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November 2010 - The
AKC Appeals Committee (Dr. Newman, Mr. Arnold, Ms. Scully) denied Mary Wild’s appeal. The Board considered Mary Wild’s appeal of a
suspension that was imposed because she violated the AKC’s Cruelty Convictions
Policy and Wild was tried and convicted in a Missouri court. Specifically,
the Appeals Committee considered that Mary Wild was convicted of eight counts of
animal abuse (knowingly failing to provide adequate care). As a result,
the Committee determined that Mary Wild’s conduct was prejudicial to the sport
of purebred dogs and her suspension was properly imposed. The Appeals Committee concluded that
her sentence was appropriate.
Mary Wild suspended for life,
effective August 9, 2010 and fined $3,000.
So the news that the
entire dog fancy has waited over a year to hear has been delivered but questions
remain:
A) Why did AKC not
immediately suspend her on the basis of incontrovertible evidence (the dead
dogs) in order to protect other dogs and owners? The board could have done
so without affecting her right of appeal.
B) Why did AKC still
refuse to suspend her the minute she was found guilty in a Missouri court?
C) Why did AKC
maintain so much secrecy on this one case?
D) Is it because AKC
has a new Cruelty CONVICTIONS policy?
D) What is the
significance of August 9th? Not when she killed the dogs, not when she was found
guilty...
The
Mary Wild case is a public blemish on the sport.
Scroll to end of page for chronological
coverage links.
Did
AKC have a legitimate reason for delaying
suspension of dog handler Mary Wild for as long as possible and refusing
comment in the year-long interim?
 See
Letter below.
Barbara J. Andrews
TheDogPress
Editor-In-Chief
July 1, 2010
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What
could possibly be so secretive?
In this political climate, we are acutely aware that our elected
officials have wreaked havoc on America by outright lies, backroom
deals, and refusal to acknowledge issues. But why the AKC secrecy
on the Mary Wild case?
TheDogPlace was the first to
make the AKC Minutes available to everyone.
That didn't sit well
with the American Kennel Club. The Minutes gradually became
"abbreviated" into self-praising press releases which we no longer
provide. Executive meetings are private but when outcome affects
the everyday life of breeders and exhibitors, they should not remain
secrete as in the case of
PRIME
and
Petland.
When we began to reveal the screaming inconsistencies in
SUSPENDED
the Board decided to further retreat into its ivory tower of
secretiveness.
In contrast to Mary
Wild, AKC promptly suspended one judge for life on nothing more
than a rule infraction. His action affected no one and certainly
harmed no dog. When members of the dog fancy, through neglect or
abuse, torture dogs to death
AKC should act swiftly and publically to protect its name and the sport
of dogs. Mary Wild is not the first handler or owner to do so.
As regards
The Mary Wild Case,
the prosecutor had a van full of dead dogs in addition to witness
statements as to cause of death and abusive neglect. We interview him
(link below) and it is significant that he filed 8 individual counts which could have (and many believe should have)
resulted in 8 years in prison.
Upon being advised that AKC had given Mary Wild a lifetime
suspension, on Wednesday July 21, The Dog Press attempted to confirm
with Jack Norton, Director Of Compliance
and Margaret Poindexter, AKC General Counsel. Both
refused the calls and both refused
to respond to the follow-up letter below. The dog fancy is left to
draw its own conclusions as to why the AKC board allowed Mary Wild to
continue handling while her attorney postponed her trial for nearly a
year.
The Animal Rightists interpreted it as blatant disregard for the
safety of dogs and have had a field day over AKC's failure to take
appropriate action.
The consensus is and has been that a highly
intelligent and capable American Kennel Club board of directors
exhibited very bad judgment in handling the Mary Wild case, the results of which have personally harmed
AKC breeders and seriously jeopardized the future of WELLbred
purebreds. This was the AKC's golden opportunity to seize
invaluable good press and project a positive image for show and
hobby breeders. We again invite the board to reassure over 20,000
readers and the mainstream media.
August 4, 2010
Dear Mr. Norton and Ms. Poindexter,
I’ve left phone messages for you both but no one has called us
back. I know you are both busy, but our readers have been
following the Mary Wild story and the rumor has been out since
last week that she received a lifetime suspension. If
true, it reinforces our faith that the AKC will do the right
thing. In other words, it is good news for all but Mary’s
family and friends.
Tina Yuhl explained that AKC does not confirm rumors, etc.
I know that. She was very professional in saying that we
would have to wait until it is published in the Gazette. I
am the first to understand that the Gazette has a poor
subscription rate and this is thought to be one way to sustain
interest. On the other hand, I believe that as a ruling
body, the AKC has a duty to keep its customers/constituents
informed about such matters when a decision has been made by the
board.
Everyone understands that being arrested is not proof of guilt.
When an officer of the law fires his weapon, that does not mean
he was in the wrong however, he is put on referral, with or
without pay, until such time as Internal Affairs has reviewed
and decided on the case. I could give you many other
examples such as a school teacher accused of molesting a child
but you are intelligent people; you know the fancy isn’t stupid
and everyone has questioned why Mary Wild was allowed to
continue handling for a year. We would always rather get a
direct quote or explanation of policy than to leave readers
wondering and gossiping. Failing that, our writers are
free to speculate.
If Mary Wild was suspended, it is anything but a closely held
business decision, and since it will (eventually) be published
in the Gazette and in Dog News, can you spare a bit of news for
The Dog Press? We have covered this unfortunate story for
over 9,000 subscribers and would like to conclude converge in a
timely manner.
Thank you in advance for your timely response,
Barbara J. Andrews
Editor-in-Chief,
www.TheDogPress.com
Daily News For The Showing Fancy
As of yet there has been no comment. Mary Wild was convicted
July 1st. AKC has since had one board meeting and is due for another this week.
Was there ever a question on what to do? How is AKC's handling
of this high profile case protecting dogs in the best interest of the dogs?
Get more information and dig for gold
below.
http://www.thedogpress.com/Editorials/10081-Wild-AKC-Response_Andrews.asp
 TheDogPress Coverage
of the Mary Wild story - in chronological order
Dog Handler Charged
-
Mary Wild slept in comfort, 7 dogs died in her van.
Mary Wild Kills 8 Dogs
- charged with 8 felony counts of Animal Abuse
Wild's Trial Begins
facing the judge and up to 8 yrs prison.
Mary Wild Sentenced,
some say a "Mockery Of Justice"
AKC Refuses to Suspend
or comment
on convicted handler Mary Wild
Interview with Monica Colvin, her
top winning Akita among dogs that died.
Mary Wild's Probation Revoked
TheDogPress will continue to provide the net’s most complete
coverage on the Mary Wild case.
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