Bandera's Syndrome Logo

On March 25th, 2011, a litter of Coton de Tulear puppies was born affected with Bandera’s Neonatal Cerebellar Ataxia, a genetic disease found only in the Coton de Tulear breed.  While the owners of the sire and dam had heard of this disease, no thought had been given to DNA blood testing in either dog– after all, their dogs were multi-championed and from recognized bloodlines, their dogs had passed a slate of  health tests to qualify for Code of Ethics Breeder status, and they were not aware of any history of the disease in their pedigrees.  These two women had a plan for their dogs– for their breeding programs– and a dream of begetting at least one “perfect” puppy from this litter!  How could anything go wrong?

Unfortunately Bandera’s Syndrome, named after the first Coton de Tulear puppy diagnosed with the disease, does not discriminate; affected puppies can be born not only to the unscrupulous and naive breeder, but to those who have invested thousands of dollars into their breeding programs, and who have provided the utmost love and care to their dogs.  The good news is, because the gene pool for this breed is still comparatively small, if concientious breeders are proactive about having DNA blood tests performed on their breeding stock, Bandera’s Neonatal Cerebellar Ataxia can be arrested in the breed.

New to the Coton breed, Diane and Cindy wondered, “Why us?  How were we so unlucky?” A few weeks after they had come to terms with their loss and had time to heal, they agreed that while they once had a plan together, they now have a mission to bring knowledge of this disease to the attention of Coton breeders worldwide. 

Please peruse this simple website and learn how to avoid having to deal with the trauma of breeding a litter affected with BNAt.  Please watch the video to see, hear and feel what this is about.  Words cannot express the sorrow felt by looking into the eyes of a beautiful and otherwise-perfect Coton puppy afflicted with Bandera’s Syndrome, knowing its plight.