Free Republic

RUB Medicine: new protein identifiedInitially the occurrence of progressive retinal degeneration - progressive retinal atrophy, in man called retinitis pigmentosa - had been identified in Schapendoes dogs. Retinitis pigmentosa is the most common hereditary disease which causes blindness in humans. The researchers report on their findings, in Human Molecular Genetics. Genetic test developedBased on the new findings, the researchers from Bochum have developed a genetic test for diagnosis in this breed of dogs that can also be used predictively in breeding. Schapendoes dogs are originally a Dutch breed of herding dog, which is now kept mainly in Holland, Germany, Northern...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Some Charlotte City Council members are calling for a ban on pit bulls within the city limits after four of them killed an 8-year-old boy in his back yard Friday. ...(snip) "They might be singled out, but it seems it warrants it," said Geri Wardrop, referring to the pit bull breed. "They are the ones that are constantly hurting or injuring people." But Captain Tammy Williams, of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Animal Control Bureau, said statistics prove otherwise. Of the 904 dog bites in Mecklenburg County last year, only 130 of them were from pit bulls. "If...