Dog News, March 23, 2012

Dog News The Digest Volume 28, Issue 12

Of American Dogs $5.00

March 23, 2012

osey J

GCH. Jade East Do You Know The Way To San JosĂŠ

Dog News 3

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*CC System **The Dog News Top Ten List - All Breed

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contents march 23, 2012

10

editorial

14

irving’s impressions/ ronnie irving

18

high profile breed veterinary checks at crufts 2012/ steve dean

98 handlers directory 100 subscription rates 102 classified advertising

22

question of the week / matthew h. stander

104 advertising rates

26

crufts’ vet speaks out/ alison skipper

34

bests of the week

38

ten questions / lesley boyes

All advertisements are copyrighted and owned by DOG NEWS, Harris Publications, unless received camera-ready.

Permission to reprint must be requested in writing.

44

brace yourself / andrew brace

50

crufts 2012/ barbara lounsbury

62

maid to order/ denise flaim

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the lighter side of judging/ michael faulkner

68

off the leash/ shaun coen

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encouraging breed specific discrimination and more/matthew h. stander

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the gossip column / eugene z. zaphiris

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click - york, pennsylvania kennel club / carla viggiano

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click - crufts 2012 / barbara lounsbury

94

click - the way we were /leslie simis

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DOG NEWS (ISSN 0886-2133) is published weekly except the last two weeks in December by Harris Publications, 1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Periodical Postage paid at New York.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DOG NEWS, 1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010

contents march 23, 2012

10

editorial

14

irving’s impressions/ ronnie irving

18

high profile breed veterinary checks at crufts 2012/ steve dean

98 handlers directory 100 subscription rates 102 classified advertising

22

question of the week / matthew h. stander

104 advertising rates

26

crufts’ vet speaks out/ alison skipper

34

bests of the week

38

ten questions / lesley boyes

All advertisements are copyrighted and owned by DOG NEWS, Harris Publications, unless received camera-ready.

Permission to reprint must be requested in writing.

44

brace yourself / andrew brace

50

crufts 2012/ barbara lounsbury

62

maid to order/ denise flaim

64

the lighter side of judging/ michael faulkner

68

off the leash/ shaun coen

70

encouraging breed specific discrimination and more/matthew h. stander

76

the gossip column / eugene z. zaphiris

86

click - york, pennsylvania kennel club / carla viggiano

90

click - crufts 2012 / barbara lounsbury

94

click - the way we were /leslie simis

4 Dog News

DOG NEWS (ISSN 0886-2133) is published weekly except the last two weeks in December by Harris Publications, 1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Periodical Postage paid at New York.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to DOG NEWS, 1115 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10010

PUBLISHER

STANLEY R. HARRIS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS CREATIVE DIRECTOR

SEAN K. GAFFNEY ADVERTISING MANAGERS

SHAUN COEN Y. CHRISTOPHER KING ACCOUNTING

STEPHANIE BONILLA GENERAL TELEPHONE

212 807.7100 x588 FAX NUMBER

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dognews@harris-pub.com WEB ADDRESS: www.dognews.com SUBSCRIPTIONS

Ian Miller 212 462.9624

GCH. Jade East Do You Know The Way To San José

Jade East Shar-Pei was established in 1981 in Greenville, S.C., by Loretta Anders.

Over the years Loretta, quietly and without fanfare, established an outstanding breeding program. Karel Nijholt, Esmae Minne and Dennis Mackaaij, of the Netherlands, joining the team later, have allowed the Jade East dogs to become known worldwide. They have shown their dogs to championships in numerous countries and have experienced great success throughout Europe.

Feeling the time was right and that they had the right dog to seriously campaign in the USA, they immediately knew who would be the perfect match on the end of the lead. Approaching breed specialist David Williams and finding that he had an opening for a special, they introduced him to Josey.

Since teaming up with David in January 2012, Josey is already a Best In Show and Best In Specialty Show Winner. She is currently the Nation’s Number One* Chinese Shar-Pei (all breed) and the Number 18** Non-Sporting dog. With her beautiful head and expression, outstanding topline and tailset and great movement all wrapped up in a gorgeous red package, she is a contender in any ring.

osey J Watch for David and

They’re going places...

For more up-to-the-minute results, video and photo coverage of the show, visit www.akc.org and to receive daily updates and show results via Facebook, visit www.facebook.com/americankennelclub. *The Dog News Top Ten List **CC System

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Contributing Editors Sharon Anderson George Bell Lesley Boyes Andrew Brace Agnes Buchwald Patricia Gail Burnham Shaun Coen Carlotta Cooper Geoff Corish Michael Faulkner Geir Flyckt - Pedersen Allison Foley Yossi Guy Ronnie Irving John Mandeville Desmond J. Murphy M. J. Nelson Robert Paust Sharon Pflaumer Kim Silva Frances O. Smith DVM PHD Matthew H. Stander Sari Brewster Tietjen Patricia Trotter Connie Vanacore Carla Viggiano Nick Waters Seymour Weiss Minta (Mike) Williquette Dog News Photographers Chet Jezierski Perry Phillips Kitten Rodwell Leslie Simis

DOG NEWS is sent to all AKC approved Conformation Judges every week on a complimentary basis. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form without written permission from the editor. The opinions expressed by this publication do not necessarily express the opinions of the publisher. The editor reserves the right to edit all copy submitted.

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MARCH 23, 2012

the editorial

IT’S STARTING ALREADY!!!

The Board elections are barely over and people are beginning to talk about next year when four seats will be voted upon. Term limits applies to none of the four sitting Directors so it should be interesting to see if any one of the four drop out. Rumor has it three are definitely running with one person undecided as of this writing. Our bet is all four will run-they are Lee Arnold, Carl Ashby, Alan Kalter and Bob Smith.

Tom Davies, who had to retire for a year due to the term limit adaptation, is definitely said to be running again while Mr. Menaker’s status is unknown but one can never count him out of the fray that’s for sure. Of last year’s candidates both Schroll and Sorenson did particularly well for first time office seekers so the odds are high on their running as well. Hopefully John Ronald has finally seen the light and really will not turn into the Harold Stassen of our sport whilst in the wings could be Judi Daniels as well. If it is true that Tom Davies still harbors thoughts of being Board Chairman and Mr. Kalter is as successful as these pages anticipate he will be that could turn into a fascinating contest with Ashby the beneficiary. These pages consider Carl Ashby the most vulnerable of those of the sitting Directors particularly since it is now general knowledge that indeed he did challenge Alan Kalter for Board Chair and lost in a 9 to 4 vote as did his side attempt to have a closed Board vote on the Chairman’s position as well. An open vote was voted for 9 to 4 as well.

How a Davies versus Kalter vote for Chairman would come out presuming Menaker does not run would absolutely define AKC ‘s role for years to come. In that regard the next Board meeting is in April at which time the Officers of AKC are voted upon. This is the yearly vote of confidence and it will be eye-opening to learn what goes on at that meeting if anything is made public at all. While no firings of existing officers is anticipated it would not surprise these pages at all to learn that some harsh warnings and words about certain individuals is not exchanged.

THE CRUFTS MESS There are any number of articles in this issue dealing with what happened at Crufts with regard to the breed disqualifications. The four most important are from Steve Dean, the current Board Chairman of TKC, Ronnie Irving, the former Board Chair, Andrew Brace, and a Veterinarian who acted for Crufts. In terms of strict reporting Mr. Irving’s article probably should be read first as it is a balanced and reasonably accurate explanation of the years prior to Crufts and outlines those factors which lead up to the adoption of these policies. And who should know better than he since he served as Chairman during those years. Draw your own conclusions after you read these articles but be assured that those Americans so quick to call the Crufts “dq’s” a knee-jerk reaction to PDE are truly factually incorrect whilst those warning us to beware that it could happen here as well are not that far off base. The health and welfare of dogs are emotional and sometimes difficult issues to debate and interpret. What goes on in the UK can affect us seriously over here but does not necessarily have to do so. AKC must realize how tender and important these issues are to the American public at large and how 10 Dog News

critical it is to react sensitively to health problems raised. Merely falling back on who owns breed standards may be politically appealing to the constituency of AKC but we need the support of the public as well in these crucial times. Dismissing the British problems as being self made or uniquely theirs undermines the psychological importance the health and welfare of the purebred dog is to the American public at large. To this end AKC must be perceived as a leader in this movement and not merely as a reactor to the demands of the public. We must set the standard not cave into it.

WHY DOGS ARE STUDIED FOR CANCER RESEARCH Researchers have found that dogs have strong genetic similarities with humans as many of the same types of cancers are shared as people and dogs can have similar responses to cancer-fighting drugs as do people.

When diagnosed, dogs often have a shorter survival time than humans, allowing researchers to see if a drug is making a difference in a shorter period. All cancers are believed to have genetic features, though what particular mutation or other aberration is involved with each type of tumor often isn’t known. When this information is discovered, through genetic sequencing, for example, tests can be done to see if the tumor responds to any of various drugs or combinations of drugs. Although the cost of sequencing a genome has plummeted, it is still expensive and therefore not readily available to the vast majority of human patients. And, in line with accepted standards of care, new agents are traditionally tried only in people who have advanced disease or have failed to respond to traditional therapies. With dogs, drugs and different drug combinations can be tried in newly diagnosed animals. There is a plan to launch this year at the National Cancer Institute three clinical trials in dogs with different cancers. The trials will test combinations of medicine based on the genetics of the dogs’ tumors. They will also try to analyze whether drug regimens based on personalized tumor date can prevent cancer from spreading to other organs and lead to longer survival. It is said that trying to understand how to stop metastasis in dogs’ cancer will offer insight into the process in human cancers as well. These clues to cures indicate that researchers can determine more quickly what drugs work and those which do not as a result of these tests.

PET INSURANCE VERSUS CREDIT CARD INCOME For the longest period of time one of AKC’s great sources of outside income came from the credit card people who purchased registered dogs and tied in these purchases with credit cards sponsored by an AKC credit card involvement. As registrations declined this source of income, which was very cleverly introduced by Judi Daniels as President, helped AKC earn extra monies very nicely. Certainly it has not dried up but it has fallen tremendously within the last several years, tied in of course with the drop in registrations. Of interest of course is that USA TODAY in its March 7th issue ran an article about the boom in pet insurance for dogs. Pet insurance providers have grown tenfold during the last decade. Today 11 companies, including AKC’s own Pet Protect, insure pets. Ten years ago there was only one company. This niche insurance product offers different levels of coverage. It is said that AKC income from this source increases annually but certainly is nowhere near what it could be. One must wonder whether Mr. Kalter’s mastery of marketing will apply here and this niche area will become more fully developed for AKC to cash in accordingly. True it is that pet insurance has not caught on in the States the way it has in Europe since only about 1 to 3% of USA dogs are insured as compared with a fifth of the dogs in the U.K.. The market is growing, though. In 2009 revenue for all pet insurance totaled $303 million—a figure expected to jump to $753 million by 2014, according to a report by Packaged Facts research firm. Looks like a fertile field for AKC to develop for sure.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK The failure of the Delegates to vote in the proposed Group Realignment proposal fell in part due to the 2/3rd vote required by the Constitution to change these sorts of By-Law changes. It is reported that the Delegates were basically evenly divided and that it was debatable which way the majority would have voted. But if it is a majority vote in which we believe why can’t AKC operate under that kind of theory and do away with the cumbersome and outdated, antiquated 2/3 vote requirement.

