BeaCon’s Board of Directors
Promoting the breed’s health so future Beardies have a long healthy life to enjoy and play,
work, be companions, and engage in sports or competition.
The concept for BeaCon developed in late 1998 with the desire to have an open (i.e., public) health registry for Bearded Collies since no other organization had that responsibility. IRS 501(c)(3) provisional status was given February 2000 and it was continued in July 2005. BeaCon incorporated in New Mexico in April 1999 and in Georgia in 2000.
BeaCon is a volunteer organization with no paid staff. There is no membership component so as to be non-competitive with other Bearded Collie membership organizations.
After 35 years of living with Bearded Collies, since 1987 Linda has owned 9 bitches and two dogs and has bred 7 litters as well as standing her males at stud, she is without a Beardie in her life. Prior to her involvement with Beardies she had Border Collies and an Afghan Hound. She has been owned by a Havanese since 2011, and currently has three bitches and a dog, and has bred 8 litters.
Her dogs have regular CBC/biochemistry profiles, thyroid panels, cardiac and eye exams. They are tested for brucellosis prior to breeding, and have been evaluated for hip dysplasia (OFA and/or PENNHip) and von Willebrand Factor. Linda organized the study of the MDR1 (multiple drug resistance) mutation testing of Beardies at the 2006 specialty in conjunction with Dr. Katrina Mealey of Washington State University – all Beardies tested were clear of the mutation. In addition, 62 Beardies in Beacon’s open health registry have tested normal (clear of the mutation).
Linda shows in conformation and in the past in herding and agility. She does community outreach work with her dogs. Many hours are spent each day advising people on health and behavior issues affecting their Beardies. She has degrees in physiological sciences and is a veterinarian with a referral practice treating behavioral problems of dogs, horses, cats, and zoo animals. She lectures and writes on behavior as well as other veterinary topics.
Linda joined the BCCA in 1988 and was a member or chairperson of the BCCA Health Committee from 1989 to 1998 and conducted the first health survey (1990-92). She was president of the Minuteman Bearded Collie Club (1999-2002). She was BCCA member of the year for 2004 and chair of the BCCA Health Committee from October 2004 through June 2011. She is Vice President of BeaCon and was among its founding members in 1999. Her numerous articles in Lighting the Way (BeaCon’s Newsletter) over these years have guided many in their search for knowledge.
Linda’s DVM is from Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, and she was on the faculty there for a number of years. Her BA and MA are from Oxford University. She also has published papers on the psychophysics of vision among other top articles.
Her background is Chemistry and Information Management and she has worked in that capacity for a multinational corporation and NASA.
She owned Gisselle, her brown beardie girl, a certified Therapy Dog. Together they worked to raise funds for rescue and health organizations through several boutiques that also raise awareness for the various causes. Clara also owns Zuleika (photo), a Grand Champion and also certified Therapy Dog, and Lizel a black girl, her first.
She has produced a children’s book featuring Gisselle and her photography.
Clara has several online Boutiques the proceeds from which are all donated to BeaCon, she also runs the BeaCon Auctions.
She has been a member of the BCCA since 1999 and the GLBCC. Has also served as Board member in other organization such as the Midland Artists Guild where she has been recognized for her photography accomplishments.
Karen Drummond Van Derveer, PhD
Karen has had Beardies since 1994, and has owned seven in that time. Professionally she has been a clinical psychologist since 1975, and until her retirement in 2013 she was in private practice with her Beardies rotating in the practice as therapy dogs. She has bred four Bearded Collie litters with CERF, OFA hip and thyroid health screening done. Karen has participated in conformation, obedience, and agility and has obtained awards in all those areas. She was one of the founding members of the Carolina’s Bearded Collie Club, and just before she moved to Texas the club awarded her an honorary lifetime membership for her work with that club. Karen’s expertise is in training and behavioral issues.
Christa McChancey
I have been involved in the Beardie community since 1991 when our first Beardie joined our home. My family started breeding in 2002 under the kennel name Blessings and over the years we have bred 8 litters. With each breeding we have tried to focus on improvement with our line both structurally and in health. From our limited breeding we have unfortunately produced dogs with the following health issues: allergies, hip dysplasia, SLO, IHMA, hypothyroidism, SARDS, microphthalmia, Addison’s, heart murmurs, liver masses and hemangiosarcoma.
Early on we were told not to discuss major health issues as it could reflect badly on other breeders that were involved with dogs in our breeding program. As time passed, I have come to realize that this mindset does a major disservice to the breed. We have had dogs die as young as 7 years and others have lived to 17. As a result of these too numerous health issues stemming from multiple dogs, my approach to researching health issues has changed dramatically. I do my best to be open and honest with anyone who inquires about my dogs.
On a less serious note, for fun I currently compete in conformation, rally, and agility with various organizations. I wish I could resume herding but right now instructors are hard to come by in my area.
As for my professional life (I do need to earn some biscuit money) I currently work for our local hospital system in the IT department supporting various applications throughout the organization. In previous jobs I have worked for private practices as a medical technician and ophthalmic photographer. While working in private practices I was able to be a part of at least 22 clinical trials and was named as a contributor in a medical publication (mostly due to the images I obtained). I also have a background in Biology with a focus on Zoology (back when I was studying to be a veterinarian).
As a result of my professional background and training I believe I bring many strengths to the board. I have a working knowledge of clinical trials, web design, page layout, data management and customer service. I also bring with me my love for the breed and a strong desire to improve the health of our Beardies. I am a strong supporter of genetic testing and open communication.
