DNA Test Rebate Program
To fulfill our mission of funding health research focused on issues that affect the health and well-being of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier and supporting those people who are committed to breeding healthy Wheaten Terriers, we are pleased to announce our DNA Testing Rebate Program begun in 2022 is continuing through the calendar year 2023!
The importance of DNA testing of breeding stock and the cost of that testing was a recent topic on a SCWTCA online discussion group. The Endowment followed the discussion with great interest, wondering how we could assist breeders and owners with DNA testing their Wheaten Terriers.
We have heard of other foundations offering discounts from specific labs to encourage DNA testing. We did not want to be tied to one lab and felt that, if we negotiated a discount, other discounts would probably not apply.
Remember, we only receive updates from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine on the DNA testing that they perform. Furthermore, we wanted to encourage future and past DNA test results to be sent to the SCWT Database for ongoing research and to aid breeders in making informed breeding decisions.
Our goals are as follows:
• Encourage Wheaten Terrier breeders to DNA test their breeding stock.
• Encourage owners/breeders to enter their Wheatens’ DNA testing in the SCWT Database.
• Serve as a means to further reduce the cost of DNA testing on top of any discounts offered by labs.
• Support the PLN Variant Gene and PLE research ongoing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine by entering Wheatens’ DNA results in the SCWT Database.
• Assist those breeders who relied on ‘Clear By Parentage’ for multiple generations as means to reduce the cost of further testing.
This program began in February of 2022 and is continuing through 2023. Every owner who sends their Wheatens’ complete DNA test results to the SCWT database will receive a $20 rebate per dog*.
We hope this project will encourage you to get those past and future test results into the SCWT database. We will keep you informed on our progress.
We want to take this opportunity to thank our donors and the breeders who have encouraged donations from their pet owners, local and international SCWT Clubs, and the Genetic Research Foundation because, without their donations, this DNA Rebate Program would not be possible. Please visit our Donor page to see all the people who have contributed to making this project happen. We hope that you will continue to encourage donations to the Endowment so that we can continue to support health and research issues of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier.
DNA Testing Rebate Program Rules:
Incentive: The SCWTCA Endowment will reimburse $20.00 per dog in US Funds max per Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier DNA Test submitted to the SCWT Database for the years 2022-2023. Please note, this is per dog reimbursement not per DNA Test.
Rules & Procedures:
• Full DNA results must be submitted and entered in the SCWT Database. Each entry must include owner name(s), address(es) and email(s).
• DNA Test from any previously tested dog is acceptable. This means if you did testing in 2012, you are eligible for the rebate if you add it to the SCWT Database now. You may contact Meryl Littman at merylitt@vet.upenn.edu if you no longer have the original email with the DNA results on your Wheaten.
• Pam Tinnelly is the contact person for disbursement of checks. Her email is pamwaggintail@gmail.com. Kathy McIndoe will notify her after she receives DNA testing results.
• Reimbursement will be by check and in US Funds only.
• Reimbursement goes to the owner submitting the paperwork. If there are co-owners, they must decide who gets the reimbursement.
• Program began during the 2022 calendar year and is ongoing through 2023.
• This offer only applies to dogs whose DNA results have not been previously submitted to the SCWT Database. We do want to thank those people who have been submitting test results to the SCWT Database for years. We appreciate your commitment to Wheaten Health and the advances you made possible.
• This program only applies to direct mutation testing. For example, a DNA panel that only includes phenotype is not eligible.