H&G Joint Committees The United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club would like to introduce the USKBTC Health & Genetics Joint Committees.

In order to serve the breed and the members of the parent club in an ever more expanding capacity, the Health & Genetics Joint Committees has evolved. The intent is to meld the veterinary side of H&G with a “lay” apparatus designed to provide interface and perform allied services to the veterinary side AND the membership at large. The original definition of the Health & Genetics committee is unchanged, that of serving the welfare of the breed, however the expansion into a joint committee system will provide the membership more soldiers in the trenches to field inquiries and provide input back into the committee.

One of the most important services Health & Genetics Joint Committees will undertake is to identify for USKBTC Charitable Funds existing research projects we should financially support.

The club encourages Kerry fanciers to feel free to submit suggestions or ideas pertaining to the health of the breed. The Information Services committee is the natural conduit through which the membership at large can readily communicate. This joint committee is designed for this purpose and to interface with the other joint committee, Veterinary Advisory.

Your Joint Committees – Their Focus and Responsibilities

USKBTC Health & Genetics Joint Committees
Chair At Large: Scott Kellogg, DVM

The Veterinary Advisory Committee
Scott Kellogg, DVM – Veterinary Advisory Chair
Joy Ellwanger
Terry Worful
Veterinary advisor to H&G: G. Alafuf DVM

Focus and Responsibilities

Focus:
General Health and genetic issues in the Kerry Blue Terrier

Responsibilities:

1. Provide such information to the Information Services Committee chairperson as is available concerning health and/or genetic issues in the Kerry Blue Terrier whenever such information is published or otherwise dispersed.
2. Provide updates to the Information Services Committee chairperson in simple form by email, telephone contact or forwarding of information to lay committee chairperson.
3. Represent the USKBTC H&G Committee as liaison between veterinary research teams, colleges of veterinary medicine or other such veterinary professionals as may be deemed useful to promote and study the health and genetics of the Kerry Blue Terrier.

The Information Services Committee
Suzanne Wright – Information Services Chair
Lynn Duckett
Victoria Kniering
Nancy Westbrook

Focus:
To provide an interface between the H&G Veterinary Advisory Committee and the membership at large whereby timely dispersal of health and genetics information may be made available and input received in return from the membership.

Responsibilities:

1. Submitting inquiries from the membership to the Veterinary Advisory Committee and reporting answers back to the membership in the form of published articles, web updates or other.
2. Organizing information submitted by the Veterinary Advisory Committee into reports to be published in club newsletters, websites or other.
3. Provide collateral support to the Veterinary Advisory Committee in the form of organizing seminars, clinics, tests or other.
4. Compose and submit for approval to the board of governors H&G surveys or other information gathering tools used to poll the membership in club newsletters, website or other.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan Dunivant