This would certainly go a long way in getting AKC to meet the needs of modern American society and not deny new thoughts and ideas from being passed due to antiquated and passé provisions and by-laws.

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BY RONNIE IRVING

Irving’s

CRUFTS AND THE VET INSPECTION CONTROVERSY

Depending on what you were doing or what breed you were interested in at Crufts Show this year, you may have heard nothing else but outrage about the six high profile breeds being prevented from competing in the group competitions on health grounds; alternatively you may have heard absolutely nothing at all about this issue; or maybe you were among the great many people who found themselves in between these two opposite ends of the spectrum and heard a few rumours but were not all that interested. They knew something was going on but either they didn’t care about it or didn’t want to know! Let me try to give you a summary of the views of the two extremes and a smattering of the opinions of some of those who occupy the middle ground.

Impressions THE FACTS But first of all let us look at the facts. The Kennel Club, for about ten years or so, has been working steadily with fourteen breeds that it describes as ‘high profile’ breeds where the view is that certain aspects of their conformation in the UK, has been subject to exaggeration that could be detrimental to their health and well-being. These breeds are Dogue de Bordeaux, Neapolitan Mastiff, Mastiff, St Bernard, German Shepherd Dog, Pekingese, Pug, Bulldog, Chow Chow, French Bulldog, Shar Pei, Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Clumber Spaniel.

Later the Chinese Crested was added because of some practises in the presentation of the breed. Much constructive work has been carried out by the breed clubs, by breeders and by the Kennel Club during that ten-year period and the majority of observers would agree that a great deal of progress has been made by most, though not all, of those breeds during that time.

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ANNOUNCED A YEAR AGO BUT POLICY CHANGED Unhappy that some judges were ignoring these issues and were not paying adequate attention to the situation, the KC announced a year ago that the best of breeds from those fifteen breeds would have to undergo a health examination by the show vets at all of the UK’s larger championship shows including Crufts.

Meetings were held throughout last year explaining this policy to the vets involved, to the breeds concerned and to senior judges.

Stress was given to the fact that the vets would merely conduct the same kind of visual examination that a judge would carry out, would not be permitted to excuse dogs on aesthetic grounds and would be able to eliminate the dogs only if they were exhibiting a ‘clinical condition’ that was adverse to their health or welfare. Two significant changes to the original Continued on page 30

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FINISHED UNDER ONE YEAR OF AGE BEST IN SPECIALTY SHOW AT 15 MONTHS OLD UNDER TWO YEARS OF AGE WINNER OF MULTIPLE GROUP FIRSTS 32 GROUP PLACEMENTS #7 HAVANESE 2011*

JUDGE MR. KENT DELANY

GCH. MARCOSA’S SLIP SLIDIN’ AWAY OF SKYLINE *All Systems 16 Dog News

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NOW ALL GROWN UP, LET THE GAMES BEGIN…

WINS BACK-TO - BACK GROUP FIRSTS THANK YOU JUDGES MRS. LORAINE BOUTWELL AND MR. JIM BRILEY

OWNERS HANNAH AND CORINNE KOLZOW AND PAT BASS EXCLUSIVELY PRESENTED BY DARYL MARTIN

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A POSITION PAPER BY STEVE DEAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE KENNEL CLUB (U.K.)

High Profile Breed – Veterinary Checks at Crufts 2012 There has been much comment about the veterinary checks of the High Profile Breeds (HPB) which commenced at Crufts 2012 and is scheduled to be repeated at all General and Group Championship Shows for the foreseeable future. The Kennel Club has kept comment to a minimum to permit the dog exhibitors, judges and public to have their say and to allow time for evaluation of the process and the veterinary reports received. However the fact that nine breeds passed the checks and that in the main, the concerns highlighted in those that failed were not linked to problems relating to lameness, skin disorders or respiratory distress, must be a reason for congratulation. It is recognised that even the breeds that failed have made huge strides forward in recent years and this progress needs to continue particularly in relation to externally visible eye disease.

To consider the background – the 1995 European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals listed some 30 breeds detailing deleterious conditions which, it claimed, if not addressed could warrant action to prevent further breeding. The Kennel Club considered the list and reduced it to 14 breeds in line with available evidence in the UK. The Chinese Crested was added later because of concerns that cosmetic shaving or hair removal was causing skin damage.

Why have veterinary checks – The primary reason was to prevent dogs with clinical problems associated with exaggerated conformation competing in the group ring. Only healthy dogs should receive high awards.

The concept of a veterinary check is not new and was introduced three years ago at Crufts on a basis of referral by ringside observers. Breeds were observed from the ringside and BoB winners were referred to the veterinary surgeon if observers believed there was any sign of health or welfare problems arising from exaggerated conformation. In parallel the results of judges and observers scoring for health and welfare of the high profile breed in the show ring are reported in the Dog Health Group’s annual reports (2010 and 2011).

These show how the ringside and the judge can disagree about a breed’s health and welfare status.

This system based upon voluntary referral by observers still yielded occasions where dogs entered the group ring without a veterinary check that were subsequently criticised regarding health and welfare. In part this was because of a lack of referral or the presence of eye conditions that were not easily visible from the ringside but were visible close up.

At this time breeds examined were told where problems were noted but no breeds were excluded at Crufts in 2010 and 2011 following a veterinary check.

In part this recognised the on-going work to rectify some major problems in some breeds at that time. The General Committee therefore considered the recommendation from the Dog Health Group to make vet-

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erinary checks compulsory for the high profile breeds and agreed this would start at Crufts 2012. This would give the KC an opportunity to consult on the planned process and the form of the veterinary examination with the veterinary profession, breed clubs and the Championship Shows.

Experience gained in the examination of dogs during the period of observer referrals was informative and contributed to the development of the procedure for the high profile breed veterinary check. The HPB check was proposed to provide two potential outcomes. Either Best of Breeds would be free of clinical signs of breed related problems related to exaggeration and could progress to the group competition or, where clinical signs associated with pain or discomfort are detected, breeds would be excluded from further competition. In particular it was essential to focus any veterinary check on clinical signs associated with exaggerated conformation, thus avoiding subjective evaluation of excess. In short there had to be evidence that an exaggeration was causing associated pathology.

Associated changes were made to show regulations to allow the judge to withhold a BoB where dogs on the day were not of sufficient quality in terms of health and welfare.

As the judge’s opinion is the basis of the CC award it was decided not to remove the CC award as a result of a failed check but judges would be asked to comment upon why the BoB winner was found to have clinical problems and if they took this into account in their decision.

Consequences of failure – Failure to pass a veterinary check is deemed to disqualify the dog from further competition (i.e. in the Group Ring). It was also decided that a dog would need to pass a veterinary inspection before a Champion status is confirmed to ensure dogs that only won Challenge Certificates at Breed Championship Shows were not excluded from this initiative. Continued on page 46

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*The Dog News Top Ten List - All Breed

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ED. NOTE: This Question was asked last year immediately after Westminster 2011. We thought the answers to be pertinent today in light of the Crufts 2012 problem this year.

the

The question of the week is being sent to all judges who judged one or more of the 15 breeds designated by the kennel club in the u.k. as needing veterinary approval prior to a breed win at Crufts or a championship certificate generally in the u.k.. 15 Breeds were designated as needing veterinary approval by the kennel club in the u.k. after being awarded its breed at Crufts due to the possibility of “clinical signs of pain or discomfort, such as breathing difficulties, skin disorders, eye damage or lameness.� The fifteen breeds were the Basset Hound, Bloodhound, Bulldog,Chinese Crested,Clumber Spaniel,Dogues de Bordeaux, French Bulldog,German Shepherd,Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Pekingese, Pug, Shar Pei and St. Bernard. As the judge of at least one of these breeds at 2011 westminster, did you encounter any visible health problems with any dogs of these breeds upon which you adjudicated?

of the

question week

March 23, 2012

Gary Doerge (judged French Bulldogs, Chinese Shar Pei and Bulldogs) All of the breeds that I judged were presented in beautiful condition with no signs of any health concerns. Why would an exhibitor show a dog any other way?

Polly Smith (judged among other breeds Mastiffs and Neapolitan Mastiffs) No I did not see any evidence of any medical condition on the Neapolitan Mastiff or the Mastiff. I must say the Neapolitan was in excellent condition.

Some of the Mastiffs could have been in better condition. Nothing for a vet, but better overall condition, skin in better shape.

Bob Smith (judged St. Bernards) Of the Saint Bernards that I judged, I saw no evidence of any health problems that a layman could detect.

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BY MATTHEW H. STANDER

Dennis McCoy (adjudicated upon French Bulldogs, Pugs, Pekingese) I had absolutely no health problems whatsoever with my breeds which were very high entry breeds in both French Bulldogs and Pugs. Never once was there anything a Veterinarian could detect in a cursory examination in the problems outlined by The Kennel Club. In fact with the problems named and without meaning to sound superior, I could find them as fast or as quickly as any vet I know! The entire theory is ridiculous to my way of thinking anyway.

Lee Canalizo (judged among other breeds Basset Hounds and Bloodhounds) Two of the breeds I judged at the Garden were Basset Hounds and Bloodhounds. I saw no sign of any entropian problem with either breed--indeed the eyes were totally acceptable. There were no breathing problems, all the exhibits moved freely and happily and all breathed well. There was not one overly exaggerated dog in either breed! I don’t understand what is happening in the UK with regard to the alleged problems with these breeds but I can tell you this, either their breeders are totally off base--which I doubt most sincerely or our breeders are leap years ahead of theirs--which is equally unlikely.

Obviously some “arers” are pushing The Kennel Club and instead of looking at each breed individually to see if in fact breed problems do exist The Kennel Club is overreacting to a situation which in fact does not exist.

Dr. Scott Kellogg (veterinarian, an exhibitor, breeder and judge of German Shepherd Dogs at Westminster) I did not find any evidence of health

problems during my individual and gaiting examinations of German Shepherd Dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club show. No lameness was clinically evident by any of the exhibits.

Burt Yamada (judged Dogues de Bordeaux) I did not observe any signs of pain or discomfort, such as breathing difficulties, skin disorders, eye damage or lameness in the Dogues de Bordeaux that I judged at Westminster this past week.

