Evaluation is wise after 25 years of sustained effort on behalf of Bearded Collie health. Were the initial missions achieved and to what extent? It all began with hope and a vision inspired by the past. The first Board of Directors worked diligently to craft the Bylaws, Articles of Incorporation, and Mission Statement. That enabled BeaCon to obtain 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in April 1999. BeaCon was designed to have only a Board of Directors and no membership, to avoid competition with any membership Bearded Collie Club. I am proud to honor these early adopters whose collective experience and expertise set BeaCon on an ambitious, yet uncertain path.

Linda Aronson, DVM; Elizabeth Coolidge, MD; Kathy Coxwell, JD; Melinda Cumming, DVM; Karen Drummond, PhD; Sharon Dunsmore; Kathy Pavlich; Cheryl Poliak; Gail Romine, RN; Debra Thomas, DVM; Elsa Sell, MD; Chris Walkowicz

Key achievements include establishment of an open health registry, developing educational resources, and research support both with funding and subject recruitment.

Open Health Registry

The registry initially launched in 2001 on paper; in 2004 there was a transition to an online relational database. Today it includes 3,520 Bearded Collies from approximately 980 owners in 25 countries; 92% of the dogs’ information is accessible to the public. The entry of Beardies to the registry and the study of public dogs’ information are free to registered users.

Yearly or biennial data analysis has shown consistent trends in disease incidence, causes of death, and sire and dam reproductive outcomes. The trend consistency combined with geographic diversity suggests that the findings may be applicable to the breed at large.

Registry data confirm earlier surveys conducted by the Bearded Collie Club of America (BCCA) which documented Addison’s disease (an Autoimmune disease) as a significant issue. The incidence of Addison’s disease has decreased from 6.3% to 3% between 2006 and 2024; it is not known if the decrease is due to true reduction in the disease, less reporting, or something else. Research over the last 27 years points to a hereditary component due to risk genetic factors yet it is more complex than a simple autosomal recessive disorder. There is also evidence for both protective genetic factors and detrimental environmental events which influence whether a particular dog will be affected.

During the same time period of 2006-2024 the incidence of Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy (SLO) another Autoimmune disease has increased from 2.1 to 3.7%. As with Addison’s disease it is unknown if the disease is truly on the rise or heightened interest because of research investigation or something else accounts for the increase.

The registry data lets one determine for that population a variety of interesting statistics; e.g., disease incidence, age of onset, sex distribution, and contribution to death for different age groups. For example, autoimmune (AI) diseases as a group were listed as cause of death in 49% of dogs dying before age 9 years. With Addison’s disease at least partially caused by inheritance, that mortality statistic should push efforts to reduce inheritance is a likely way to decrease Addison’s disease. Another example is analysis of sex predisposition and onset age for any disease; this may be useful to share with a veterinarian when the dog is ill.

A group of dogs that is vital for any health registry are healthy dogs. Why? Disease incidence is calculated a # dogs with a specific disease/# dogs without the specific disease (this group is made up of totally health dogs as well as dogs who have a different disease than the once incidence is being calculated for.

Decline of the Bearded Collie Population

BeaCon obtains USA litter and dog yearly registration statistics from AKC; identica information for UK dogs is obtained from the BMX website. Date of litter whelp is available so the figures or graphs from BeaCon are by year of whelp rather than year of registration.

Since about 2000, there has been a significant decline in average number of registered litters and pups in litters from 74 USA – 75 UK to 24 USA – 28 UK in 2024.  Fewer USA litters were born in the last 10 years than in the first five years after breed acceptance to the AKC stud book.

Educational Efforts

Newsletter, Lighting the Way. BeaCon’s biannual newsletter was started in 2001 using desktop software; it was mailed to recipients in North America and abroad. In 2013, it transitioned to the cloud and began using MailChimp for design and electronic distribution. The change greatly reduced mailing costs and provided flexibility of include color illustrations – photos for health-related stories and graphs and figures for data reporting. The current subscriber base is near 900. A complete newsletter index is available and the newsletter is free. It is unclear what topics most interest readers based other than the data on which articles are opened or clicked on. The open rate has been in the 60% range until fall 2024 when it dropped to 29%. The lower click rate (recently 14-29%) certainly suggests low interest.

