Crusades
Sit! Stay! (Don't) Speak!
by
Dannielle Malcolm
It's 7:50
am Saturday morning and the air is rife with anticipation. Stewards are setting
out judging books and handing out armbands. Video cameras are powered up.
Jackets are donned, bait stuffed into pockets and pouches, and dogs are on the
tables for last minute grooming. Suddenly, the crowd turns as if one, and the
excited rush of voices from owners, handlers and spectators dies as another
sound rises.
"Oh say can you see...by the dawn's early light...."
The national anthem alone holds the power to silence the grounds. I haven't
been to a single show yet where the anthem was not played, and have been honored
to perform this patriotic duty myself at our own breed nationals over multiple
years. I have to wonder, though, how an organization so dedicated to our
nation's anthem can so callously deny the basic rights of its very citizens?
I was shocked to learn that reference was made in The Gazette to a pending vote
by the AKC BOD to consider taking disciplinary actions against exhibitors for
exercising the most cherished of our constitutional rights; the right to free
speech. The following is from the AKC Gazette from the BOD meeting. This was at
the end of the minutes of the August Meeting under
"Items
that may come to the Board for vote in October"
Discipline guidelines for someone who makes derogatory and/or unsportsmanlike
comments regarding AKC events, exhibitors or judges in public forums.
This seems to be yet another tactic AKC intends to deploy in its' increasingly
hostile attitude towards small hobby breeders/exhibitors. The general consensus
among many SHB/E's in the sport today is that AKC does nothing to represent
them, supporting instead high volume breeders and special interests groups.
Interestingly enough, it is the SHB/E who is time and again used as the public
face of the AKC, from high profile competitive events (Westminster) to media
campaigns. You can bet those beautiful puppies in the commercials didn't come
from a high volume facility in the mid-west, but from the loving home of a small
hobby breeder/exhibitor, and I have yet to see a dog with a puppy mill pedigree
take Best In Show!
Implementation and worse, enforcement of such a rule only serves to further
undermine the relationship between AKC and the SMB/E. How many times have we
seen the tragic results of AKC's refusal to investigate claims of fraud and
misconduct? By ignoring the larger problems that corrupt the entire sport of
"purebred" dogs itself, and choosing to embark on a crusade of denying
exhibitors the right to voice an opinion (even in private online forums)
negative to their own position of god-like infallibility, AKC shows us in stark,
living color that there is no respect for the very people on whose backs they
have built their organization.
It's enough to get any red blooded American hot under the (show) collar. AKC is
not a sovereign state, or a nation unto themselves. Show grounds are not
embassies, and we only lose our inalienable rights if we choose to allow other
to deny them.
If the justification for this action is to protect the sport itself, regulations
already exist. Look no further than "Rules Regarding Misconduct At Dog Shows".
The question of what defines 'prejudicial conduct' has been open to the
interpretation of bench committees for some time. So, too, has been the
enforcement. Complaints to AKC representatives at events against SHB/E's are
more often investigated and acted upon than complaints against professional
handlers. This open bias is widely observed but rarely discussed in the open
for fear of retaliation.
Now comes an action that insinuates the ever more restrictive arm of what claims
to be no more than a registration body into personal communications between
exhibitors. Once this door is opened, how long will it be before AKC attempts
to regulate even more personal freedoms? And more importantly, why does AKC
insist on pursuing unfavorable commentary instead of issues which directly
affect stud book, the standards, and the integrity of the sport itself?
We, as SHB/E's, have a few weeks to make our voices heard. We are their public
face and we should be demanding the respect we deserve. When you weigh
registrations from HVB's against entry fees and the related support of judges
(whom they license) clubs (who they extract fees from) and promotional value (Eukanuba
Cup, Westminster, Cow Palace) AKC actually comes up on the losing end of the
equation- they cannot afford to alienate us yet they continue to do so for
one very simple reason- lack of leadership in our community. HVB's have
paid lobbyists who are there to push their agendas through legislators and
organizational bodies. SHB/E's do not, and in fact seem to have trouble
agreeing with each other on many issues. They are organized, we are not. They
are prepared, we are not. They have a budget behind them larger than some third
world countries, we do not. Until we present a united face and take them on
directly, I suspect little will change.
If this issue passes the AKC Board, this article itself may be considered under
the new regulation for action. So, fellow show hobby breeders and exhibitors-
will we allow them the inch, and wait in silence when the miles are taken?
I for one hope not.
Handy links:
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If Dogs Had Wings, Flying With Your Companion Animal
Breed Police aka: Paw Enforcement