Marjorie Martorella (judged Clumber Spaniels) I had the pleasure of judging a very competitive entry of Clumber Spaniels at Westminster this year. I have been judging the breed for over 25 years and am amazed at the improvement in the breed. The exhibits at the Garden were all sound and had no difficulty moving (unfortunately, most handlers move them too fast!). I saw no entropian or ectropian eye problems or eye stains from tearing. All of the dogs were in excellent condition with shiny white coats and no discoloration which is often a sign of staph infections. I think the US breeders have done a tremendous job in this breed and it is no wonder why Clumbers are competitive in Sporting Groups and Best in Show.

Paula Hartinger (judged Chinese Cresteds) I encountered no visible health problems in any of the breeds I judged at Westminster.

Regarding the Chinese Cresteds specifically, they all appeared to be a healthy, happy group of dogs that I very much enjoyed judging.

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By Alison Skipper, MA Vet MB Cert VR MRCVS

Crufts’ vet speaks out Reprinted courtesy of ‘Our Dogs’

O

NE OF the few positive things about being one of the two independent vets at the centre of this controversy is that I am, at least, independent. What I am about to write is my own opinion, and nobody has told me what to say, or even asked me to say it.

Most of the other big players in this story have a vested interest of some kind: they are important people in the KC, or the BVA, and so can’t speak completely freely, or they are well known people within the world of dogs, such as important judges or exhibitors. Will Jeffels and I are not any of these things: we trained as vets because we like animals and wanted to work with them, and we volunteered to be the first vets implementing the new show checks because we supported the initiative and decided - rashly, perhaps - to get involved. I haven’t even seen Will for twenty years or so - we didn’t meet during Crufts - but we are united in our willingness to stand behind the reforms.

I grew up on the fringes of the dog show world.

My mother took out our family affix in 1952, and was a regular breeder during the 1950s. I’ve been coming to Crufts since it was at Olympia, with the clickety-clackity old wooden escalators up from the tube station. I’ve been a small animal vet for 22 years, and have had pedigree dogs of my own throughout this time. I used to be very active in Australian Cattle Dogs, and was one of the driving forces behind an international effort in 1996 to source samples to develop a DNA test for PRA in the ACD; this was rewarded by the development of a gene specific test

by OptiGen in 2004. I wrote the veterinary column for “Our Dogs” for over five years. I am currently (unless they kick me out over this) a member of four breed specific canine societies. At the moment, I have four dogs of smaller breeds.

Over my time in dogs, I’ve done a bit of showing, including at Crufts, I’ve bred three litters (with one DIY Caesarian!), and I’ve done club level agility for several years. I work in a small animal practice with lots of dog breeder clients, including some successful show kennels, and a large proportion of working dogs. However, I have never shown dogs seriously, and the one time I judged a match at a fun day, I realised that judging was not for me. What I am, I hope, is an ordinary vet with a strong interest in, and love for, the pedigree dog, a good degree of clinical competence, and enough personal integrity to do what I think is right. I know how the dog game works, but I know very few of the main players within it, and

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these, I think, are the reasons why the KC and BVA appointed me as one of these first two vets.

To go from a quiet life one week to being at the centre of such an emotive controversy the next is not easy, or fun. Why did I agree to do it? It wasn’t for the money; we didn’t get paid. The KC gave me food for the weekend, a bed for the night, and the chance to watch the groups on the days I was at Crufts, which was all very nice: but I could have stayed at home and watched it on TV, and saved myself a lot of trouble. I’m not stupid: I knew it would be extremely controversial, and that I would probably have to make decisions that would be very unpopular. And it wasn’t without personal risk; if I was found guilty of false certification, I could be struck off the veterinary register and lose my livelihood. That’s a pretty strong incentive to be accurate when carrying out a clinical examination.

Choice I agreed to do this because I thought it would help to improve the health and welfare of pedigree dogs. Personally, I see nothing wrong in the ethical production of pedigree dogs, except perhaps for the argument that there aren’t enough good homes out there for the dogs there are already. A healthy, happy pedigree dog obviously has as good a quality of life as a healthy, happy mongrel. However, nobody is compelled to breed pedigree dogs. It’s something we all choose to do. And it seems to me that, if we are choosing to bring new dogs into the world, it’s only right that we should do what we can to produce dogs that are not physically prevented from having a good quality of life. As has often been stated, there are two problems with this that are undeniably more of an issue with pure bred dogs than with cross breeds: the various genetic issues that afflict different breeds, and the issues of health and welfare that relate directly to exaggerated conformation.

For some years, ethical breeders have made huge progress in improving welfare through the various schemes for monitoring inherited disease. This is hugely important, and has clearly helped to improve lives for thousands of dogs; breeders should be proud of what they’ve achieved in this area. But inherited disease is only one side of the coin, and until recently, the other side of the coin, the problems caused by extreme conformation, has been rather overlooked within the dog fancy. The two sides are quite separate - a breed can have very moderate conformation and be plagued by serious inherited disease issues, such as the Cavalier, Continued on page 60

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*The Dog News Top Ten List - Breed points

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Irving’s Impressions Continued FROM page 14

policy happened during that period. Firstly it was agreed that the vets would be able to use pen-flashlights to examine the dogs’ eyes – something that judges do not use. Then, with only a few weeks to go before Crufts, the Kennel Club announced that it would not be using any of the twelve listed members of its own Crufts Veterinary team. Instead it said firstly that it was going to allow the British Veterinary Association (BVA) to appoint the vets. Then when the BVA declined to do so the KC announced that it would be appointing them jointly with the BVA. This happened - but not until about two weeks before Crufts Show was due to take place.

SIX BREEDS ELIMINATED When the show arrived, six of the ‘high profile breeds’ were not permitted to proceed to the group competitions and nine were allowed to go forward. The six eliminated were the Neapolitan Mastiff, Mastiff, Pekingese, Bulldog, Basset Hound and Clumber Spaniel.

The German Shepherd Dog, Pug, Chow Chow, French Bulldog, Shar Pei, Bloodhound, Dogue de Bordeaux, St Bernard and Chinese Crested were all permitted to proceed with no problems reported. The Kennel Club did not initially announce the detailed reasons for the eliminations but later confirmed that most of these were because of eye issues of one kind or another.

THOSE IN FAVOUR As I said earlier there are two opposing points of view on these issues, and then there is a large range of people in between. Those who support the Kennel Club’s stance say that that is the clearest way for the Kennel Club to indicate that it has got the message that the health of pedigree dogs must be paramount at dog shows, and that it, and dog breeders, are committed to improving health and welfare. They say that some conditions from which dogs do suffer are caused by some of the exaggerated features that have crept into certain breeds over the years. They give examples of certain judges sending through to the group competitions, dogs which are lame, suffering from poor eye conformation or have skin conditions or breathing difficulties that ought to be obvious to judges.

They claim that the Kennel Club simply has to take a very hard line on these issues if it is to protect the dog fancy for the other two hundred or so breeds that are not so affected.

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The supporters of the KC line, argue that only 2.5% of the dogs entered at Crufts were from breeds affected by the eliminations and that the reputation of the other 97.5% of purebred dog breeds was actually protected by the KC’s actions. They claim that the policy is not simply pandering to the extreme critics of purebred dogs but is instead indicating to the important and wider general public, that the Kennel Club is determined that shows are a force for good as far as purebred dogs are concerned.

THOSE AGAINST Those on the other side of the argument claim that this is a very unfair approach to the issue. They say that it is nothing more than a knee jerk reaction by the Kennel Club to pressures put upon it by extremists who have decided that dog shows should be banned.

They go on to say that policies of this kind will simply confirm to the public that the extremists, who won’t change their minds anyway, have been right all along. They argue that it discriminates against some breeds which have been working hard to improve their position and they claim that it attacks the very people that the KC should be supporting – namely the breeders, the exhibitors and the judges. Those against the policy are particularly sympathetic to some well-known judges who have been great supporters of the health initiatives that the KC has been promoting for the last ten years or so and have, they say, been insulted by these Best of Breed eliminations. They ask what more the KC wants from the breeders of Bulldogs and some of the other breeds which have been trying very hard to improve health and reduce unnecessary exaggerations? Furthermore they are outraged by the fact that the vets involved in the examinations were allowed to use pen-flashlights and examine the dogs in a way that it would be virtually impossible for judges to do. Equally they believe that the process should somehow be less discriminatory and should be subject to fairer assessment in which the exhibitor’s side of the case should be able to be given.

THE MIDDLE GROUND Even amongst those who agree with the principle of these examinations there are many people in the middle ground who think that the way that the KC has approached the execution of the system has been badly managed.

Some say that the whole policy should have Continued on page 42

*

*Number Two overall, The Dog News Top Ten List - Breed points

Dog News 31

32 Dog News

Dog News 33

MARCH 23, 2012 Leavenworth Kennel Club - Thursday Maltese GCh. Scylla’s Small Kraft Re-Lit Judge Mrs. Robert D. Smith Owners Ron Scott & Debbie Burke Handler Tara Martin Powell Mid-Kentucky Kennel Club I Wire Fox Terrier Ch. Afterall Painting the Sky Judge Mr. Clinton M. Harris Owners Victor Malzoni Jr. & Torie Steele, Mary & Scott Olund & Diane Ryan Handler Gabriel Rangel Heart of America Kennel Club - Saturday Saluki GCh. Sandstorm Blue Nile Bubbles of Jatara Judge Dr. Robert Smith Owners Sandra Middlebrooks, Jackie Harrington and Sara Winsted Handler Erin Roberts Louisville Kennel Club - Saturday & Sunday Doberman Pinscher GCh .Protocol’s Veni Vidi Vici Judge Ms. Beverly Capstick Judge Mrs. Carol Spitzer Owners Suzy & Dick Lundy, J. & K. Mullins Handler Jocelyn Mullins York Kennel Club II Black Cocker Spaniel GCh. Casablanca’s Thrilling Seduction Judge Mrs. Joanne N. Paulk Owners Bruce Van Deman, Carolee Douglas, Mary Walker, Linda Moore Handler Michael Pitts Lancaster Kennel Club - Thursday Border Collie GCh. Bon-Clyde’s Take One Judge Mrs. Nancy Liebes Owner Bonnie Buchanan Handler Greg Strong Galveston Kennel Club Boxer GCh. Winfall I Dream Of Style Judge Mrs. Joan Luna Owners Keith and Cheryl Robbins, George & Barbara Adkins, Tina Porter, Lee Stanton, Jorge Pinson Handler Michael Shepherd

To report an AKC All Breed Best In Show or National Specialty Win Call, Fax or Email before 12:00 Noon Tuesday Fax: 212 675-5994 • Phone: 212 462-9588 • Email: Dognews@harris-pub.com 34 Dog News

Bests Week of the

Delaware County Kennel Club - Sunday Great Dane GCh. Longo Miller N Lore’s Diamond Lil Judge Mr. Dana Cline Owners D. & J. Miller, T. Longo, L. Matherly Handler Laura Coomes

Del Sur Kennel Club II Bouvier des Flandres GCh. Hatch Tillie de la Salsa Judge Mr. Edd Bivin Owners Penny & Terry Peterson, Linda Haskell & Judy Kasper Handler Larry Fenner Evansville Kennel Club - Saturday Miniature Pinscher GCh. Marlex Classic Red Glare Judge Mrs. Carolyn Taylor Owners Leah Monte & Armando Angelbello Handler Armando Angelbello New England Sporting Group Association - Sunday English Cocker Spaniel GCh. Dawnglow Knight Rider Judge Mrs. Suzanne Dillin Owners Elizabeth H. Neff & Sandra LaFlamme Handler Elizabeth H. Neff

American Brussels Griffon Association National Specialty GCh. Chismick’s Lights on Broadway Judge Mrs. Pam Waldron Owners Mark Francis Jaeger and Karin Jaeger Handler Karin Jaeger American Shetland Sheepdog Association Ch. Macdega Soliloquy Judge Mrs. Sue Christie Owners Tom and Nioma Coen Handler Tom Coen

Dog News 35

36 Dog News

*#1 Breed as of February 2012, The Dog News Top Ten List - Breed points

Dog News 37

10 questions asked by LESLEY BOYES of:

David & Sharon

Krogh Born: David - Longview, WA. Sharon - Portland, OR. Reside: Tualatin, Oregon Married 51 years.

