The Gossip Column: November 22, 2024
Effective January 1, 2025, all handlers/agents who wish to be published in dog-show catalogs must complete the STEWARDS OF CHILDREN course offered by the non-profit DARKNESS TO LIGHT organization. I applaud the effort, and any way one can educate and deter any deviate behavior is certainly a step in the right direction. Around here we call it DUKES’ LAW, as it was MARY DUKES who spearheaded and promoted this idea, and kept the ball rolling until it has led to this. Handlers/agents are asked to submit their agent number request form to judgescompliance@akc.org, then they are asked to visit the following link regarding this requirement: www.akc.org/sports/conformation/publishing-handlers-agents-dog-show-catalogs/. (I just wish all those website addresses could be a bit easier.) Why limit this to handlers/agents? Maybe there could be a way for the entire dog community to participate. It could be included on an entry form, or with a dog’s registration papers that includes reading and signing that you understand what is expected of you and the consequences of being accused and found guilty. Some of the recent accounts brought to light included others in the sport. ...
Now there is an uproar over the selection and non-publishing of TOP TWENTY JUDGES at specialty shows. Amazing how they have grown and have been held by many parent clubs without the hint of scandal or disruption. It's a non-regular event that brings the top 20 dogs in a particular breed into the ring (if they wish) to be adjudicated by three knowledgeable people involved in the breed who make a combined decision. If the next day one of them is exhibiting, so what? It's a showcase — just leave it alone. You know the ole adage: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." ...
Judge KEN MURRAY is nursing a broken ankle, acquired when he tripped getting out of a car.