Dedicated to the elimination of heritable eye disease in purebred dogs through registration and research.
WHAT IS CERF?
The Canine Eye Registration Foundation (CERF) is an organization that was founded by a group of concerned, purebred owner/breeders who recognized that the quality of their dog’s lives were being affected by heritable eye disease. CERF was then established in conjunction with cooperating, board certified, veterinary ophthalmologists, as a means to accomplish the goal of elimination heritable eye disease in all purebred dogs by forming a centralized, national registry.
The CERF Registry not only registers those dog’s certified free of heritable eye disease by members of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO ) , but also collects data on all dogs examined by ACVO Diplomates. These data are used to form the CERF research data base which is useful in researching trends in eye disease and breed susceptibility. Not only are these data useful to clinicians and students of ophthalmology, but to interested breed clubs and individual breeders and owners of specific breeds.
HOW DOES CERF WORK?
After the painless examination of the dog’s eyes, the ACVO Diplomate will complete the CERF examination form and indicate any specific disease(s) found. Breeding advice will be offered based on guidelines established for that particular breed by the genetics Committee of the ACVO Bear in mind that CERF and the ACVO are separate, but cooperating entities. The A.C.V.O only provides their professional services and expertise to ensure that uniform standards are upheld for the certification of dog’s eyes through the CERF.
If the dog is certified to be free of heritable eye disease, you can then send in the completed owner’s copy of the CERF registration form with the appropriate fee. CERF certification is good for 12 months and afterwards the dog must be reexamined and certified to maintain its registration with Canine Eye Registration Foundation.
Regardless of the outcome of the dog’s exam, the research copy of the CERF form will be sent to the CERF office where the information will be entered into the data base for the specific breed. This information will be used in generating research reports, but the individual dog’s identities will become confidential and will never be released.
WHAT CAN CERF DO FOR ME?
Provide a registry of purebred dogs that have been certified free of heritable eye disease.
Provide various memberships which include the CERF Newsletter, and various registration and research reports to keep you up-to-date on various topics in canine ophthalmology.
Provide various reports on the prevalence of eye diseases in certain breeds, including reports generated by the Veterinary Medical Data Base (V.M.D.B.) which compiles data from the North American Veterinary Teaching Hospitals.
Provide a centralized source to answer questions like:
“Is there an ACVO Diplomate located near me?”
"Are there any published materials on eye disease in dogs that can help me to better understand my dog’s condition?”
If you are interested in learning more about CERF the registration process, or would like to inquire about the CERF status of a prospective mate for your dog, please don’t hesitate to call or write. The office is open 8:30 to 5:00 Central Time weekdays. We’d love to assist you!
VMDB-CERF 1717 S Philo, Ste 15
Urbana, IL 61802 Ph: 217-693-4800 Fax: 217-693-4801 cerf@vmdb.org
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
QUESTION
I’m a mom of a 2 ½ year old Standard Poodle stud and am just wondering about the eye cerf; I have taken him for his annual visits and am just wondering why this is required every year - wouldn’t the 1st exam be good enough to determine if there were any eye problems that would not want to be passed along?
ANSWER
The recommendations of CERF and the ACVO Genetics Committee are that CERF exams be performed yearly to monitor for genetic ocular defects. Several different diseases can manifest later in life (cataracts particularly) and yearly exams allow us to diagnose these late-onset type conditions, as they often are not visible in early examinations when the dog is younger.