One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten 38 Dog News

What year did you start showing dogs and what breeds were they?

We started showing dogs in 1961. First Toy Poodles, but most well known for our Miniature Pinschers.

BIS Miniature Pinschers: Ch. K-Roc’s Black Doubloon (Dubby) and Ch. K-Roc’s Kopper Kidd (Casey).

Which dog no longer being shown would you liked to have shown or owned?

David - Ch. El-Bo’s Taking A Chance on Me (Boston Terrier) Sharon - Ch. Cilleine Masquerade (Brussels Griffon)

Why do you think most people want to judge?

Both - We hope that our experience in breeding/exhibiting can be shared with our exhibitors through our judging. And, we hope MOST judges feel the same!

Who are your non-dog heroes or heroines exclusive of immediate relatives?

David - Bob Hope Sharon - President Ronald Reagan

If you could change one thing about your relationship what would it be?

Both: Too late!!!

How would you describe yourselves in personal ads?

David - Friendly, helpful with a good sense of humor.

Sharon - Kind, considerate and caring.

Do you think there are too many dog shows?

Both: Yes, in certain parts of the country there ARE too many dog shows.

Which are your three favorite dog shows?

David - Del Sur Kennel Club, Greater Naples Dog Club, Leatherstocking Cluster Sharon - Clackamas Kennel Club, Inc. (of course), Louisville Kennel Club, Inc., Orchid Island Dog Fanciers Association, Inc.

Do you think there should be a limit on the number of times a dog may be exhibited in a year?

Both - No, that should be up to the discretion of the owners and handlers.

How do you react to people flying in and out of shows on the same weekend?

Both - we refer you back to answer number nine.

Dog News The Digest

Of American Dogs

In order to further serve the fancy, Dog News will publish the upcoming All Breed and Specialty Breed Show schedules including judging panels, show superintendents and closing dates in the first issue of each month. The next schedule will publish in the april 6th issue (AD deadline: march 30th).

SPECIAL CLUB ADVERTISING Full Page Color: $600 prepaid $675 billed Full Page B/W: $275 prepaid $300 billed Half Page B/W: $200 prepaid $275 billed

Dog News 39

M M

M

Multiple Group, Best In Show and Specialty Winning

M

Ch. Winfall I Dream Of Style Flash Best In Show Galveston Kennel Club Judge Mrs. Joan Luna

Best In Show Kennel Club of Greater Victoria Judge Mr. Raymond Filburn, Jr. Best In Show San Antonio Kennel Club Judge Mr. Vincent Chianese Best In Show Meri-Miss Kennel Club Judge Dr. Steve Keating

Owners Keith & Cheryl Robbins George & Barbara Adkins Tina Porter Lee Stanton Jorge Pinson

40 Dog News

Breeders Tina Porter Lee Stanton

Handler Michael Shepherd Assisted By Dottie James

M

“Macey”

M

Style...

It’s Not Just A Fashion Statement, It’s A Way Of Life

Group First Judge Ms. Jane Roppolo Dog News 41

Irving’s Impressions Continued FROM page 30

been tried out at ordinary shows with a much lower public profile than Crufts. Others claim that the pen-flashlight issue was a big mistake and there are others who find it incredible that the KC did not appear to trust its own veterinary team to carry out the task. They say that the benefits of being able to point to the independence of the vets appointed, would have been far outweighed by using vets who have a greater knowledge of the history of all that is being done by breeders to achieve all they have managed to achieve in improving their breeds.

KC BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE The Kennel Club has a very difficult line to tread. It is between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Whipped up into a considerable state of emotion by a Facebook campaign, a group of over 300 people met on the Thursday evening after Crufts. They have set up a steering group of fourteen people to consider what should be the way forward.

From the information that is so far available, they are to be called the ‘Canine Alliance’ and their aim will be to ‘represent the views of breeders, judges and exhibitors’. The meeting is reported to have been much less emotional and much calmer than the original campaign which brought the group to fruition, and it was also well organised and well chaired. Those present are reported to have voted to ask the KC to suspend its vet check requirements, to agree that the existing system is flawed and to pledge not to re-introduce the checks until the system can be made fairer and less discriminatory. They say that they intend to ensure that a proposal of this kind is put to the Kennel Club at its Annual General Meeting of members in May of this year. If the Kennel Club does not go along with these requests it risks incurring the wrath of the supporters of this group.

If on the other hand it does agree to drop the testing, it will have a big problem in explaining why it has done so to those on the other side of the argument who think that the idea makes a great deal of sense.

There is no question that, by its actions over the past few years, the Kennel Club’s reputation as far as its attention to health and welfare matters is concerned, has been greatly enhanced. The legislators in the Houses of

42 Dog News

Parliament, the vast majority of the sane portions of the veterinary profession, the general media and the general public at large are far more favorably disposed to the dog fancy in the UK now, than they were immediately after the very negative TV program broadcast in 2008. That is why in my last article in Dog News, I was able to report that there had been far less adverse reaction to the sequel to that TV program broadcast a couple of weeks ago and that it had been very much a damp squib. That is also why the general press reactions to Crufts which have sometimes been very negative in the past, were much more positive for this year’s Crufts. The general public is once again accepting that dog shows and the dog fancy is a force for the good of the purebred dog.

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE It is to be hoped that this good news will be very much to the fore when people are working out where to go from here in all of this. The Kennel Club for its part needs to remember the wins that it has achieved over the past few years but equally it must be sympathetic and be seen to be sympathetic to the breeds, breeders, exhibitors and judges that are working hard to make improvements. Equally the newly formed ‘Canine Alliance’ has to, as they say nowadays “Wake up and smell the coffee” and realize that the dog fancy is under threat and that any moves that make it look in any way irresponsible in the eyes of the general public, could well be fatal in terms of public acceptance of our sport as a socially acceptable hobby.

As I said in concluding my comments in my last article on the latest TV show, this all “has to mean that the Kennel Club and the dog fancy here in the UK must keep working hard on all of its various initiatives.” When I wrote that, I didn’t actually realise just how apt it was going to be within just a few days.

I ended that article by saying the following, and I believe it to be even more the case today in the light of happening in the last two weeks -

“The important thing is that the KC must continue to take a strong leadership line on all of these issues. No matter how much others may think they are - no-one else is really in a position to do so.”

Dog News 43

BY ANDREW BRACE

I

Brace Yourself

British Dog People Unite to Say “Enough is Enough”

doubt that there is a DOG NEWS reader who is not aware that at Crufts 2012 six breeds, having been awarded BOB, were examined by veterinary surgeons who had applied for the job (rather than any of experienced Crufts vet team) and “failed the new veterinary check that has been introduced to the show.” The repercussions of this have been shattering.

The first I heard of any problems with the Pekingese BOB was when I received an email on my Blackberry from David Fitzpatrick in the USA which read “I see on the Crufts website BOB in Pekingese was not awarded. Is this because of the vet inspection?

I know Bert would not put up a Peke that could not breathe or walk, David” .

Obviously that sent me scuttling off to find out exactly what was going on and I began to get conflicting reports. Eventually it was confirmed that the Pekingese BOB winner had indeed failed the veterinary check. Of course subsequent press releases did not go into detail but according to Bert Easdon, the breed judge who took this decision a lot more calmly than I would have done, the decision was not based on breathing or soundness but the fact that, having used an opthalmoscope, some vet had decided there was some scar tissue on the eye. When the practicalities of these proposed veterinary inspections were first discussed the KC assured interested parties that the examination was to be a simple hands-on process with no appliances of any description used.

If the vet’s claim was indeed true, how on earth could any judge be expected to pick up on this with the naked eye?

There was a tragic irony in the fact that the breeder of the West-

44 Dog News

minster BIS winner, Malachy, had been banned from the Crufts group ring as Bert’s BOB winner had been a homebred Palacegarden bitch.

Later in the day one of the country’s top winning Bulldogs had suffered the same fate having been judged BOB under revered specialist Pat Perkins and very soon exhibitors across the board were in a flat spin. The speed with which the Crufts press releases about the “failures” was rapid and during the group commentary on Thursday the commentator pointedly mentioned the absence of these two breeds and appeared to be almost gloating about the

fact that they had failed the veterinary examination. Grass roots dog people were horrified.

The general feeling was that the way in which these examinations had been executed had been totally at odds to what the KC had repeatedly promised and went far beyond the “hands and eyes” assessment that should have taken place.

Friday saw Gundogs being judged and the mood was sombre. Almost inevitably the Clumber Spaniel – a Champion in 13 countries, winner of Best of Opposite at the AKC National Championship this past December and previously a CC winner at Crufts 2010 – went off to the vet’s and was failed, much to the amazement of all who know her.

She had travelled from Croatia with high hopes as both the Crufts group and BIS judges had recently awarded her first in the group at major international shows. The breed judge, to make this decision all the more unbelievable, was none other than Ferelith Somerfield, revered the world over for her deep knowledge and experience. Incidentally, the Clumber was bred in Denmark where the health checks are probably the most stringent in Europe.

On Friday night AKC President Dennis Sprung became a global hero when he issued the following statement, having been contacted by the parent club of one of the breeds involved: “My response to staff is below and I am sending to you for PCs to know what is going on as emails and texts are flying (Unfortunately tonight BOB was also taken away from the Clumber Spaniel).

