CANINE  EYE  REGISTRATION  FOUNDATION

  Dedicated to the elimination of heritable eye disease 
in purebred dogs through registration and research.  

WHAT IS C.E.R.F.?

The Canine Eye Registration Foundation (C.E.R.F.) is an organization that was founded by a group of concerned, purebred owner/breeders who recognized that the quality of their dog's lives were being affected by heritable eye disease.  C.E.R.F. was then established in conjunction with cooperating, board certified, veterinary ophthalmologists, as a means to accomplish the goal of elimination of heritable eye disease in all purebred dogs by forming a centralized, national registry.

The C.E.R.F. Registry not only registers those dog's certified free of heritable eye disease by members of the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (A.C.V.O. ) , but also collects data on all dogs examined by A.C.V.O. Diplomates.  This data is used to form the C.E.R.F. data base which is useful in researching trends in eye disease and breed susceptibility.  Not only is this data useful to clinicians and students of ophthalmology, but to interested breed clubs and individual breeders and owners of specific breeds.

HOW DOES C.E.R.F. WORK?

After the painless examination of the dogs eyes, the A.C.V.O. Diplomat will complete the C.E.R.F. form and indicate any specific disease(s) found.  Breeding advice will be offered based on guidelines established for that particular breed by the genetics Committee of the A.C.V.O.  Bear in mind that C.E.R.F. and the A.C.V.O. are separate, but cooperating entities.  The A.C.V.O only provides their professional services and expertise to ensure that uniform standards are upheld for the certification of dog's eyes with the C.E.R.F. organization.

If the dog is certified to be free of heritable eye disease, you can then send in the completed owner's copy of the C.E.R.F. form with the appropriate fee ($10.00 for the original C.E.R.F. Registration, or $7.50 if it is a recertification).  C.E.R.F. certification is good for 12 months and afterwards the dog must be reexamined and recertified to maintain it's registration with C.E.R.F..

Regardless of the outcome of the dog's exam, the research copy of the C.E.R.F. form will be sent to the C.E.R.F. office at Purdue University where its information will be entered into the data base for that specific breed.  This information will be used in generating research reports, but the individual dog's identities will become confidential and will never be released.

WHAT CAN C.E.R.F. DO FOR ME?

- Provide a registry of purebred dogs that have been certified free of heritable eye disease.

- Provide various memberships which include the C.E.R.F.  Newsletter, and various registration and research reports to keep you up-to-date on various topics in canine ophthalmology.

- Provide various reports on the prevalence of eye diseases in certain breeds, including reports generated by the Veterinary Medical Data Base (V.M.D.B.) which compiles data from 24 participating veterinary colleges in the U.S. and Canada.

- Provide a centralized source to answer questions like: - "Is there an A.C.V.O. Diplomat located near me?" - "Are there any published materials on eye disease in dogs that can help me to better understand my dog's condition?"

To learn more about CERF, visit their website: