Carmel, NY 10512-9812
Email: pyrshire@comcast.net
Recipients in PDF Format
Meet the Breed Event Support
Purpose
To assist those GPCA Affiliated Club & Rescue Groups who host or participate in public education events to benefit the Great Pyrenees breed by providing approved GPCA and OFA literature for distribution at such events at no cost.
Process
Each Affiliated Club, upon their request, will be provided literature in sufficient numbers to minimize the cost of supplying printed materials to attendees.
An order form listing available information materials shall be completed and submitted to the ‘Meet the Breed’ program administrator 60 days prior to the event.
Program administrator:
Sandy McCrady
7353 Weld County Road #22
Longmont, CO 80504-9409