We should prepare a statement after all facts are in. However you can assure and share with everyone that AKC will NEVER allow any such practice to occur. Our Parent Clubs own their respective standard and we support them 100 percent. Furthermore a Judges’ decision is final and we respect that as well. The situation is a very disappointing one here from the point of view of breeders, exhibiContinued on page 72

Dog News 45

High Profile Breed – Veterinary Checks at Crufts 2012 Continued FROM page 18

As the award of Best of Breed would be completed sometime before the veterinary inspection would take place it was not possible to allow another dog from the breed to take the place of BOB in the Group.

This would be impractical from the judging perspective and interfere with the opinion of the judge. It is critical that judges are committed to rewarding healthy dogs Why only 15 HPBs – is this unfair and discriminatory? The 15 breeds were selected on the basis of risk – the likelihood of conditions occurring associated with conformational exaggeration. Each of the 14 breeds (excluding the Chinese Crested) is commonly linked with exaggerated conformation, generally accepted as leading to clinical signs of pain or discomfort on sufficient occasions as to cause concern.

It is recognised that other breeds also have degrees of exaggeration but these are currently considered to be of a lesser risk due to the extent of the clinical consequences within these breeds. However the KC has recognised this as an issue and is considering how breeds might be added or removed from the HPB list according to the general health assessment for each breed considered from time to time. Breed Watch lists various concerns about health conditions in all breeds, including conformational issues and this is completed by the breed and judges. Breed Watch should be sufficient at this time for maintaining or improving the health and welfare of breeds not currently included on the HPB list. In short the risk to health is greater for the 15 listed breeds but breeds can be added to the list if a case is made that health and welfare is significantly compromised by exaggerated conformation.

Any BoB winner may be referred to the show’s veterinary surgeon if there are concerns about health or welfare. In addition, judges have the ability to withhold BoB awards and exclude dogs from the ring if they have concerns that a dog’s health and welfare is compromised. The veterinary check is therefore an additional control, because the 15 breeds listed all have a significant risk of exaggerated conformation leading to health and welfare concerns and the KC has a duty to ensure this is addressed in the show ring.

Vet inspection – The veterinary examination was first proposed in 2010 and modified throughout 2011 following consultation with breed clubs and veterinary surgeons. The detail is available on the KC website.

In summary the examination is a visual and manual assessment of four main areas: adnexal eye conformation (i.e. eyelid conformation and other external tissues around the eyeball); respiratory efficiency and exercise tolerance; skin condition related to skin folds and other exaggerations such as ears and tails; and soundness on the move. All four areas are commonly associated with perceived exaggeration in the HPBs. In each case associated clinical signs of pathology are looked for as an objective assessment of exaggerated conformation.

It became evident during development of the scheme that eye defects would be the most difficult to assess. At first it was recommended that the presence of ectropion or entropion would be a disqualifying fault (for clarity, any visible haw is a sign ectropion exists). However it was agreed, taking expert opinion, that some breeds do permit ‘a little haw’ and thus several breeds were likely to fail the vet checks repeatedly if this measure was strictly applied.

Thus for the eye, typically the veterinary surgeon is expected to note any ocular pathology. For example inflammation of mucosae or white of the eye, scarring or pigmentation indicating chronic damage to the cornea, evidence of surgical intervention to the eyelids and significant overflow of tears (epiphora) or blepharospasm (eyelids squeezed shut). All these signs would help establish if an eyelid malformation was capable of resulting in problems of pain or discomfort.

Respiratory function is assessed by observing respiratory rate, ease of inhalation and expiration, tolerance to moderate exercise and the presence of respiratory noise. Skin folds and tightly curled tails are assessed by looking for associated inflammation or infection of the skin in the depth of the folds or scarring from previous infection. Musculo-skeletal soundness is assessed by the presence or absence of lameness.

Veterinary surgeons who normally officiate at Championship Shows have been briefed. They were informed that they are not intended to judge the dogs in the manner of the show ring. Their examination is intended to be identification of the clinical signs leading to concerns about health or welfare and no diagnosis is required. The report form does provide the veterinary surgeon the ability to comment on other conformational factors that were worthy of note but do not form part of the examination.

The issue of diagnostic equipment has been raised by exhibitors at Crufts. Advice to the veterinary surgeons throughout the past year has been not to use any diagnostic aid with the exception of a pen torch where lighting is not adequate. A pen torch was used on the first day but following complaints better lighting was placed in the veterinary examination areas and no further use was necessary. So to confirm – no other diagnostic aid was used and it has been agreed that pen torches will not be used in the future.

The process of checking – Specific areas for veterinary examination were provided in each of the four halls so that the distance a BoB needed to travel was minimised. This also prevented the regular veterinary area from becoming over-crowded and avoided the anticipated press interest compromising the usual work carried out there.

The stewards used were experienced having helped with previous Crufts examinations. They were instructed to wait for the BoB to complete their post judging celebrations and to accompany the exhibit to the veterinary check area. Their job was to ensure the veterinary surgeon and the BoB met efficiently and to exclude press and other third parties from the process.

After much debate it was decided to exclude everyone from the examination other than the owner/ handler, a show official and the veterinary surgeon. Furthermore the results of examination are confidential – communicated only to the owner/handler and the KC. A copy of the report is retained by the veterinary surgeon.

Timing of examinations – It has been suggested the veterinary check took as long as 15 minutes and that this is unacceptable because the judge has only a few minutes to look at each dog. However the time includes a conversation about the process to be followed and completion of a report copied to the KC, the owner and for the veterinary surgeon’s records. 15 to 20 minutes on these first time veterinary checks seems reasonable and is consistent with the time taken to conduct previous checks carried out at Crufts.

Why not use the Crufts veterinary team – The Crufts veterinary team are busy on occasions with the Continued on page 52

46 Dog News

&

Multiple Best In Specialty Show & Multiple Group Winning

GCH.PYRLESS NO-BRAINER

“RALEIGH”

Our appreciation to Judge Mr. William Shelton for awarding Raleigh this Specialty Best of Breed, and a Group Second. In addition, Raleigh’s daughter in the 9-12 class was awarded WB, BP, BW and BOS over six special bitches, and a Puppy Group Third. Her litter sister in the same class was awarded RWB.

Breeder Dr. Valerie Seeley

Owners Sean & Rebecca Garvin PyrlessGreatPyrenees.com Handler Sue Capone, PHA

Dog News 47

48 Dog News

Dog News 49

Big Doings in

This year marks my 17th consecutive visit to the world’s largest dog show, the Kennel Club sponsored Crufts that occupied the National Exhibition Center in Birmingham, UK from March 8-11th. An astounding 21,029 dogs were entered in conformation, obedience and agility this year, down only 393 since 2011. Highest entry, as usual, was in Goldens, with an amazing 516 dogs and bitches entered, and there was a record 1388 overseas entries, a 13% increase over last year. Thirty-eight countries were represented, with the largest being the Netherlands (178), followed by Ireland (162) and Germany (140). The U.S. fell in the middle of the pack with 36 dogs entered, up from 19 last year.

Intrepid exhibitors made their way from Australia, Chile, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Thailand, each with one dog and high hopes.

50 Dog News

Birmingham Crufts 2012

By Barbara Lounsbury

T

Continued on page 118

he show began on Thursday with the Toy and Utility groups benched and judged on the day. It was a busy and special day for me, as my friend Geoff Corish was judging the Utility (Nonsporting) group that evening. Since partner Michael Coad was showing dogs, Geoff had asked me to be his “date” for the very chic judges’ luncheon put on by the Kennel Club…cocktails, white gloved servers, the whole deal. There were about half a dozen large round tables occupied by supporters (and future supporters) of the show, some members of the show committee, Chairman of the Kennel Club Dr. Steve Dean, and other notables. I sat next to the President or CEO of the British Veterinary Association (sorry, the name escapes me) who was attending his first Crufts. He was, as you might imagine, full of questions about how the dog show world in the U.K. compares to the U.S. (“no comparison” is the simplest answer). I enjoyed chatting with toy judge Annette Oliver who was also at our table. I was disappointed that I didn’t have the chance to meet Dr. Dean.

Usually the KC Chair does a “meet and greet” before lunch, but he was seemingly occupied at the other end of the dining room for the duration. Of course, the President of the show makes a brief appearance around the hall, and then departs for other royal duties, he being HRH Prince Michael of Kent, cousin of the Queen. In his “Welcome to Crufts” announcement in the catalog, Prince Michael said “Health will once again be a key requisite that the judges are looking for when making their selections, along with breed type, good temperament and sound conformation. Indeed, it will be a focus throughout the show…” [italics mine]. This seemingly innocuous quote will go down in history as an understatement of epic proportion.

It was only a few hours later when Geoff and I were stopped by someone in the hall.

“Did you hear?” said he. “The Peke didn’t make it through the vet check!” Whaaat??? We asked him to repeat the news. “We’ve heard,” he went on, “that they found something wrong with the Peke and he won’t be going Continued on page 74

Dog News 51

High Profile Breed – Veterinary Checks at Crufts 2012 Continued FROM page 46

routine of veterinary duties at the show. The KC decided to appoint a specific veterinary surgeon to conduct HPB checks, as we do with subsidised eye testing carried out each year in the veterinary centre. In addition, in the past the KC has been criticised that the veterinary surgeon used at Crufts in the past had potential conflicts of interest, being a member of the KC and a GC member. Therefore the KC sought help from the BVA to appoint a suitable veterinary surgeon so that third parties would be reassured of the veterinary surgeon’s impartiality.

The veterinary surgeons selected volunteered as a result of a letter from the BVA president in the Veterinary Record. The past BVA president and the KC Chairman selected the veterinary surgeons jointly using a brief CV submitted by each applicant and agreed on the selections made. No suitable veterinary surgeon was able to attend on all four days and so two were selected to cover Crufts Dog Show.

Both are General Practitioners with background experience of either veterinary duties at Championship dog shows or with some historical experience of breeding and showing dogs. They are reasonable, sensible, experienced veterinary surgeons and I have every confidence that they followed their brief accurately and that their conclusions were valid.

Outcome – Nine of the 15 breeds passed their health checks and six did not. The KC always stated that the details of the health check would be kept confidential. If however an owner, as some have done, chooses to make the report public that is their right to do so. It is clear that eye problems dominated the findings of the veterinary surgeons.

Follow up veterinary checks have been suggested to refute the findings of the Crufts examinations.

This is understandable, as in many cases the clinical aspect may change over time. However no certificates of examination have been presented to the KC and when they are we will investigate their findings further.

There has been considerable focus on the negative impacts of these veterinary checks on the owners and judges, but the positive aspects for the breeds concerned should be considered. None of the dogs examined exhibited significant breathing difficulties or lameness. Given the number of brachycephalic (short muzzled) dogs and breeds associated with inherited skeletal conditions within the 15 HP breeds this is encouraging. Apart from two dogs with ear inflammation (which was not used to disqualify any dog) there was no reported skin inflammation or infection related to skin folds or tail conformation. This is all good news and demonstrates that judges did put forward otherwise healthy dogs. However some did have signals that their eye adnexa are causing problems.

