AKC/BCOA DELEGATE REPORT, 3RD QUARTER, SEPT 15, 1998

The Delegates met in NYC on Sept 15, where the first order of business was elections of the Delegate Standing Committees and Perspectives staff.

Several highlights taken from two full days are first of all to remind each of you that beginning Nov 9, 1998 the AKC's NYC address will be; 260 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016. All telephone and fax number will remain the same.

Secondly, the AKC Board of Directors have informed us that ail fees pertaining to registering a dog or litter have been increased. Effective Jan 1, 1999; to register a litter will be $20.00. To register a dog $10.00. Transfers of registered dogs, and/or supplemental transfers to become $10.00 each. The fee for a pedigree registration combination has been increased to $27.00

A proposal set forth by the Board of Directors was presented to the Delegate body which has created quite a stir of controversy. This is an important ruling that could affect each of us at some point. It is to be an amendment to Chapter 3, Section 6, which is to be deleted and replaced with the following wording: "The American Kennel Club must be presented with properly completed paperwork, including all required signatures, in order to register a litter and/or dog. When a disagreement occurs, the parties must resolve it themselves. AKC will abide by the decision of a court."

AKC is constantly faced with the tremendous problem of feuds and refusal by individuals to sign papers. It is believed by many that it is in the host interests of the fancy for knowledgeable don people, and AKC, to have the final say as to the registering or not of individual dogs and litters, as is presently done. In a court of law the importance of the breeding of the animal or the idea that the papers actually belong with, and to a purebred dog are not fully understood. A highly competent attorney or judge would very seldom also be "dog wise."

I would hope this proposal will be voted down by the Delegates in December, and sent back to be reworked. Perhaps another solution would be to form a separate legal committee of those familiar with the problems that arise in the sport. This committee could then send their recommendations to be acted upon by the AKC Board.

Mr Merriam informed the Delegates that the Board voted to pay reasonable attorney's fees for Mr Martin, who is presently being sued by an exhibitor for his actions at a dog show in his capacity as judge. As I understand the story, Mr Martin excused and disqualified a dog when it bit his hand during examination. The dog then went on to complete it's championship, and this award was later stripped by AKC, since the dog had not been re-instated. This action represents an important president by AKC. They have shown that they will protect financially and stand behind dog show judges who are following the rules set forth by AKC.

We were also informed that the June 1999 meeting will be held outside of NYC in the Raleigh/Durham area. It appears that we can expect a meeting each year to be held outside of the NYC area.

The Board has been seriously discussing an evaluation of the judging application process. This is to be presented for discussion before any adoption of policies.

Mr Merriam during his time on the podium, gave us some of the reasons for the upcoming proposal change to Chapter 3, Section 6. He also touched on one of the more serious ongoing problem at AKC, which is the ability to detect and prosecute signature forgeries.

Mr Merriam also explained that one way to ensure integrity of our registry is for required DNA testing on the sire and dam of each litter. He explained that when this testing is done in the large numbers that the requirement would bring, it should bring the cost down to about $10.00 a dog. It is now about $40.00 a dog.

Since this is an extremely brief report of all that transpired over the two days, I would again strongly suggest that those who are interested in these innovative changes taking place at AKC, take the time to read the minutes of the meetings. They are presented in their complete form in the "Pure Bred Dogs Gazette." I was pleased to see that AKC has taken Delegate's suggestion to publish a brief synopsis of the morning Delegates Forum. (Note that a quorum is not required nor is an attendance record kept.) The discussions at these forums are quite educational. At this forum meeting each Committee head gave a brief report of its Committee's achievements over the year. These Committees are to be highly congratulated for the enormous service they give the fancy. They continue through their combined efforts of time and expertise to face our modern problems and present workable solutions.I would also like to remind each of you that you elected me to serve your interests. I will continue to be available to answer your questions, in person, phone, e-mail.

Respectfully submitted;
Karen Staudt-Cartabona
AKC/BCOA Delegate