Adhering To The Highest Journalistic Standards

PETLAND OUTRAGE LETTERS

#1 DOG REGISTRY CONTRACTS WITH THE #1 PET SHOP CHAIN!

Background: In 2001, TheDogPress reluctantly began to expose AKC's alliance with the puppy mills.  In 2004 we broke the story on the AKC-Petland Contract and in 2006 we established this section for your comments.  Page Two Letters reveals the AKC mass-mailed letter to puppy mills offering them special deals.  The AKC Delegates, many of whom are Insider subscribers, rebelled. forcing AKC to rescind the contract.  Once again, TheDogPress exposure worked, proving that YOU have the power!  By 2008 most had forgotten about the Petland contract but our news analysts see things shaping up for a re-do.  Non-regular classes for Mixed-Breeds, the quest for Puppy Mill registrations; it all adds up.

Sold Out: Do we breeders have legal advice on any of this? Can't the delegates vote no confidence in the Board and force an election? I know nothing of corporate law. Maybe we need a fund-raiser to get a decent lawyer and a couple of lobbyists in the government - AKC is surely a bigger monopoly than Micro$oft.  Wondering where to start...but knowing we have to do something... Virginia M O'Connor vmoc3@laurelton.net

AKC sell-out and the Petland deal.  Editor, I enjoyed reading your article and the information has been on the lists for a few yrs now. Although very succinct and clear, I was disappointed after reading "There are solutions." So what are these solutions? Aside from phoning and writing and e-mailing the AKC to register objections, what is there left to do? Only go to NCA shows? UKC shows? They are rare and far away for me. That's not "saving the AKC" . If you've got some ideas, please share them!  Regards,  Loretta Van Damm, Moonrivermastiff@aol.com owner of 9 AKC titled Mastiffs

Sold Out: I thought "Sold Out by AKC" was absolutely 100% right on. I wrote a similar history of events leading up to this latest AKC debacle the other day on my Westie list. But yours says it all.  Pat Roark innesfree@bitstream.net Innesfree Westies

More on Sold Out: I finished reading the article about the Petland arrangement with AKC. There is little that the author explained about what can be done but went into a tirade about our constitution and founding fathers which took the article off the focus of what breeders can do to fight back.  I would like to see an article written saying that all breeders should be disgusted enough to stop all registration through AKC and not use the pet insurance they offer either or purchase anything or use their AKC credit card -as an alternative, register their dogs with their private breed clubs and not register or show under AKC for several years. If cat and dog breeders are going to make any change there has to be a time when all breeders ban together. Sarah West furkids@wavecable.com

Not True: In Response to L Hart’s letter 9/14/06: This is NOT true. I hate to tell you this BUT this is misinformation.  The contract WAS signed on Sept. 8, 2006 and was announced at the Delegate meeting.  The delegate body could only ask that the Board reconsider.  As with all clubs, we have no control of the board except to vote them out in March. Thomson Stanfield stanfieldt@aol.com  Delegate, Terry-All Kennel Club

Dear AKC, It’s not bad enough you make a mockery out the "Breeders" and Bred-by class, now this!!  You advertise in print and on commercials and have Mr. Ed Biven even commenting at Westminster that showing and the AKC is all about the breeders, yet all of us breeders know it’s about the handlers and dirty judges who ONLY put up the handlers!!  Now throw at us this horrific action of taking on Petland and why should we bother. At this point we should not pay AKC anything; AKC should pay us to register, because without us "Breeders" you would not be the AKC!!!

AKC has almost become as bad as any crooked union nowadays, nothing for the little guy, that they swear they will take care of, just make sure they all line their pockets, and that is exactly what AKC just did!!!  Bonnie Martin SnoCrk1@aol.com