The website (https://www.beaconforhealth.info) has been renovated several times using desktop software until the cloud transition in 2023 to a WordPress format. The current comprehensive rebuild which wraps up May 2025 provides enhanced visual accessibility, a cleaner look, up-to-date and the historical references, functional links, and a new blog which will include recent website additions or research results. Everyone is encouraged to visit the entire website. Reader feedback and suggestions are welcomed and valued.

Research

Research on Addison’s disease and SLO was made possible by contributions of numerous owners submitting genetic samples from their dogs, and funding from BeaCon, the BCCA, the BCCA Charitable Trust, and many individuals.

Addison’s Disease

BeaCon has collaborated with Dr. Anita Oberbauer’s at UC Davis since 1998.   Dr. Oberbauer is a Distinguished Professor at UC Davis specializing in animal genetics, particularly in canine and cattle health.  Recent peer-reviewed research publications from the lab are listed in the health information/autoimmune section. The research focused on identifying chromosomal regions of interest associated with Addison’s and establishing the complex genetic nature of Addison’s disease in the Bearded Collie. It is polygenic, has a strongly associated locus on chromosome 18 that combined with three other smaller effect loci is predictive of disease.

Given that multiple genes indicate risk of developing the disease, yet other genes are associated with less disease (perhaps meaning protection from the disease) it is not clear if a specific genetic marker test is on the horizon. While this is disappointing for breeders hoping for a test to help reduce prevalence and the risk of any particular breeding producing Addison’s disease, still we have gained a great deal of insight over 25 years.

SLO

The prevalence of the nail disease Symmetrical Lupoid Onychodystrophy (SLO) has increased over the past 20 years—whether due to a genuine rise in cases or heightened awareness remains uncertain. Like Addison’s disease, SLO has become a significant focus of research in Dr. Oberbauer’s lab and findings are published in peer-reviewed journals.

Genetic Diversity

Advances in technology, e.g. whole genome sequencing (WGS), now allow for the precise determination of an individual’s genetic diversity. In a study on SLO in Bearded Collies, the WGS measure of genetic diversity closely correlated with calculated pedigree inbreeding coefficients across all generations. While 23 DNA variants were predicted to impact gene function in Bearded Collies, the vast majority (99%) were anticipated to have no functional effect. Among the few high impact variants, only 30 were identified within ROH (regions of homozygous DNA), and those are more characteristic of ancestral breeding practices than recent ones.

Ultimately, ongoing research remains crucial to accurately define functional DNA diversity before current measures are used to guide breeding strategies.

CEA

A third inherited disease, Collie Eye Anomaly (CEA), follows a simple autosomal recessive inheritance pattern. The first screening program with Paw Print Genetics was initiated in 2017 with a combined effort of the BCCA, BeaCon, the BCCA Charitable Trust, and the BOW Calendar Crew. With continued screening and careful mate selection, CEA is on track for elimination within the breed.

IMHA

Immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) is a serious autoimmune condition in which the immune system mistakenly attacks its own red blood cells, leading to their destruction. It occurs in Bearded Collies and is the fourth highest autoimmune disease. BeaCon has just donated to a research project on IMHA at the U of Minnesota which began spring 2025. That project goals are to use advanced diagnostic tools to predict course and categorize different forms of the disease, thus deepening understanding and improve treatments for this condition. The project is ongoing under the auspices of Morris Animal Foundation.

Summing It Up

While the achievements have been remarkable, improvement is always a goal. Certainly among the challenges are how to better reach those who are unaware of BeaCon’s existence, lack of individual’s realization that open health registry participation benefits the entire breed population and owners, and a realistic concern that registry participation canbe used by others to disparage a breeder or dog.

An example of reaching out to Beardie owners occurred recently when a BCCA affiliate club invited BeaCon to present a zoom webinar on its history and work; the session was was well attended with good discussion. This model could be offered by other affiliate clubs and perhaps groups abroad.

Perhaps a limited effort to explain value of an open health history information hasn’t reached a large enough audience, especially those unlikely to be in contact with the latest news about Bearded Collies (i.e., pet owners).   It is also possible that individuals hear and see the information, but don’t believe and therefore don’t engage in the process.  Finally, the educational offerings may be primarily used at a time of urgency and need – when a dog is sick.

This review of the first 25 years of BeaCon’s work has noted accomplishments and areas that could benefit from attention. Do you have any ideas to share? Views of factors contributing to non-participation and potential solutions? Certainly, the level of engagement with this discussion will be indicative of people’s reading and feedback to our first blog.

Elsa Sell, President and Open Health Registry Administrator