The FCI and Canada
The directors of the Canadian Kennel Club are scheduled to vote the weekend of March 29 and 30 on what action to take, if any, with regard to the FCI embargo on Canadian judges at FCI shows. Whether or not Canada will retaliate against FCI remains to be seen. What is of interest, of course, is that FCI’s embargo was strongly based upon the alleged failure of CKC to answer in a timely fashion inquiries made of FCI to CKC. One may validly question the right of FCI to inquire into the operations of a non-member kennel club in the first place. Certainly these pages have stood and continue to stand with CKC in this matter. Of course and of interest to many of us is the fact that on January 29, 2008 a joint letter from AKC and The Kennel Club in the UK was sent to FCI headquarters in Belgium. It is understood the Canadian situation was one of the highlighted topics. This is the first time such a letter was sent by the involved parties. Fully two whole months have passed and FCI has failed to even acknowledge receipt of this communication. Really now, shouldn’t what’s good for the goose apply to the gander, too? If FCI decided to penalize CKC for not answering its correspondence, what should the American and British reaction be toward FCI reacting to them in a similar fashion? We leave that answer up to the participating parties, but it seems fairly apparent as to the stance Canada should take for sure with the USA and the UK not too far behind either!

In Reducing Costs At Shows
The problem of the increasing costs of both staging dog shows and getting to the shows themselves is increasingly hitting the dog show world. In the ‘70s during the first gas crunch AKC led by then-President LaFore, wisely by-passed many of the geographic restrictions placed on club territories by encouraging the Cluster Club situation. Today’s gas prices combined with other economic factors threaten the economic growth and stability of the shows on a great number of levels. Certainly in the area of site selection, tenting, printing and judges’ costs relative to travel and hotel accommodations, to say nothing of amenities for exhibitors the current state of affairs at the very least must be rethought. Road pricing of course has gotten totally out-of-hand. Keeping costs down must be a primary goal of all show-giving clubs. Nevertheless, shows must remember that exhibitors are customers and to treat them accordingly. AKC too has a part to play in this as well. They must loosen up on requirements and/or introduce creative ideas so as to enable clubs to stay economically competitive. But keep in mind the approach to these problems has to be a balanced one. Rules may be relaxed and standards lowered but these changes have to be accepted by exhibitors and those who run the shows as well.

Housing Foreclosures Affect Pets Too
Precise numbers are unknown but animal shelters in areas where home foreclosures are high claim to be experiencing an increase in pet intake. It is stated by the SPCA’s Steve Zawistowski that while some shelters have been unaffected, “there are pockets” where so many homeowners are losing their homes that the number of pets relinquished to shelters, turned loose or abandoned is rising dramatically. The “pockets” probably will spread with a deteriorating economy, he says. Possibly akin to the Katrina situation but on a less concentrated scale, if in fact there is such a national problem, watch out for PETA, Pedigree and the like to jump on this as another reason not to buy from the breeder and to adopt only. USA Today reports the situation as being an actuality. Nonetheless, they offer no numbers to support this theory. HSUS has taken an early active role which automatically throws a red flag into the mix but does not mean a potential problem is not in the making. Monitoring the potential surge in animals being abandoned is probably the best advise for the time being, with pet owners in financial trouble in these “pockets" being advised to find out about temporary assistance, which can be provided.

Operation Baghdad Pup
The move to reunite stray canines with their rescuers in Iraq is becoming a useful mission despite military regulations against doing so. Op Baghdad launched last November by the SPCA is a program easing the process for service members to bring home stray dogs they have adopted in Iraq or Afghanistan. It is presently working on bringing home over 30 dogs and several cats. The Pentagon has an order banning troops from “adopting pets or mascots, caring or feeding any type of animal.” There seems to be exceptions to the rule as Baghdad Pup has brought back to America in March five Iraqi canines. The dogs are vaccinated and accompanied out of the country at a cost of $4,000 to $6,000 per rescue. It raises money through donations and partnership with www.ilovedogs.com.

Thought For The Week
Sales of wet pet food are off about 25 percent from pre-recall levels. Many products are still missing from stores’ shelves. While sales of dry food have grown according to both Petsmart and PetCo representatives, they are in the area of the premium and natural brands. Pet-food makers of all sizes say they’ve tightened safeguards and while that doesn’t mean something may not slip through, it’s a lot less likely to happen today than before the recall. “We still have some work to do to win back some of the sales.” Petsmart’s CEO Phillip Francis told industry analysts this past month.