The wave of thunderous applause which annually greets the nighttime sessions at Westminster's announcement that “no dog being shown tonight will have come from a pet shop” is truly a statement of wish rather than fact. Truth be told, AKC-registered dogs have been sold at pet shops for as long a time as business has existed and are eligible to be shown at any AKC show. What the announcer should be saying is that “we hope no dog being shown here tonight came from a pet shop.” But really, how many of you started out with just that, a dog from a pet shop! And ended up showing dogs, too? My first dog, a Cocker Spaniel was AKC-registered from a pet shop. After it died, we got an Afghan from breeder Sunny Shay. Anyone remember that operation? Sunny was a dear and old friend of mine who co-owned a pet shop on 57th street in New York City with an aunt of mine. This was in the early to mid-forties! My family's next dog, years later, was a Poodle bred by one of the most famous Poodle breeding and winning kennels in America. Yup, bought from a pet shop and AKC-registrable! Thereafter, all the dogs I owned, except for an adopted stray or two, were from breeders or were bred at home. In the good old days, how many of you bought AKC-registered dogs from Macy's or Gimbels? And once you had the papers, how many of you ended up in the show ring? To this day, I hear stories from people who have purchased dogs that are Specialed and were bought in pet shops. Do you believe the number of people, including Delegates (presuming the online reaction is valid), who claim they were unaware dogs bought in pet shops, even if AKC-sired and damed, could be registered! What kind of vacuum have these people been living in?
Not that I agree with the way AKC handled the announcement of their recent deal with Petland, nor do I even like the idea that they were forced into entering this arrangement. Emotionally,I am totally against the idea. But I must say, practically, I think AKC had no choice.Until they establish a single-tier registration policy they must protect their interests. With the pirating of blue slips by these spurious new registries, the economic well being of the future of the organization is definitely at risk. Sometimes one has to give to get a lot and this is just one of those unfortunate cases.
Sure, many of the Delegates acted emotionally and passionately to the presentation of John Lyons. Whipped into a frenzy by a small group of people at the meeting, who obviously knew in advance of the plan (how could this have been if it was voted upon in Executive Session? You figure that one out), a more rational reaction is hopefully now occurring. Furthermore, there is a planned meeting of various people within the Fancy to explain AKC's position in the matter. The reality is that this should have been done in advance of the meeting. This is a reactive rather than proactive reaction to a deafening roar.
There is alleged to have been a group of Delegates who were leaked, in one fashion or another, what John Lyons' presentation at the meeting was going to be. Allegedly,they held a secret meeting on Sunday evening. They came scripted with facts and rebuttals, some of which, I am told, were nasty to the point of being insulting. Hopefully, the Delegate Minutes will not have been whitewashed to eliminate some of these statements. If this was leaked, I wonder from whence that leakage occurred.
The World Show is coming up in Poznan, Poland, in November, and DOG NEWS will be having a special section devoted to the show. This sounds like a good opportunity to let the world know about the achievements of your dog, your breeding programs and your kennel's existence as well. •