A consistent finding in several breeds was the presence of eyelid defects (either entropion or ectropion) but in all cases signs of current inflammation or chronic damage was observed and linked to these conformational defects before a dog failed the veterinary check. The disputes arising from these findings indicate further consideration is necessary about how the problem of eyelid conformation is evaluated in all breeds in the show ring.

Consultation and communication – Several meetings with show veterinary surgeons, breeds and show executives took place during 2011, includ-

52 Dog News

ing one session dedicated to the problems veterinary surgeons would be looking for, including the effects of poor eyelid conformation. Booklets were produced for the veterinary surgeons. There was also press coverage of the changes to the rules associated with veterinary checks.

Views on initiative – It is very regrettable that we need to use a veterinary check before the Best of Breed award can be confirmed at Championship level and I feel very sorry for those whose dogs failed the check. However it is important to realise that 15 High Profile Breeds do have conformational exaggerations that have led to avoidable conditions causing pain or discomfort and this has to be unacceptable to all of us.

Much work has been done by the breeds to move away from these exaggerations and in a remarkably short time. As the KC, we have to provide the right framework to ensure dogs win at shows because they are typical of their breed and have good health. The veterinary check is just part of that framework and if breeders, exhibitors and judges play a full part, then the veterinary check should be a simple confirmatory procedure that could be dispensed with within a decade. However we must recognise that some breeds will struggle with the veterinary check for some time to come.

Although six dogs failed they did so principally because of adnexal eye conformation, already well recognised in several breeds but the degree of their seriousness is not yet an agreed consensus. As a personal view, a dog with a sore eye is not much different to a dog with a sore skin or lameness. We can say that where these are exhibited in a minor way they are less serious than more overt cases but even if the dog is otherwise outstanding, is it right to put it forward with a clinical problem even if this is transitory? This is clearly a question for debate.

Can we expect a judge to notice the same level of eye disease as a veterinary surgeon? This is a question that needs to be considered. Equally can we continue to accept ‘some haw showing’ or descriptors in breed standards that suggest triangular shaped eyes? These are all divergent from the normal eyelid that dogs need to maintain good ocular health. Blame is not relevant at this stage for haws have been with us in some breeds for more than a century and even the veterinary profession have only recently made moves to pay more attention to adnexal eye conditions.

What about other inherited diseases - There are health schemes to deal with many inherited diseases and these will be considered in the show ring only if they produce observable clinical signs (e.g. lameness due to hip or elbow dysplasia). There are no plans to demand health certificates or health test results at dog shows.

Other breeds – It has been suggested there are other breeds with conformational exaggerations and a policy is being developed on how other breeds may be added to the HPB listing. However the KC would encourage other breeds to follow the trend to improve conformation, particularly in terms of eyelid conformation.

There will be other questions that some will want answered and we will endeavour to address as many of them as possible in due course.

Best In Show Winning

GCh. Whistlestop’s Riley On Fire And yes she is!!!

Our sincere appreciation to Best In Show Judge Mr. Kenneth McDermott

Our heartfelt thanks to Rick Krieger for piloting Riley to a Best in Show win while owner/handler Greg Siner was across the Judge Mr. Danpond a P. CliatneCrufts showing Riley’s sister, Claire, to the Bitch CC while her brother, Merlin, won the Best of Breed and First Place in the Gundog Group.

Congratulations to all the litter mates!

Thank you Judges Mr. David Kittredge and Mrs. Madeleine Fish

Owned by: Tom and Bethany Urban – Issaquah, Washington Bred By: Colleen McDaniel and Stacy Duncan Owned/Handled By: Gregory Siner – Poole’s Ide Irish Water Spaniels Dog News 53

00 Dog News

Dog News 00

CRUFTS’ VET SPEAKS OUT Continued FROM page 26

or it can be relatively healthy in terms of invisible problems and yet have clear issues with some aspect of its body structure.

This high profile breed scheme is a hugely important step towards reducing the problems associated with extreme conformation. Nobody ever said, “Oh good, I’ve produced a puppy which is going to suffer pain as a result of the body shape I chose!”, but it’s all too easy to overlook chronic low-level discomfort, and I think it’s undeniable that some breeds are associated with issues of this kind. Dogs that have always had exposed, irritated inner eyelids aren’t going to scream with pain or stop eating because their eyes hurt; they don’t know any differently, but surely the same dog would have a better quality of life if its eyelids fitted better to the eyeballs. It must be better to be a pug that can chase its friends in the park than to be a pug that struggles to walk along a path. Surely these things are not in dispute, or they shouldn’t be.

The brief that Will Jeffels and I were given by the KC was very clear: we were not meant to assess conformation in the same way as a judge would, and we were not meant to penalise a dog because of any aspect of its shape or structure, unless we felt that attribute had led to a problem with its health or welfare. So we couldn’t reject a dog just because it had a short face or lots of skin folds, for example, or because we didn’t like the way it moved: only if it had trouble breathing, or a skin infection, or was lame, as a result of its structure. We were chosen to do this, rather than specialist vets, because Steve Dean thought it would be unfair for judges to be over-ruled by, for example, specialist ophthalmologists, because they might notice things that no judge could be expected to see. He thought that experienced general practitioners would know what’s normal and what isn’t - we earn our livings doing it - and would be able to see obvious problems that a judge could also see. The Kennel Club told us exactly what they wanted us to do, and then left us to go and do it. They did not try to influence our decisions in any way. We could have passed - or failed - any or all of the fifteen dogs quite freely. It is sad that some dogs failed, but I think it shows that there is a need for this scheme: if we had been assessing a group of Borzois or Cairns or Dalmatians, I don’t think any would have failed.

Obviously, I am bound by professional confidentiality and cannot comment on any of the dogs I examined. The owners are not so bound, and I would be happy for any of the owners of the dogs that I examined to make public the form I signed, in its entirety. I wrote several comments on most of them, and many of the comments I wrote were positive, even on dogs I failed.

I have enormous sympathy for the owners of the dogs that were failed. It must have been disappointing, embarrassing and humiliating, and it gave me no pleasure at all to do it. There are several general points from the 60 Dog News

examination process, however, which I think are worth emphasising. Firstly, there are many possible reasons for failure. Some of them may be temporary: lameness, for example, may have gone by the next day, but one fundamental rule of veterinary certification is that you can only attest to what you see before you at that moment; you cannot speculate on what the animal might have looked like five minutes earlier or five minutes later. Also, as with judging, there may be problems that are found on close examination of a dog that would not be visible from the ringside. Secondly, it’s obvious from the photographs on the Internet that some of the BOB winners which failed were indeed of more moderate conformation than some other dogs within that breed. It must have been particularly galling for those owners to fail. However, we weren’t being asked to judge whether a particular dog was better than the breed aver- age: we only examined the winner, and if the winner still had a problem that affected its welfare on that day, our task was to say so. If it displayed the least extreme conformation in its breed, then the judge had done the best job they could from the stock available, whatever the end result; and if the winner showed far more moderate conformation than would have been the case a few years ago, then that is still to be praised, even if there was still a problem.

One thing that I am angry about is that the media coverage is focused so exclusively on the dogs that unfortunately failed. I wish there were more attention on the dogs that were passed. Nine dogs were judged the best of their breed, passed as free from issues that were affecting their health and welfare, and went on to compete in their groups, with several being shortlisted by the group judges. Those breeds should be enormously proud of what they have achieved, because in many cases the winners were indeed of far less exaggerated conformation than they would have been a few years ago, which is a great cause for celebration. Those breeders have done wonders. For example, even Jemima Harrison has written positively about the winning Bloodhound on her blog, which is remarkable. I was really glad to see “my” Bloodhound in the big ring, moving soundly and with eyes free from discomfort. That’s what it should all be about.

It’s natural that emotions should be running high; change is often difficult. And it’s inevitable that there will be teething problems in a new and unprecedented process. Everyone who was involved in this endeavour will have learnt from it, and certainly there are some aspects of it that can be improved. Will Jeffels and I strongly feel that the initiative is worthwhile, and we are continuing to support the Kennel Club in its efforts to promote healthier conformation. Dog showing is a sport, a hobby.

The world would still spin on its axis if there were no dog shows. If we choose to spend our leisure time, or in some cases our careers, in the world of dog showing, we should remember that we wouldn’t be able to do it without the dogs, and the least we can do in return is to choose healthy body shapes for them to live their lives within.

Thank you for reading this.

Dog News 61

Maid To

62 Dog News

Order

When we talk about getting an “education” in dogs, that usually means a magpie approach: snatched ringside conversations, seminars by experts both real and selfanointed, books on canine conformation with a forest of diagrams, and maybe dinner with a pillar of the breed, with the hope of a few pearls amid the rigatoni alla vodka.

By Denise Flaim

W

asn’t always so. Great Britain has a long and distinguished history of churning out master dog men and women – as well as the polished kennel help to aid them in the daily care of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of dogs. The 1930s were the heyday of kennel-maid schools in the United Kingdom, a place for young ladies to learn a trade at the hands of distinguished and accomplished dog folk – many of them women themselves.

“For the real dog-lover who must earn her own living what more delightful profession can there be than that of kennel-maid?” began an article on the training program at Bell Mead Kennels in Haslemere, Surrey. “Competition, however, is keen in these advanced days, and in order to rise to the enviable heights in any sphere one must be trained.”

And trained they were, in everything from feeding and grooming to exercising and whelping. Huddled around a white-coated instructor, the young women observed proper technique in bandaging injuries, brushing teeth and clipping nails. Some schools had veterinarians in on a regular basis to lecture on disease management and first aid.

Not surprisingly, many of the kennel-maid schools grew out of established breeding programs, such as the Ardross Kennelmaids College, in Ashford, Middlesex, which not only bred its line of well-known Airedales, but also incorporated the kennels of the Westrena Wire Fox and Sealyham Terriers, and Cumnoch Scottish Terriers. The Nunsoe Training Kennel for Ladies in Crawley, Sussex, had Poodles that were world known, to this day. Bell Continued on page 84

Dog News 63

The

BY Michael Faulkner

Lighter Side of Judging Goody Bags

T

oday when I receive a letter, a phone call, an email or a Facebook-inquiry regarding my availability to judge abroad, I think long and hard before saying, “Yes.” The romantic allure of faraway destinations has taken a back seat to quality, valuable time at home with Big Michael, the cats, the dogs, and our close personal friends. However, seventeen years ago I jumped at the chance to experience my first international judging assignment.

July 1995…newly approved to judge all Sporting breeds… my mentor and dear friend Dr. JD phones. I walk across the kennel room and lift the receiver of the princess phone from the wall. It’s great having an extra-long cord attached, allowing me mobility within a twenty-five foot radius. “Hello my good boy. How the hell are you?” Dr. JD asks.

