The AKC Canine Health Foundation Launches Matched-funding Initiative to Fight Tick-Borne Diseases in Dogs
The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to prevent, treat and cure diseases in all dogs, announces an exciting new tick-borne disease initiative that aims to educate dog-owners and find better diagnostics, preventatives, and therapeutics for dogs.
Ticks and the diseases they transmit can be found in all 50 states. Many of the diseases ticks transmit through a direct tick bite can impact not only our dogs, but their human companions as well. The initiative will raise funds to award much-needed research grants for new and innovative approaches to understand and treat tick-borne diseases. Additionally, free educational resources about tick prevalence and tick-borne diseases are available to dog owners at www.akcchf.org/ticks.
As an added incentive, all donations to the CHF tick-borne disease initiative during 2016 will be generously matched dollar-for-dollar by the American Kennel Club (AKC), up to $250,000.
“Tick-borne diseases are increasingly prevalent in our dogs and the AKC is pleased to support the work of CHF by matching all donations made to this initiative,” said Dr. Charles Garvin, AKC Board of Directors. “The AKC is proud of our commitment to the health of dogs, and we are pleased to partner with CHF on an issue that has far-reaching impacts for all dogs and people.”
While most everyone is familiar with Lyme disease, which is transmitted by blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi, other important tick-borne diseases that can cause serious illness in dogs include anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, hepatozoonosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and ehrlichiosis.
“Tick-borne diseases often cause serious illness in dogs, ranging from the acute and life-threatening to chronic illnesses which significantly impact a dog’s quality of life. We need an innovative approach to understand these infections and keep our dogs healthy,” said Dr. Diane Brown, chief executive officer of CHF. “Our initiative, with the generous match from the AKC, will help raise vital funds to provide better diagnostics, better preventives, and better therapeutics for our dogs.”
To learn more about CHF’s tick-borne disease initiative, including the opportunity to double your donation, visit www.akcchf.org/ticks.
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