Thank you for your views and the TheDogPress.  I wanted to share with you how I am handling the debacle on the home front here at Brier Goldens.  As a hobby breeder of Golden Retrievers most of my dogs are placed as pets regardless of their potential and the people I place with do not care about an AKC registration.  I would say 99.9% of them will never use the paper for more than a book mark or frame it to cover a bad spot on the wall.  So with that I am now showing my potential families all that they do not get from AKC registration - I show them the "papers", and for the most part most people agree it's about as exciting as a vehicle registration, though I do point out that a vehicle registration actually has a purpose.  Bottom line I am discouraging my pet homes from bothering to send in their application for individual registration.  After all, read the application, you have now two years before it expires!  On a personal level I am still registering my litters and my dogs individually with AKC because I doubt I would ever get one of those exemption letters, since I am barely a speck with my 1 to 4 litters per year.   Bare bones registrations, I will not take advantage of the new "Full Litter Registration Application" that AKC is offering.  I have done the math and I have assessed the alternatives, which I have implemented already for years:

I microchip my puppies before they go home with chips I purchase from AVID directly.  With that because I purchase the chip regardless of if the owner completes the chip registration each chip is traceable back to me by Pettrac.  I provide my buyers with a pedigree that I purchase from Malcarin Pedigree Service which is much nicer than the AKC certified pedigree that does not recognize other registry titles or parent club awards.  And I also educate my buyers prior to and on going with verifiable information regarding but not limited to cutting edge Veterinary medicine, training, and general care.

I ask the average pet home need "AKC papers"?  If so, they just have to pay the late fee...  Here is the math I was talking about too for a litter registration via the new "Full Registration Application":

Litter of 7 puppies: Cost to register the litter with all the frills offered by AKC "Full Registration Application" $277.00 to the breeder. $25.00 and per puppy AKC's Full Litter Registration Application (sorry the link doesn't work, AKC has moved/changed their page URL)

Registration:       $12.00

Pedigree:            $12.00

Lost & Found:      $12.00

Costs for the buyer:  $15.00 to complete the transfer of the dog plus if they do not like the name I chose and I allow it to be changed there is a one time fee of $25.00 to complete this transaction.  Possible cost to buyer:  $40.00

Here is the alternative and my choice:

Application processing fee:  $25.00 and per puppy fee $2.00.  My cost:  $39.00

Buyers’ costs per puppy:  $30.00

Registration: $15.00 (if they choose to)

Pedigree: ZERO - provided by me

Lost & Found: ZERO to AKC register with PetTrac: $15.00

Why on earth would I want to increase my costs for what I can already buy elsewhere for a better value overall?  To support the AKC?  Not in this lifetime, not after how "we" have been treated... Respectfully Submitted, Gina Heitz - Brier Goldens gina@briergoldens.com

I too am appalled by the AKC/Petland action to sell puppies.  I suggest the following to send a message to AKC to get their attention:

1. Larger Breeders/Breed Clubs/Individual Breeders:  Boycott a major breed show in the East, one in the Midwest and one on the West Coast. Contact breed clubs and breeders and try to enlist their support for a 1-show boycott of these specific shows. When large clubs see their revenues drop as well as entry fees to AKC, hopefully AKC will get it. Make as much notification of the program through your "bully pulpit" and why it is being instituted.

2. Individuals:  

a. Publicize a request that all people who show in AKC and object to this new AKC program to eliminate 1 or 2 shows from their next years' schedule. This would include events that include breed, obedience, agility, rally, herding etc. Here the object is not to hurt individual clubs but to send reduced AKC entree fee revenue. If this occurred nationwide, AKC would know it was working.

b. Write AKC and express your displeasure at the action.

3. Individuals/Petland: Write Petland objecting to the program and state you will not support their business at all.

4. TheDogPress and Other Dog Sport Magazines:

a. Immediately develop a blog for this issue at TheDogPress. This way copies of your position can be spread immediately through internet contacts of all breeders and their friends in the various venues. This may be the fastest way to get your position to as many people as possible in the shortest time.

b. Enlist the efforts of your publishing friends and competitors in the dog world to make a united front on this issue. These would include dog hobby magazines, handling magazines and obedience and agility magazines.  Through these sources find other ways to get the point across to AKC. For my part I, I will do items 2 and 3. If enough find ways to express outrage at this plan then maybe a change will take place at Petland and AKC.  Alan Conroy stratford10@hotmail.com

More Letters on AKC, Petland, Puppy Mills, etc.

Explore TheDogPlace.org for authoritative free DogCare information.

If you breed or show dogs, get your news at TheDogPress.com

Judges, professional and owner handlers, be sure to visit TheJudgesPlace.com