Greetings from Toby's Foundation,

Keeping the Promise: We Celebrate Toby’s Life One Year Later On the 1st anniversary of Toby’s passing we are reminded of the promise made to work toward the goal of finding a genetic marker for canine epilepsy so a screening test can be developed. We are grateful for your support and want to renew our commitment to keeping the promise alive. To view our Keeping The Promise ad click here

It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by since Toby passed away. The year while sometimes very sad and difficult has also been one of hope with new opportunities presenting themselves including a black tri Aussie called “Billy” SONRYZ I HAVE A DREAM. We have moved forward with the research and sponsored our first direct grant for Dr. Karen Munana at NCSU. It is named in Memory of Sheila Dolan, 1943 – 2010, editor of the Australian Shepherd Journal who was unwavering in her support and effort to stop canine epilepsy. Sheila passed away just 10 months after Toby. There has been a huge outpouring of love and support for Sheila and an ad in her memory will appear in the January / February 2011 issue of the AS Journal and Aussie Times. Proceeds in excess were divided between 4 organizations. We are honored to be one of the recipients in Memory of Sheila Dolan. Right now there are researchers interested in canine epilepsy and doing some great research. Please see the Research Update and Sponsored Grants below. We must not lose this momentum. We must be able to meet the requests for funds to support canine epilepsy research. We cannot do it without you. Thank you for standing with us in the fight against canine epilepsy. Let’s make 2011 – 2012 a memorable year! We know you have many choices for charities and these are difficult economic times for many. If you can, please help us by making a tax deductible donation. Every donation no matter what the size is needed and is deeply appreciated. To mail in a donation or to make a donation on line please see the information and link below. Thank you. At this holiday season we give thanks for you and the time we had with Toby! We hope you can spend the holidays with family and friends and sharing with others in the spirit of the season. We are very grateful for your support and help. Happy Holidays! Pam Douglas President

Research Update Dr. Patterson and his team have just completed whole genome SNP analysis on additional Aussie samples and will have the data fully analyzed in the next few months. Dr. Patterson reports that “If we get strong association for Aussies in the whole genome analysis with the 170,000 SNP array we would then work on fine mapping and developing a linkage test in this new CHF grant application in the Spring of 2011…. If we do not yet find significant association, we would then work on continued collection of affected dogs and more whole genome analysis with the 170,000 array in this new grant application.

Grants Sponsored by Toby’s Foundation Toby’s Foundation (TF) Grant in Memory of Sheila Dolan for Dr. Karen Munana at NCSU: This grant is for one year and will investigate “The Pharmacokinetics of Levetiracetam in Epileptic Dogs When Used Concurrently With other Antiepileptics”. The award is for $5,276.00. There are still some openings for dogs affected with epilepsy for this new study. For information on participating in this study please contact Julie Osborne at julie_osborne@ncsu.edu or 919-513-6812. For more information on this study please click on the link below. Canine Health Foundation (CHF) Grant #748 ”SNP Association Mapping for Canine Epilepsy” for Dr. Ned Patterson’s Aussie epilepsy study at UMN. We contributed $10,000 for this grant. It has been extended to March 2011. Canine Health Foundation (CHF) Grant # 01425 “Identification of Epilepsy-Causing Mutations from the Associated Loci by Next-Generation Resequencing” for Dr. Hannes Lohi, University of Helsinki and the Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics. We have contributed $2,500 for this grant beginning in 2011. In addition we are currently reviewing two new epilepsy proposals. One is to find the genes responsible for canine epilepsy and develop a screening test and the other concerns more effective treatments for dogs affected with the disease. Both of these grants would begin in 2011. We would like to directly sponsor one grant and cosponsor the other one. It is your contributions that enable us to support the researchers by funding these important studies. For more information on Dr. Munana's study click here

Charitable Giving Your gifts help us to support the research to find the genes responsible for canine epilepsy and develop a screening test. Please make Toby's Foundation part of your charitable giving. Toby's Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our Federal Tax Identification number is 74-3135217. Your gift is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law and helps us in our efforts to stop canine epilepsy. Please check with your employer about a Matching Gifts program. If you would like to make a memorial or honorary gift to support canine epilepsy research, an acknowledgement card can be sent to whomever you specify. We accept donations online (see link below) or you may mail your check to: Toby's Foundation P.O. Box 7321 Laguna Niguel , CA 92607 Please Donate

AussiE-Update Volume IV, No. 35
December 16, 2010