This Saturday, July 11th, we'll be loading up five dogs into the 4Runner and heading north.
Really north.
Our destination is Caribou, Maine—about three and a half hours from Dark Point Kennel—for a Gonioscopy and CAER eye clinic. All five dogs have been preregistered and prepaid, and while that's a long drive for a few appointments, it's one we'll happily make.
One of the questions we're asked fairly often is, "How do you find these clinics?"
The answer is simple: the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) website. Their Health Clinics Calendar lists upcoming health clinics throughout the United States and Canada, making it much easier to locate specialists offering breed health testing. For many breeders and owners, these traveling clinics are significantly more affordable than scheduling individual appointments and often provide access to testing that simply isn't available locally.
Living in rural Maine certainly has its advantages—but convenient access to specialty veterinary services usually isn't one of them.
As we continue expanding the health testing we perform on our dogs, these clinics have become incredibly valuable. Every additional piece of information helps us make better breeding decisions and gives our puppies the best opportunity for long, healthy lives.
One test we're still searching for is BAER (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) hearing testing.
Last month, I confirmed with Maine Veterinary Medical Center that they no longer offer BAER testing, which was disappointing news. Since then, the OFA Canine Health Clinics USA & Canada Facebook group and the OFA Clinic Events page have become even more important resources as we keep an eye out for new opportunities.
I did speak with a mobile veterinarian based out of New York about the possibility of arranging BAER testing ourselves. While it's certainly possible, BAER testing requires a quiet, controlled environment. Between the daily activity on our farm, our livestock, and our livestock guardian dogs, our home probably isn't the ideal setting for obtaining the most reliable results.
So, for now, we'll keep watching and waiting, hoping a clinic pops up a little closer than the upcoming one in Coventry, Rhode Island.
Of course, we know our dogs can hear. They have no trouble reminding us when someone pulls into the driveway, a squirrel appears in the yard, or one of the goats decides breakfast should have been served ten minutes earlier.
But that's not really the point.
Health testing isn't about proving what we already think we know—it's about documenting it. It's about establishing a baseline, identifying problems that may not be obvious, and contributing valuable information for the future of the breed. The more we learn, the better equipped we are to make responsible breeding decisions.
If we're being honest, waiting for results never gets easier. Whether it's hips, elbows, eyes, hearing, or genetic testing, there's always a little anxiety while you wait. That's especially true with tests that aren't commonly performed within a breed here in the United States.
Still, we'd rather know than wonder.
Every clinic, every road trip, every appointment, and every result is another step toward our goal of producing healthy, sound dogs that can thrive for years to come.
So here's to another early morning, another cooler packed with snacks, another long drive through the beautiful forests of Aroostook County, and hopefully another set of healthy results.
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