Lines From Linda
Passionate Fans: Bulldog Club of America Team Works to Protect Their legacy BY LINDA AYERS TURNER KNORR
T he Bulldog, the fourth most pop- ular breed due to its kind charac- ter, and friendliness to dogs, cats, children and adults, has been under attack by the popular press. The source of these stories is a paper: “A Genetic Assessment of the English Bulldog” released on July 29, 2016 in the jour- nal Canine Genetics and Epidemiology (Pedersen,
Pooch, & Liu, 2016). Dr. Niles Pedersen’s study theorizes that the Bulldog is lacking in genetic diversity which may mini- mize the ability to breed healthier dogs. The Bulldog also has its passionate fans as the mascots of universities such as my own alma mater the University of Georgia, the Citadel, Yale, Georgetown, Gonzaga, Butler and Gardner Webb just to name a few. However, no group is more passionate about the breed than the Bulldog Club of America (BCA). The BCA immediately engaged its Communications Committee under the leadership of Annette Nobles to investi- gate the paper and to counteract the adverse press. Annette Nobles developed a team comprised of geneticists: Dr. Michael Hughes, a long-time Bulldogger and Dr. Peter Photos, a French Bulldogger to analyze the paper. Annette and fellow committee member, breeder/judge Cindy Stansell,
“THE BULLDOG ALSO HAS ITS PASSIONATE FANS AS THE MASCOTS OF UNIVERSITIES SUCH AS MY OWN ALMA MATER THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, THE CITADEL, YALE, GEORGETOWN, GONZAGA, BUTLER
AND GARDNER WEBB JUST TO NAME A FEW.”
268 • S HOW S IGHT M AGAZINE , M AY 2018
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