Jenny's OFA Adventure

OFA Certification

I confess – it’s been quiet here since our Golden pups departed to their new homes. After the intense busyness of our summer puppy season, there were some other priorities that needed attention! However, the lack of news online is not an indication of an absence of activity here on Windy Knoll Farm! We can hardly believe that summer is rapidly departing in deference to fall. The cool evenings, blush of autumnal colors on the trees, and hint of crispness in the air in spite of warm sunshine set the children and the dogs to capering about with extra friskiness. We all love fall! Polly is especially insistent for attention whenever she spots the stroller lately: she knows that’s the herald of a walk, and she couldn’t bare the thought of missing out on that! Jenny has boundless energy, and sets all the canines to frolicking as the evenings descend over our country home. Even staid Betsy and Shep give in to the romping with abandon. The pumpkins are harvested and we hear news that a frost predicted to strike in a couple of days.

Ready to head off to the vets.

Today marked an important event for our Windy Knoll Jenny. It was time for her OFA scoring tests! The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that offers scores to rate the quality of your dogs structural health and integrity.

Their mission is stated right on their website: To promote the health and welfare of companion animals through a reduction in the incidence of genetic disease.

Heart, eye, hip, and elbows can all be evaluated and given appropriate ratings. As it is our goal to offer the healthiest golden pups possible to our customers, we feel that obtaining OFA ratings for our dogs is an important part of that picture. Jenny turned two years old earlier this year, so she is now mature enough to participate in evaluation.

Windy Knoll Golden Retrievers Polly and Jenny with Greg

This morning found us dropping Jenny off at Fair Haven Animal Hospital. We left her under Dr. Polinger’s and Steve’s excellent care for most of the day while they carried out the x-rays.

Polly was eager for a ride in the car, and jumped right in! She’ll have to wait until next year before she is old enough for her OFA tests.

The procedure used to obtain the ratings is to x-ray the specific body parts to be evaluated. Our vet then sends these x-rays to the OFA, who studies them to determine the ratings.

When the children and I picked up Jenny from the vets this afternoon, we found her a little nervous due to the anesthesia’s influence, but happy to see us and ready to go home. We were also glad to hear the vet’s opinion that “the x-rays looked good!” Now, we just need to wait on the final results from the OFA. Unfortunately, that sometimes takes a while – but we will be sure to let you know when and what Jenny’s OFA results are!