Dog to have pups from egg donation
Published: January 6, 2006
San, a guide dog for the blind that has received ovaries transplanted from another guide dog, is expected to give birth to five puppies in Hokkaido, early in this year of the dog.
Many people are closely watching the Labrador retriever’s progress in hopes that the technique will increase the number of guide dogs in the nation, which has been in short supply. [Guide Dogs (Dogs at Work)]
Hiroshi Suzuki, 47, a professor at Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, and the Hokkaido Guide Dogs for the Blind Association have jointly tried to breed more guide dogs by transplanting ovaries from excellent guide dogs.
Three dogs, including San, were transplanted part of a frozen ovary, and San was confirmed pregnant.
Because the transplant was conducted without removing San’s own ovaries, the key to the success of the program depends on whether San’s puppies contain the genes of the donor dog.
According to the Sapporo-based association, nine guide dog associations across the nation registered 957 guide dogs as of the end of March 2005.
But the number of the visually handicapped persons seeking to have guide dogs is estimated at seven to eight times the number of working guide dogs, resulting in a long waiting list.
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