“And what do I owe for the pleasure of this call?” I reply. “Well, I would like you to join me on a judging journey to Columbia, South America, next month. Oh, and don’t worry about a thing! They will take very good care of us. We will have armed security available at all times,” Dr. JD assures me. “WOW – sounds great!” I say with little concern about the political tension of the time and the security risks. Dr. JD continues to share his past foreign judging experiences with me and further explains how this trip will be an important experience for me professionally. “I need to run into the house and check my schedule.

Hang on,” I share. Ms. B, our friend and kennel manager, comes to my rescue, holding the kennel extension phone quietly to her ear, listening for me to pick up one of the receivers in the house. I enter through the back door.

Once inside, I grab the new cordless phone from its docking station, which rests on the kitchen counter top. Thankful for the large antenna and the ability to speak up to one hundred feet away from the base, I proceed 64 Dog News

to my office and desk. Reaching for the top, I collect my newly purchased Mr. Carl’s Judge’s Ready Calendar. It arrived in gloriously pristine condition ten days ago. I speak into the cordless hand-held receiver. “Dr. JD – good news. I am free on those dates in August and I would love to join you.”“Wonderful…I need to fax my friends in Columbia and I will get back with you soon with more details,” Dr. JD quickly responds. He hangs up before I can say goodbye.

“What the hell am I thinking? I just agreed to travel to a high-risk, high terroristthreat country to judge a dog show. A ruthless drug cartel will kidnap me and hold me hostage in some remote steaming jungle location, with no wine cellar and with little hope of return. I will live the rest of my life as a cartel member, as I cannot think of one family member or friend who would be willing to or able to produce millions of dollars for my release. Yes, high-risk jungle life is my destiny.

After the initial year or two of brutal torture, I will creatively view my existence as an opportunity to immerse myself in a comprehensive Spanish language learning program.” This positive twist to the end of my intense out of body experience (OBE) provides me with the self-assurance I need to plan and pack for the boarding of Delta flight to Atlanta (ATL) from Lexington (LEX), connecting to Cartagena (CTG) aboard Avianca Airlines and ending with a flight to Medellin (MDE).

I agree to meet Dr. JD at the Delta Crown Room in ATL, terminal E. Not yet an experienced traveler, worthy of membership, Dr. JD agrees to wait for me just inside the entrance door in order to escort me to relaxationand-libation-heaven as his VIP guest. Dr. JD is dressed in his usual light beige and white all-American tracksuit with a black man-bag draped over his left shoulder. I, on the other hand, sport loose fitting jeans, black boots,

black shirt, and black sunglasses in hopes of throwing the Cartel off guard, once we land in MDE. “Michael, now listen. The trick to traveling is to have two stiff drinks and then down a Tylenol PM. You will feel great when you land ---all rested, and no memory of a long flight,” Dr. JD coaches with a big grin on his face while boarding Avianca Airlines to CTG. I take the liberty of grabbing a couple of magazines and newspapers before taking my seat. We find our seats on the far side of the plane--a three-seat configuration. I take the window seat, leaving the middle seat empty and Dr. JD occupies the aisle seat to accommodate his frequent visits to the restroom and to routinely stretch and flex.

The airliner reaches cruising altitude in short time. A very good-looking young man (VGYM), working for Avianca, approaches. “Excuse me, gentlemen. May I get you a beverage?” Before I have a chance to respond or even nod, Dr. JD takes control. “Yes, you may. Now listen carefully, as I do not like to repeat myself.

I would like a glass of water with no ice. I would like a second glass, filled halfway with ice, along with two bottles of scotch.

Please, do not open and pour my drink. I prefer to do this myself. Thank you!”

Rolling my eyes and wanting to burst out in laughter, I order. “Thank you.

I would like a glass of water and a wine.

You may choose, if you would like, to open and pour the wine.” At that, VGYM flashes a huge grin on his handsome face and returns to the galley to retrieve our drinks.

It takes Dr. JD several minutes to organize his personal space, including half Continued on page 101

Thank You Judge Mrs. Paula Hartinger

Dog News 65

*CC System 1993-2012

66 Dog News

*

**

*CC System **Number Three overall, All Systems

Dog News 67

W

e are in the throes of March Madness, not only with the NCAA basketball tournament, but on the canine legislation front as well. Like the tournament, these battles are often spirited and unpredictable, some ‘sleepers’ seemingly come out of nowhere and become formidable opponents, and others are one-sided mismatches.

Thankfully the dog owners in Maryland emerged victorious in their contest over House Bill 912, which sought to change the word “owner” to “guardian” in numerous places within the state’s animal code. Such a change would’ve restricted the rights of owners and veterinarians to protect and properly care for dogs, and could’ve been the first step in a larger campaign to end the keeping of pets and breeding altogether. However, an overwhelming number of those opposed to the bill reportedly attended a hearing on March 1 by the House Environmental Matters Committee, which in turn gave an unfavorable report on the bill, which is not expected to advance this year. Kudos to all who took the time and effort to protect their rights as owners and to protect their dogs. The Maryland Dog Federation and the American Kennel Club are to be commended for rallying the troops and getting the bill defeated. It would be good form to drop a note of thanks to the members of the House Environmental Matters Committee for giving HB 912 an unfavorable report and protecting the rights of responsible dog owners in Maryland, lest the issue be brought forth again. The ‘owner vs. guardian’ battle has become a popular instrument in the AR extremist toolkit on local, city and state levels– see San Francisco, CA; Boulder, CO; Sherwood, AZ; Menomonee Falls, WI; the states of Rhode Island, Maryland and Massachusetts, to name but a few– and dog owners everywhere must be aware

Offthe

of the legal ramifications of the distinction and be prepared to fight it in their neck of the woods, too.

In Louisiana, a bill further threatening the rights of responsible owners has been filed. House Bill 163 would further limit the number of dogs an individual may own, impose vague and inadequate care and conditions requirements, prohibit the use of stacked cages and crates (even temporarily!), and the use of wire flooring. Dog owners and fanciers in Louisiana are urged to contact the bill’s sponsor, Representative Anthony V. Ligi, Jr., and members of the House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee to let them know you oppose the bill, as there is plenty to take issue with in HB 163. For starters, the bill seeks to remove the qualification that to count toward the ownership limit, a dog must be at least one year of age. This could have dire consequences for breeders, who if in possession of litters of puppies could easily go over the ownership limit.

Breeders may be forced to sell puppies before they are ready, or relinquish dogs in order to come into compliance with the law or else face fines or jail time.

Show-goers and show sites would undoubtedly be impacted by the prohibiting of any “stacking of enclosures—in homes and kennels, during transport and at events, including dog shows.” This would undoubtedly and unnecessarily negatively impact dog show-goers —can handlers of multiple charges imagine managing at cramped show sites should this proposal come to fruition?— who take proper care of their dogs.

If owners, handlers and breeders are not allowed to stack secure crates or cages for even short periods of time in a sanitary manner, they may be forced to invest in new, more expensive equipment, or they may have to relinquish some dogs or charges. AKC-affiliated clubs would

be negatively impacted by such a provision as well. Clubs may have to find alternative, larger and presumably more expensive facilities in which to host their shows. A club faced with finding more expensive facilities will be forced to pass on those expenses to exhibitors, who may already be fiscally impacted in order to comply with the prohibition. In all likelihood this scenario will result in fewer entries, and possibly fewer shows, as those unable to comply with the requirements will face fines or jail time.

There are other troubling requirements in the Louisiana proposal as well, such as the prohibiting of the use of wire flooring, despite the fact that the federal Animal Welfare Act allows for it. This provision fails to consider whether or not wire flooring ensures the safety of the dogs and doesn’t consider that wire flooring can be beneficial to the health of the animals contained therein, as it allows for the sanitary disposal of waste, which otherwise could prove detrimental to the animals’ health.

All concerned breeders, owners and handlers in the state of Louisiana should contact their legislators and let them know how damaging these provisions can be to their livelihood while not taking into consideration the health and safety of dogs. The bill’s sponsor, Representative Anthony V. Ligi, Jr., can be reached at 504-456-3173 or ligit@legis.la.gov (and a full list of members of the Louisiana House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development can be found at http://senate.la.gov/Agriculture/Assignments.asp). The AKC’s Government Relations Department has drafted a sample letter that fanciers can use to send to their representatives, which can be found at http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=4613.

Letter writers may also want to include these numbers: an estimated $28.7+ million is generated annually within the Louisiana economy from spending on purebred dogs in the state. This includes spending at dog shows and events, breeding care and basic dog care. Can Louisiana really afford to lose that kind of coin in this economy? This proposal is wrong on so many levels but money speaks volumes to those unfamiliar with the world of purebred dogs and dog shows.

Elsewhere, the Colorado Senate was considering a bill this week that would make several changes to the procedures associated with animals seized as a result of an owners’ suspected violation of neglect, cruelty or other animal criminal laws. As initially introduced, HB12-1125 would’ve created new animal seizure provisions that would’ve been detrimental to the rights of animal owners. The AKC and the Colorado Federation of Dog Clubs supported amendments that have been introduced and supported in the report of the Senate Judiciary Committee. This updated version of the bill would protect the health and welfare of animals as well as the rights of animal owners charged with neglect or animal crimes during an initial impoundment and trial. In this great country, we are presumed innocent until proven guilty, despite the efforts of the AR extremists to change impoundment laws and force those accused of crimes – regardless of their innocence – to pony up expensive fees for the care of animals that have been seized while awaiting the outcome of a trial. Dog owners in Colorado were urged to contact their Senators and ask them to support the Judiciary Committee Report on HB-1125. This just in…as we were going to press, word came in that the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the second and third versions of the bill.

Leash

BY SHAUN COEN

68 Dog News

GCh. Bella Ridge Imperiale Shady Harbor Mafia Campcovo #1 Owner-Breeder-Handled 2011

*

Group Winning, Top 10 Breed & All Breed 2012

**

We thank the following judges: Mrs. Sari Brewster Tietjen Award of Merit French Bulldog Club of America New York Specialty Mr. Elliott Weiss Group Fourth Elm City Kennel Club Mr. Ralph Ambrosio Group Second First Company Governor’s Footguard Athletic Association

Stepping forward in 2012...

*Number Five French Bulldog overall 2011, The Dog News Top Ten List - Breed points **CC System

PHOTO BY Steve Surfman

Dog News 69

BY MATTHEW H. STANDER

and more

ENCOURAGING BREED SPECIFIC DISCRIMINATION...

I

will never forget attending a Health Discussion held at The Kennel Club in London many years ago in one of its incredibly art decorated meeting rooms, which room was dominated as I recall by the original painting

by Maude Earl of BAFFLED-the five incredibly painted Bloodhounds baying at and in the ocean! (This is pictured below). It was a thrilling sight (now then I think it was Baffled but it may have been another Maude Earl painting of Bloodhounds) but I reproduce this print which I own and covet for all to see to make my point.

