I was thrilled to receive an invitation last fall to deliver two workshop talks at the 2025 AKC Canine Health Foundation National Parent Club Canine Health Conference. This was the 30^th year celebration for CHF, and the event did not disappoint. Dozens of keynote and workshop talks were provided to the more than 200 attendees from across the veterinary, research, and breed club spectrum. As a first-time attendee, I felt privileged to contribute to the event and introduce the International Partnership for Dogs and our resources on DogWellNet.com to this important North American audience.

There were many friendly faces present, including several of our previous International Dog Health Workshop speakers, our friends at the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals, and new friends at the AKC Canine Health Foundation. While the official theme may have been “Science for Health, Vibrant Dogs”, it felt like the unofficial theme was “Making Connections with Dedicated and Motivated Dog People”, who truly care about supporting science and research that is impactful and meaningful to dogs.

The display table kindly furnished by CHF was extremely helpful in highlighting IPFD’s presence at the conference and served as a ‘home base’ for networking between the sessions. And congratulations to the winners of our draw for two bags of Silver Falls gourmet coffee, made in my home state of Oregon!

All of the featured talks were provided by researchers that had received grant support from CHF and ran the spectrum of interests, including investigating specific diseases, veterinary care and techniques, parasites and non-inherited disease, and behavioral training.

The breakout sessions focused on audience-specific learning, and my presentations to both the veterinary and breeder streams had two goals:

1) To demonstrate the value of IPFD’s tools, resources, and broad international community

2) To highlight IPFD’s role as a leader in collaborative efforts to enhance dog health and well-being on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world.

I cannot thank the entire CHF team enough for their generosity and support in welcoming me and IPFD to the conference. I look forward to the next steps in strengthening our relationships with CHF and the North American dog community!