PDD Update

Bird Paradise of Burlington, New Jersey has joined the fight to Stop PDDRESTON, VA 23 January 2006 ? Avian Health Network, Inc. has announced that it has joined with the owners of Bird Paradise this Spring to develop the Wall for the Cause at the exceptional bird store located in Burlington, New Jersey. The Wall for the Cause fundraiser will come to conclusion on 10 June 2006 with an educational seminar featuring Dr. Branson Ritchie as the keynote speaker. The project is a cooperative effort to raise funds and awareness of the lethal avian disease, Proventricular Dilatation Disease (PDD).PDD, often referred to as "the avian AIDS," has no cure, no vaccination and is just as deadly as its human counterpart. However, unlike AIDS, scientists neither know exactly what causes PDD or how PDD is transmitted, nor can they test for the disease with any degree of certainty on a living bird. Consequently, there is a sense of urgency to determine the cause of PDD and its means of transmission.The owners of Bird Paradise, Jack & Kathy Lance, have come forward with a great understanding that we must all take a stand together to keep the PDD research team at the University of Georgia's Emerging Diseases Research Group (EDRG) funded. It is the Lance's mission to help raise funds and awareness for this much needed research for all of our birds and their owners.The Wall for the Cause will feature 3 x 5 cards with a donor's name or their bird's name to be added to the Wall for the Cause. The wall will show support for research and all the birds that have been lost to this fatal disease or who are currently living with PDD or suspected PDD. Donations will be collected with a cheque presented to Dr. Branson Ritchie on 10 June, 2006 at the Avian Educational Seminar in Burlington, NJ at the Bird Paradise location.It is unfortunate that funding for avian causes and/or diseases is not as generous as for other species of animals. Without funding, Dr. Ritchie's PDD research team will be unable to continue this vital research. Without fundraisers such as Wall for the Cause and the 2006 Birds of a Feather Quilt, PDD research could very realistically come to a halt or be significantly hampered. The UGA EDRG research team depends greatly on your donations in order to continue their work. If there is one cause within the avian community that needs your help, it is this one. We owe it to our birds, as well as all future birds and their owners to band together and keep this research funded. Without it, the deaths will continue, the heartache will grow, and the progress made to date will be all for naught. HELP STOP PDD NOW.To learn more about what you can do this Spring to help StopPDD, please visit http://www.BirdParadise.biz or stop by in person or phone 609-747-7777. Meet the owners and employees of Bird Paradise's Burlington, NJ location with 15,000 square feet of space housing one of the largest inventories of cages and supplies on the east coast and add your name to the Wall for the Cause today. The store is located at 551 Rt. 130 South, Burlington N.J. and you will find something for everyone at the store or by shopping online.The Avian Health Network, Inc is a 501(C) (3) tax-exempt, non-profit corporation based in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The organization is staffed entirely by volunteers, employing no paid personnel. The Avian Health Network is committed to raising public awareness and funds for avian diseases such as PDD. For more information on the StopPDD campaigns, please visit the website, www.StopPDD.org.