FROM:   George Packard, GDC Information Services
RE:        HOW TO HELP GDC ADVOCATE FOR THE WIDESPREAD USE OF OPEN REGISTRIES

In addition to the following list of ways you can help be an advocate for open registries, we are trying to find some very talented volunteers: fundraisers, publicity people, writers, web designers and programmers, and very experienced breeders who can speak from their own experience re. sharing health info and breeding by knowing where the affected and carrier dogs are in a dog's close family. Visit the GDC website for further information.

Here are a few ways you can help the GDC effort right now:

1) Do you know other breeders or owners who share your opinions about open registries and using better breeding methods to control genetic disease? If so, contact them and let them know what GDC is doing. Have them join the GDC Newnote email list (request to GDC@sigmax.org) or contact me, directly, at georgepackard@conknet.com

2) Does your club have a newsletter? If so, please let your editor know that GDC has articles for reprint on genetic disease and breeding issues. Or better yet, I can provide you with short articles which you can submit to the newsletter. You are welcome to reprint any of the articles from the GDC newsletter, the Exchange, including interviews with Dr. George Padgett, Dr. Malcolm Willis and Dr. Jerold Bell. You can find those on the GDC website.

3) Does your club have an email list? If so, please post an email, explaining your support for open registries and directing interested people to GDC. We are expanding the GDC Email Newsnote list to keep interested breeders and other informed about open registry and breeding issues. I hope to have 3-5000 people on this list by the end of the year, people who are committed the open registry concept and who can raise their voices together as advocates for sharing health information. At some point we will want to be able to show AKC how strong this demand is.

Please include the following notice in your posts:

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GDC Open Registry Email Newsnote:

Concerned about genetic disease in dogs?
Committed to sharing health information?
Want to be an advocate for open registries?
Need info on breeding methods to reduce genetic disease?

SUBSCRIBE to the GDC Email Newsnote list. Send subscription request to gdc@sigmaxi.org

GDC maintains a national/international open registry and supports the widespread use of open registries and proven breeding methods to reduce genetic disease among purebred dogs.
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4) Does your club have a health committee? If so, please let them know about GDC and the new GDC HealthCom online discussion group, which is open to health committee members and people working actively in their clubs on genetic disease issues. For more information, click here.

5) I will be providing several short articles on different open registry topics in the coming months which we will also hope to have people post or publish.

6) We are looking for volunteers who are good writers, web designers, web programmers, fundraisers, email-group managers, very experienced breeders as mentors, publicity experts, etc. If you've got time and talent, GDC needs you!

George Packard, GDC Information Services