I have not been to a Putnam KC show in years but did go up this past weekend to their Friday show. Now located in Stormville, New York, adjacent to the Stormville Airport, the venue is on flat ground in the middle of nowhere. I don't mean that negatively, since the property is nearly perfect for a dog show. Too bad Putnam can't join with a group of other clubs and buy the property outright. The venue sort of reminded me of Riddle Field, in Ohio, as to its terrain and usability. It was a hot and humid day—tolerable but just barely. The hound group was really strong, attributable, I suppose, to the new Hound Show held way north on Sunday. The hound people, along with the terrier people throughout the country are really expanding these type shows. Hope the hound people don't fall into the trap the terrier people have seemed to fallen into and overpopulate the schedule with too many hound group shows. The winner of this AKC all-breed show, in a really competitive line-up for Best in Show, was the Dobe bitch shown by Gwen DeMilta, Ch. Rojas Dream of Tibet, owned by Dr. Merry Fitzgerald and Carmen Pitts.
It took us less than an hour to get to Putnam from the Island, and over four hours to get home! This was due to the horrendous thunderstorms that hit our area. So bad were these storms that FedEx was unable to deliver any of the Saturday packages earmarked for the shows nationally. This happens usually once every two or three years, and is weather-related, but due to snowstorms, not thunderstorms. As was the case this past weekend. We had to reroute the 20 boxes earmarked for Saturday shows to this week's shows, so that everyone was covered. At quite an expense, I may add!
I have received more phone calls and e-mails than usual about last week's “Editorial” in which I mentioned that two judges were suspended for a year by the Board for committing various indiscretions. Of interest, of course, was that the calls wanted the names of those involved. No one, however, seemed interested in learning what these people were alleged to have done to warrant the suspensions. Candidly, the names are listed in both THE GAZETTEand Board Minutes, which appear on AKC's Web site. I didn't think the names belonged in this “Editorial,” since the purpose of the “Editorial” was to make a point about a direction we believe the Board is heading. We were not being accusatory. Similar was a case with a judge, who I did name in my column, who was suspended for one month only. I used her name, taken from the same public records, to distinguish Board actions. She strongly objected to my doing so. I was sorry to offend her, particularly since with the facts I knew, I thought she got the short end of the stick. Nonetheless, her name, too, was a public record.
I am fascinated by the Board's decision to get financial compensation for all televised events, as well as reasonable recognition for both AKC and the event-giving shows. While some say this was grandfathered insofar as getting monies were concerned (I believe, to prevent a head-to-head with the Big W), it should be interesting to see how this policy evolves in the long run.
I hope many of you read my friend Jack Smith's rebuttal to those questioning the new site of Great Western Terrier Association. It helped explain some of the goings on but truly raised as many questions as it attempted to answer. One thing, though, I really take issue with him about is the charging for grooming space. It is the club's obligation to provide this kind of space, period. Look at Houston last week, where some people had to pay upwards of $345 for grooming space. That is downright unacceptable.
It was thoroughly amazing to read the recent TIME OUT NEW YORK magazine and see full-page coverage of dog bowls of various types and shapes! I mean, really, how far has the “Hermes Collar” syndrome gone? Practically, those new collapsible mesh crates should be banned from dog shows too. Not only are dogs endangered in them, but also they seem to be able to escape from them at will, putting human and dog life at stake.
One last thought for you. The memorial date for Arthur Haggerty is August 8 at Our Lady Of Peace Church on East 62nd Street in New York City, not August 5, as I wrote. •