Saturday, April 11, 2020

A Tribute to Dr. Bruce Cattanach




Dr. Bruce M. Cattanach
November 5, 1932 – April 8, 2020

Like many of my readers, the Boxer breed has been an all-consuming passion for most of my life. And the high point of my life in Boxers was flying to England in 1999 with my good friends Stephanie and David Abraham and meeting UK geneticist and Boxer breeder Dr. Bruce Cattanach at the Windsor Show. After Boxer judging, we drove with Bruce to see an early generation of his Bobtail Boxers and then followed him home to meet his wife Jo Peters (also a geneticist) and his own Steynmere Boxers.  

Dr. Bruce Cattanach was a brilliant man who made a huge contribution to the world of genetics (see the Harwell tribute below) and as at least a working knowledge of genetics became more and more necessary to the “art” of breeding dogs, was an invaluable resource to dog breeders in their efforts to avoid hereditary disease, especially in Bruce’s chosen breed, the Boxer. Throughout the following week, we will feature several articles written by Bruce on genetics for Boxer breeders.
VZ – April 11, 2020
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Medical Research Council Harwell Institute

Dr. Bruce Cattanach, former director of the MGU, has sadly passed away.
We are very sorry to announce that Dr Bruce Cattanach passed away on 8th of April 2020.
Dr Bruce Cattanach was an outstanding scientist who led the Mammalian Genetics Unit in its early years. Along with Mary Lyon, Bruce established Harwell as one of the great international centres for mouse genetics. He discovered the phenomenon of imprinting and was rightly considered a pioneer in this whole field. He also was a leading force in the field of dog breeding and dog genetics.  
He will be remembered as a gentle man who gave so much to all around him, family, friends and colleagues, with a wry sense of humour. He will be very much missed.

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