When asked what ideas I had for the future of BeaCon, I would have to pull from other folks across the world who I have been communicating with recently. I have been intrigued by Laurie Lo’s recent Facebook posts regarding Haplotype testing that has been studied in Europe. I am also interested in a potential research project that Dr. Bill Craft in Florida shared with me while at our 2023 National. Dr. Craft is hoping to look at SLO with a focus on absorption issues in dogs since many dogs respond to supplements added to their diets. I also find the risk index calculations that Wolfgang Hunze can provide folks; it is based on pedigree analysis. I think there is a potential for more conversation on the BeaCon Facebook page, too and perhaps this can be used to get more people involved in caring for the health of our breed.
Cindy Mendonca
Cindy Mendonca grew up believing she would one day own an Old English Sheepdog, just like the dog in the TV series, “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies.” Then, in 1991, while stationed as a weather detachment commander with the US Air Force in England, she met her first OES at the same time she met her first Bearded Collie. The Beardie captured her heart. She has since been owned by six Beardie bitches and helped rehome three Beardie dogs to her parents.
From England, Cindy moved back to Bellevue, Nebraska in August 1993. While taking an obedience class with Baillie, she was excited to hear there was a local Beardie club and breeder in Omaha. She joined the club in January 1994 and over the next two decades, she served first as a director and then as Treasurer and herding trial chair as well as on various committees for the 2005 Bearded Collie Club of America (BCCA) national specialty. During this time, she became heavily involved in Herding, training and handling the first Beardie bitch to earn an AKC Herding Championship. She also participated in Conformation, Rally, and Therapy. In addition, she became an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator and was an AKC Herding judge.
Cindy joined the BCCA in late 1997/early 1998, served as Recording Secretary for two years and as Herding Committee Co-chair until 2009, before stepping back as a committee member until retiring from it. While not currently on the committee, she acts as historical advisor when needed. In 2015, Cindy was a founding member of the all-breed Central Plains Herding Club. She served as director and trial chair for AKC and AHBA trials, after helping the club earn status with those organizations.
Cindy has bred eight litters under the kennel name, Cynamen. Her dams were registered in BeaCon’s health registry and puppy buyers were encouraged to register as well. Cindy feels it was, and is, extremely important to keep communication with the puppy owners, in order to share information. Out of 45 puppies bred, she lost contact with only one buyer.
Despite having earned a Community College of the Air Force Associate degree in Weather Technology, a University of Nebraska at Omaha Bachelors degree in Geography, and a Creighton University Masters degree in Meteorology, Cindy went back to school after retiring from the Air Force to obtain an Associate degree in Veterinary Technology. During that time, she shared her schooling experience with several Beardie internet lists and continued to share her knowledge after completing requirements to be licensed as a Veterinary Technician. In addition, she wrote articles on various subjects for BCCA and BeaCon, as well as educational handouts for her veterinary clinics.
Since earning her LVT, Cindy has pursued countless hours of continuing education in numerous areas of veterinary specialties, usually completing two to three times the number of hours required to renew her license. In all of her clinics, including her first job at an emergency practice, she has been the “go to” person for whelping/reproduction and hospice/quality of life. Because of her breeding experience, interest in dog training, and previous part-time job as an instructor at Omaha’s Bonafide Dog Academy, she has also been the “go to” person for puppy training and socialization. Because of this and her special interests, she continues to amass classes in various subjects, including health, training, and general information, through organizations such as Fenzi Dog Sports Academy and other online learning avenues.
Cindy is now semi-retired as a licensed veterinary technician, but continues to volunteer with her church, primarily with fourth grade math, and to keep up with her Beardies. She is honored to work with BeaCon’s Board to support a healthy future for Bearded Collies.
I retired from my first occupation as a neonatologist in 1995 (U Arizona College of Medicine, trained at Emory University and Vanderbilt). There I was a clinician with a research focus on understanding the language (behavior) of sick newborn infants and neurodevelopmental outcome of NICU babies. It was very rewarding to gain training in NIDCAP (Neonatal Individualized Developmental Care) from Dr. Heidelise Als (Boston) and later to be a trainer in the USA and internationally for that program.
Bill and I were married in 1973. Several shaggy pound dogs led to the discovery of Beardies. We became members of the BCCA in 1987 after our first Beardie, Heather, came to Tucson from Colorado. We’ve had seven Beardies who enjoyed whatever was on offer. Another pound blackish short coated dog led us to the PWD (someone at a show asked if he was a PWD). We joined the PWDCA in 1991 when the first PWD of five joined the family. I participated in conformation (4 CH), obedience (3 UD), herding (AKC, AHBA), and tracking classes. Bill did the long distance driving (nothing is close together in the SW) to conformation and obedience competitions and he became a quite good observer at ringside; he also learned a bit about herding. Upon retiring from medicine, there was a first retirement in Taos, NM for 5 years where we first learned about herding. Then we moved to Elsa’s parents’ farm in Georgia and managed a cow/calf beef herd for 20 years before retiring a second time.
Dog related volunteer work has included BCCA Health Committee Chair (96-98), BCCA herding chair since 2009 (with conversion of paper records to electronic), PWDCA Health Information Coordinator (2007 to present), GA All Breed Herding dog Association positions (2004-16), establishing the Bearded Collie Foundation for Health (BeaCon) in 1999
and administration of the open health registry, writing articles related to Beardies and PWDs for breed magazines; editing the electronic newsletter for BeaCon (Lighting The Way). Recognitions include BCCA Member of the Year (1997) and PWDCA President’s Award (2015) for leading a breed health survey.
It has been especially rewarding to oversee several surveys and BeaCon’s health registry that documented the prevalence of two autoimmune diseases (Addison’s and SLO) in the breed, as did the earlier BCCA survey by Linda Aronson, DVM. That led to finding a research investigator to study genetic aspects of Addison’s disease (1998) and later, SLO (2010’s). Ultimately it is expected there will be genetic screening or diagnostic tests to help prevent these diseases in the Bearded Collie.
