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The American Kennel Club
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
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October
2007 -
The American Kennel Club has long been regarded as the
pre-eminent purebred dog registry in the United States. Indeed, we
govern the sport of purebred dogs and have the largest and only
not-for-profit all-breed registry in the country. But our visibility
and ability to influence go beyond our borders, extending across the
globe.
We enjoy good relations with many international kennel clubs, most
visibly our historic relationship with The Kennel Club in the United
Kingdom. Many of our recognized breeds were first established with
The Kennel Club centuries ago. Today we have reciprocal respect for
what each kennel club brings to the international table of purebred
dogs. Each year a variety of AKC Board members, Executive officers
and staff travel across the pond to attend the prestigious Crufts
Dog Show. Equally, the Kennel Club sends representatives to our
annual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship.
Out of reciprocity comes a frequent exchange of ideas. For example,
The Kennel Club has adopted our AKC Canine Good Citizen® program and
we have borrowed their popular public showcase called "Discover
Dogs" and turned it into our own "AKC Meet the Breeds®."
The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship has grown over the years into
a perfect venue for encouraging and expanding community and
competition amongst purebred dog fanciers from across the globe. We
have always been honored to have a large international presence at
our show and this year, with the addition of the Eukanuba World
Challenge, this aspect of the event is going to be even more
exciting. This first-ever international competition invites the top
dogs from 40 countries to compete in a separate event. Many of the
countries' kennel club presidents also will be in attendance, which
can only help build the foundation of a strong international dog
community.
As an AKC-licensed judge, I on occasion judge in foreign countries,
having visited the UK, Japan, Germany, Poland, Spain, and Portugal
just to name a few. When traveling to faraway lands I take the time
to confer with leaders of the various kennel clubs between judging
assignments and I am happy to report that the AKC is held in the
highest regard by kennel clubs worldwide.
Therefore, I take great pride in the fact that AKC can act as a
"Canine Ambassador" to the world when it comes to purebred dogs.
Interaction with the international dog community allows us to
discuss the common challenges we face as dog owners and breeders,
especially in the realm of damaging legislation. We realize that by
participating in large-scale world events it gives us all an
opportunity to help grow a cohesive international dog community that
can combat anti-dog movements.
I have come to realize through continued dialogue among the kennel
club "heads of state" that we all face similar challenges and share
a desire to do what's best for the dogs. I invite the fancy to come
to Long Beach to not only witness the best dogs in the world compete
for top prizes but to encourage you to seek out our visiting foreign
dignitaries for some of the same engaging conversations.
Sincerely,

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Highlights from the
October 2007
meeting of the AKC Board
of Directors
Dates and locations for future AKC Delegate
Meetings were set as follows:
* June 8-9, 2008 (Sunday/Monday) - Boston, MA area (Quincy,
MA)
* September 8-9, 2008 (Monday/Tuesday) - New York City Area
* December 15-16, 2008 (Monday/Tuesday) - Long Beach, CA
* March 9-10, 2009 (Monday/Tuesday) - New York City Area
The following breeds will be eligible to compete in the
Miscellaneous Class at shows, effective July 1, 2008: Cane Corso,
Cesky Terrier, Icelandic Sheepdog, and Leonberger. The Dogue de
Bordeaux will be eligible to compete in the Working Group at shows,
effective July 1, 2008.
An exploratory committee was appointed to evaluate the current
alignment of breeds within the seven variety groups to determine if
a different alignment would better serve the Sport now and in the
future. The members are: Dr. Thomas Davies, Chair, Marieann
Gladstone, John Nielsen, Karen Burgess, Dr. Robert Smith, Dr.
William Newman, Robert Fisher, R. William Taylor, Dr. Alvin Krause,
and Robin Stansell. Robin Stansell will serve as AKC staff liaison.
A representative from the Dog Show Superintendent's Association will
also serve on the committee.
At the request of the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial
Association, a policy was adopted to prevent a client from entering
a field trial stake that their professional trainer is judging.
Clubs were given options they may exercise in preparing judging
schedules to improve exhibitor convenience. The full details are in
the minutes of this meeting.
Revisions to the Whippet breed standard as published in the AKC
GAZETTE were approved effective January 1, 2008.
The new breed approval policy for Conformation judges, as it applies
to the first application, have been amended, effective January 1,
2008. The full details are in the minutes of this meeting.
The Board approved a Classified Advertising Program for clubs,
whereby AKC provides templates for ads highlighting both AKC and the
club, and the club receives an educational credit for running the
ad. The details are in
the minutes for this meeting.
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