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First, let me say that I think the Fort Washington Expo Center works extremely well for the four Philadelphia shows. Whether or not it would work as well for Montgomery as some people have suggested is arguable. Initially, I did not think it served Philadelphia's best interest either, but I was proven wrong. Thanks to the perseverance of Dan Shoemaker, Wayne Ferguson and Charlie Schaefer, most if not all the glitches have basically been overcome. I'm sure too the financial and moral assistance provided by Nestle-Purina are factors not to be overlooked either. But for Montgomery—indoors in a setting which is acceptable on an all-breed basis but hardly grand in scope—I just don't think so. Montgomery's new site is workable and with time will work out fine so long as old man weather cooperates.
I was sitting at lunch the other day with some friends and we came up with various ideas as to how to be sure your Westminster entry is opened ahead of everyone else. ONE—Find the largest envelope you can which still only costs 37 cents. TWO—Use an eye-catching color, such as neon green or, better yet, “purple and yellow”-get it! THREE—Insert a talking button which when pressed says, "select me." FOUR-Create a gummy envelope which when touched automatically sticks to the person's hand. FIVE—Have the envelope in the shape of your breed-perhaps you'll be the only entry. If all these fail, try prayer!
In my pre-PAWS days ignorance I never heard of Bob Kane and his Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance, which claims to work for and identify and elect supportive legislators. He e-mails our offices and me personally, but the only topic I have received anything about has been vehement in its opposition to PAWS. I have never received any other legislative advice to my knowledge from him about any other legislation. I wonder if he and his organization are so one-issued that BSL is to be ignored altogether. It seems so to me, which, if I am correct, is narrow-minded at the very least. In his latest posting to me, which I presume has been posted onto all of his other sendees, his contradictory statements certainly confused the hell out of me. His alleged concern for cat breeders and “rescuers” remains paper-thin, and what he says about hunting only he can understand. To my knowledge, no one at AKC ever called PAWS, as he writes, “a perfect bill with no flaws." Mr. Kane in his enthusiasm has, I think, forgotten the facts and is purely on an emotional drive. Whether or not there is to be an AKC exemption may be up in the air, as Kane states. But one thing I am pretty sure of is it's going to happen. If it does, in the long run, the very negativism and refusal of the Bob Kanes of the world will have gone a long way in influencing both the Senator and his Staff in rethinking their attitude to exempt AKC. You know we have all found that civility in the long run goes much further than vituperativeness. • |
