AKC FINES, SUSPENDS SPECTATOR

While it seems senseless to fine/suspend someone who doesn’t show or breed, it makes even less sense for AKC to act against the victim instead of the perpetrator!

Oct. 26, 2010 |TheDogPress.com

Barbara "BJ" Andrews, Editor-In-Chief

Palmer Collier made a reasoned. written appeal to AKC to stop what he describes as long-standing harassment of his wife by handler Andrew Green.  Had Collier been as well known in dogs as he is to television, perhaps AKC would have handled it differently.

Collier chose not to take time from his business to travel to AKC’s Trial Board.  Like anyone else outside the sport, he trusted that a detailed letter to the AKC board would be sufficient to elicit an apology from Andrew Green.  Easy-going Collier made a logical assumption which appears to have allowed AKC to shield Andrew Green, a man many believe should be permanently suspended for verbal abuse and foul language.

Collier’s involvement in dogs is limited to his beloved 14 year old Dalmatian.  He is a well known fitness and nutrition expert (see video clips of TV interviews) who rarely has time for dog shows.  His wife Carrie is a successful professional handler who regularly competes against Green in the Samoyed ring.

A subscriber sent us a link to a sports-related website [1] that covers Westminster each year, pointing out the WKC report which included a sidebar entitled “… a crazy dog show feud”.  The reporter, Barry Petchesky, described Andrew Green as “he’s way too intense for someone who gets to play with a Samoyed all day.  I first noticed him when he yelled at a small child who dared to try to pet his dog.”

Green is the son of legendary handler Peter Green, who is now an equally popular and respected AKC judge.

Intrigued by the sports-site coverage and Palmer Collier, who is billed as a "Television Media Health and Fitness Expert", we went to his website [2] and viewed the TV broadcast videos.  He came across as sincere, professional, and more than capable of taking matters into his own hands.

Thankfully for Green, Palmer Collier’s psyche is as fit as his physique.

Andrew’s bad behavior has been frequently discussed and swept under the AKC carpet.  TheDogPress carried a report on Andrew Green’s blowup at a prominent AKC judge, his resulting short term suspension and the timing with which it was finally published.  After Crufts, after Louisville, etc.  [3]

We called Mr. Collier and learned that in April 2010 he had sent a detailed letter to the entire AKC Board and several related departments including Human Resources.  What follows are condensed quotes from Collier’s letter.

“I am not registered with AKC, nor have any dogs AKC registered. I am a simple fan who occasionally stands outside the ring to support his wife who shows and breeds Samoyeds. [4]“I understand that all the AKC reps and judges are frightened of (Andrew Green) …that he is untouchable and no one in the AKC wants to ruffle his feathers. I do not understand how this can be so.”

Collier’s complaint: “Andrew Green has been sexually harassing, embarrassing, taunting, verbally abusing and just plain hostile to my wife for many years now. Enough is Enough! ...  “Four years ago at the Saratoga Springs Dog Shows in Saratoga NY the week before Westminster Dog Show he called my wife Carrie Parma Collier a whore, a slut and a cunt! He called her this in the dog show ring!... Carrie was so intimidated… she was afraid to tell the AKC rep… I should have pressed charges right then and there with local police authorities and the AKC … when Carrie called me on the phone very upset. (but) that would have looked pretty messy on AKC show grounds…

He makes this disturbing point: “Can this get worse? Yes, my step daughter who was fourteen at the time heard about this despicable event … (also) a very confusing message to up and coming handlers of the future. What kind of message is this for a fourteen year old girl when a guy like Andrew Green who is a supposed "GOD" in the dog game can speak vulgarities to a woman … my step daughter was invited to Andrew Green's wedding and gracefully declined shortly after this incident.

“AKC, you have a real problem on your hand! Andrew Green is eroding the fine reputation his father Peter built...Is this the NBA where trash talk is allowed by a bunch of thugs?

Demands apology: “I called Andrew immediately at the time of this incident. I left a message on his kennel voice mail and told him I expected an apology from him. My wife Carrie actually got an in-person apology from Peter Green. Mr. Peter Green did not have to do that but out of respect to a woman and more than likely his disgust from his son's actions, he felt an obligation.

“Andrew sent a letter with one word on it. "Sorry". Unfortunately on the envelope he addressed it to "Mrs. Carrie Parma Dinger Collier". Let me help you out with that, my wife was married to someone before me. I did not appreciate his sick twisted sarcasm! … If he would have addressed the envelope in a respectful manner and written a true apology I would have been fine and moved on. But the abuse continues.

Summary: “So tell me AKC, how would any of you feel in my shoes? What if Mr. Green called your wife a slut, a whore and a C——nt? And if you have a young impressionable teenager at home, would you like them to see a man treat a woman like that? This type of incident makes a woman a victim later in life!

… Well when some one calls your wife these vulgar names and teenagers and junior handlers are hearing that Andrew Green gets away with it, AKC no longer becomes a family sport.

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