It’s hard enough for us to wrap our heads around the death itself; few owners have the presence of mind to ask their vet to look into the cause of death, and especially not the focused work necessary to help with heart research. BHWF is now setting aside funds to pay for necropsies in the event of sudden death. These hearts will be shipped to Dr. Kelly at Penn State, who is studying borzoi hearts.

If you lose a borzoi to sudden death and would like to submit the heart for research

please contact Danielle Snyder or Nancy Hopkins for details on how to proceed.

Please download and fill out the following forms:

Information Sharing Agreement ♦ Submission Form ♦ Necropsy and Submission Guidelines for Veterinarians

If you would like to make a donation specific to Valentine’s Fund

Please go to our donate page. With check or paypal donations, please make a note that this is for Valentine’s Fund.

When BHWF first discussed doing a heart necropsy project, we were hesitant that we wouldn’t be able to crowd fund such an expensive undertaking. First we tapped the community for the need, then we went about finding a pathologist with a special interest in cardiology who was willing to take it on, and then we had to get the money... and we quickly realized we needed to get it fast.

After just announcing it was in the works, and before the pathologist could even get a submission form ready, we had our first borzoi heart at the lab. We now have another on the way.

In less than 24 hours, we raised $2000 in online donations for the project plus a HUGE private donation from our most generous supporter. Each submission will be expensive, but this is a fabulous start.

THANK YOU to each and every donor, no matter how much, for your contribution - every bit counts and will be put to use. THANK YOU to the owners who have put their grief and pain aside to participate in this new research. THANK YOU to all of the breeders and owners participating in holter research and sharing your results. THANK YOU to all of the breeders and owners who have made the, often long, trek to College Station to participate in the new borzoi echocardiogram study. THANK YOU to Nancy Hopkins for the endless hours and late nights, sharing research studies, and most importantly never giving up in your quest for answers - your devotion is inspiring. THANK YOU to all of the BCOA members, volunteers, and other breeders committed to borzoi health.

We know it can be frustrating to participate in a study where the answer isn’t apparent - “what does it mean?” isn’t a gratifying thought for anyone to leave with. With luck and perseverance, it will mean something, someday, to every borzoi and breeder that comes after us. This is what we can leave behind for the future.

There are currently 3 borzoi heart studies in the works:

• BCOA borzoi holter study looking at the incidence of arrhythmias with Dr. Gelzer at UPenn

• Borzoi echocardiogram study tracking normal echo parameters and the incidence of heart disease with Dr. Wesselowski and Dr. Sykes at Texas A&M

• Borzoi heart necropsies with Dr. Kelly at Penn State*

This is a problem that affects us all - truly, whether you choose to believe it can happen to you or not. It is lurking. A final thank you again for everyone’s generous support, in every way, to borzoi heart research.

Update Nov 2, 2022: Dr. Kelly is leaving academia, so in the interim, any donated sudden death or control hearts and fresh lung will be shipped to Danielle Snyder.

Additional information about borzoi cardiac health, written by Nancy Hopkins, has been published in the BCOA Aristocrat.

• Summer 2020 - Cardiac Disease of Purebred Dogs

• Fall 2020 - Dropping Dead Borzoi