Have you ever seen a more powerful display of Bloodhounds at play than this painting, which thrills me daily as I work in my home office for there this print prominently hangs. So imagine my shock, dismay and unhappiness when my good friend Ronnie Irving announced at this meeting how the Bloodhound was to be one of 15 designated breeds overly exaggerated causing potential if not actual health and breed problems and was to be adjudicated upon differently along with 13 now 14 other breeds. And it was true that the British bloodhound heads were more exaggerated than ours in America particularly insofar as the occiput and the eyes were concerned. Positively so with regard to the occiput (see the candid head shot that Barbara Lounsbury took at Crufts which appears in this issue) and some-

70 Dog News

what negatively for entropia, which I hasten to add has been cleaned up considerably by the concerned breeders there. At the conclusion of the meeting I remember asking Ronnie how he could have said that about the Bloodhound with that painting being used as the backdrop for the entire Conference. He thought there was no problem in so doing and I must admit we took severe issue with each other about this topic in person as we were wont to do as well in my reports in DOG NEWS. I thought then and still think that the attitude of many on the General Committee and certainly that of the two leading lady Staff Members of TKC was and is one of a form of Breed Specific discrimination.

And don’t get me wrong I recognize genetic breed problems in all too many breeds but do believe that certainly we in the States have been fighting these problems hard and well for at least the last two decades.

Indeed most of my consequent reports on the British handling of the so-called breed club health problems insofar as judges and vets were concerned were not only negative but downright critical of what the British were and did set up to do. And this was way before PDE I may add. Candidly my warnings fell on deaf ears in the UK and in America were laughed off with comments such as well it will never happen here! Don’t be fooled my friends saying it will never happen here. This is a misguided and Pollyanna reaction to a very serious problem which very well could happen here. For it to have occurred in the UK comes as no surprise to me as so many of their attitudes and reactions to any form of public criticism of the purebred dog breeders is to capitulate to the demands of the so-called animal rights do gooders that nothing surprises me. And yes Mr. and Mrs. America unless we stand up and fight for our rights the same thing could happen here as well protests to the contrary notwithstanding.

I do not condone for an instance what went on at Crufts. The great problem of course revolved round the old story IMPLEMENTATION. Why start such a high profile and obviously controversial program off at a place like Crufts where the slightest impropriety is treated as a major happening. And then to allow the vets to use a flashlight like instrument to look for a problem was foolhardy at best. The ensuing furor was to be expected as not only was it deserved but it gave an opportunity to a group of people already pissed off about last years coat testing problems new grounds to go after TKC. And go after them they did and they continue to so do. While my heart is with them I really am not too certain that I totally agree with their motives since some sort of cleaning up in the health areas is a given whether one supports PDE or not. And let’s get something straight-in

America there is a strong faction which believes that this whole fiasco started as a result of PDE. WRONG-don’t give Jemima Harrison that sort of credit--TKC began working on health problems for all breeds long before Jemima entered the picture with her distorted and basically inaccurate fantasy film which she called and labeled a documentary which of course it is far from being at all.

How this thing will all end up is anyone’s guess. From the recent Steve Dean statement, which is printed here in its entirety, to the Andrew Brace article also herein to the Ronnie Irving explanation (which by the way is an excellent summary for all to read) I am sorry to say that I believe much of the problem falls into the laps of two senior ladies on Staff in London. These are two hard workers who understand the sport well but whose personal predilections fall too far to the side of the animal righters in this area and not enough towards the concerned breeder. A little give on their part would be appreciated and well considered I think anyways.

Furthermore one of the vets who did the “dqing” wrote a compelling explanation as well. And getting involved where they should not get involved in my opinion was the weekly newspaper DOG WORLD, for which I have the highest regard. My understanding of the Press and reporters and writers is that it is their or our job to report and/or analyze the news not to create it financially. Reports reaching my desk indicate that the trust fund established for the “meeting” held on the Thursday after Crufts was one owned by the publisher and owner of that newspaper! Even if it was a temporary situation done to meet the urgency of time certainly a trust owned or established by someone other than the publisher of DOG WORLD should have been found. This taints the reportage coming out of DOG WORLD in this matter and opens the door to a form of favoritism, which no member of the fourth estate should be subjected! If TKC were to withhold any information in the form of press releases, etc. from DOG WORLD in my opinion they would be within their legal rights.

Of course one could argue that the state of the British press is in an uproar anyways considering the harm done by the Murdoch people et al but that in no way excuses a financial relationship-no matter how temporary with a cause particularly a political cause such as the Crufts fiasco on the part of any publisher or newspaper!

Dog News 71

BRACE YOURSELF Continued FROM page 45

tors and judges and fanciers from around the world.

In summary while our PCs have a right to be upset and concerned I will never allow this wrongful practice in America. Never!!!”

Subsequently on Saturday the Mastiff, judged by specialist Sarah Windham, failed as did the Neapolitan Mastiff, judged by KC General Committee member Jeff Horswell.

On the final day of the show Zena Thorn Andrews, the country’s only all breed judge, suffered the indignity of hearing that her Basset Hound BOB winner had also failed the health test – he being owned by a dedicated couple who are themselves members of the much promoted Kennel Club Assured Breeders Scheme, and who have complied with every nuance of the governing body’s health regime.

Interestingly on the Saturday and Sunday the group commentators refrained from mentioning the absence of the “failed” BOB breeders, once again endorsing the KC’s total lack of understanding the concept of a level playing field. On the Fosse Data results service pages, where the BOB winners had failed the health test, the results simply showed “BOB not awarded”. Consequently this gave rise to speculation as to which of the CC winners was actually made BOB and subsequently health checked, and I am sure that if the owners of any of the Best Opposite winners had taken this further their lawyers would have had a field day.

Throughout the show not one KC committee person to whom I spoke privately seemed happy with the way the veterinary examinations had been implemented, yet typically none seemed keen to do anything about it.

By the time Frank Kane had judged BIS British dogdom was in acute depression but the feeling now was not of frustrated acquiescence, this had turned into downright anger.

A Facebook group had been set up by Karlynne Sellstrome which in 24 hours had amassed more than 3,000 members. Entitled “Exhibitors Choice and Voice”; that number has now more than doubled. I was included in the group admin despite advice from close friends that this could mean political suicide, however after careful consideration I felt so strongly and passionately about what was happening to our sport, if I was to become the sacrificial lamb then I was prepared for it. Someone had to stand up and be counted and mobilise the troops. The people were demanding some kind of action. At no point during the show did I hear one person say that they were opposed to health checks and the ideals of the Kennel Club’s health quest. The manner in which it was being implemented however was another matter.

My email inbox was getting clogged up with messages from all around the world, and not just from people involved in the 15 targeted breeds, many of them wanting to know where they could send money to help the cause.

A conversation between Mike Gadsby (last year’s Champion of the coat testing debacle) and Stuart Baillie, DOG WORLD’s forward thinking Managing Director, led to the conclusion that a meeting had to be

72 Dog News

called. A PayPal account was opened and thankfully we had a dormant account at Dog World that could be utilised for direct bank transfers.

Both on film and in print Caroline Kisko and Steve Dean had assured the dog world that “The assessments are not intended to require any diagnostic aids and veterinary surgeons are not expected to reach a diagnosis.

The check is simple (sic) to identify the presence of clinical signs that a judge would be expected to notice. Full briefing will be available ahead of the show.” Certainly the reference to diagnostic aids was proved to be a lie in some cases.

It had been interesting to discover that on the Kennel Club’s website where they were inviting vets to apply for the Crufts job it states:“Who we’re looking for: We are looking for veterinary surgeons with experience of working in a small animal practice. Experience of having previously undertaken a veterinary role at dog shows would be an advantage but it (sic) not essential. They should not be involved with the Kennel Club as a judge, exhibitor or dog breeder, however, or have expressed strong views against the Kennel Club and its activities.”

Many felt that this brief was guaranteed to bring forward members of the profession who had some kind of personal agenda where purebred dogs were concerned.

With the setting up of the Facebook group, as is so often the way, its purpose was immediately misconstrued by those who chose to, with one section of the fancy seeing it as an attempt to bring down the Kennel Club, another interpreting it as exhibitors’ disapproval of health checks per se. Neither of course was the case in reality.

An open meeting was arranged for 6 p.m. on the Thursday following Crufts at the Motorcycle Museum, just around the corner from the NEC. We hoped it would be well supported.

Our next job was to find an impartial chairman, someone who was respected, with no axe to grind, experienced in the dog world and capable of controlling what was clearly going to be a lively meeting. We were indeed fortunate that Kennel Club member and Chairman of the Birmingham National Dog Show Martin Wyles agreed to take on the role.

It was then a question of getting registration forms printed so that everyone who attended could register their name, breed, email address, the amount of their donation (which would remain confidential) and whether or not they were a KC member. Between answering a flood of emails and phone calls I printed off dozens of forms, each of which could contain 20 names. Then it was necessary to enlist the help of volunteer marshals who could handle the registration forms and donations so that we avoided unwieldy queues on arrival. There was no shortage of volunteers.

We had previously asked for suggestions for topics to be discussed at the meeting and this resulted in many lengthy proposals, so these had to be printed off and arranged in some kind of order. Next was the task of finding an efficient minutes-taker and here Martin Wyles was of great help. Lindsay May was engaged from a secretarial agency, whilst Lesley Tomlinson and Julie Continued on page 78

Dog News 73

BIG DOINGS IN BIRMINGHAM Continued FROM page 51

forward.” By now, a small crowd had gathered, an event that would be repeated over and over again during the ensuing three days.

The KC has identified 15 “high profile” breeds, deciding that they are particularly at risk for health issues such as entropion, dermatitis, breathing difficulties, lameness, etc. Beginning with Crufts 2012, the BOB winners in each of these breeds would be examined by a veterinarian following breed judging. If they were “suffering from some clinical problem which obviously adversely affects the dog’s wellbeing,” they would not be permitted to compete in the group. These breeds include the Basset, Bloodhound, Bulldog, Chinese Crested, Chow, Clumber, Dogue de Bordeaux ,Frenchie, German Shepherd, Mastiff, Neapolitan Mastiff, Peke, Pug, Shar-Pei and Saint Bernard. It appeared originally that the staff vets who are always involved in the show would do the “honors,” but, at the last minute, the KC apparently asked “outside” vets to volunteer their services. When the dust had settled on Thursday afternoon, two dogs had infamously been singled out by the vets: the Peke and the Bulldog. The Peke comes from the famous Palacegarden kennels, from which came the recent Best In Show winner at the Garden, CH Palacegarden Malachy. The bulldog was a top winner last year. Rumor has it that, with the help of a penlight, some anomaly was found in each dogs’ eye. I spoke later to “Mr. Peke,” Bert Easdon, who said that the vets allegedly said that there was a “mark” in the Peke’s eye. Apparently, both the Peke and the Bulldog were sound of wind, even after being run repeatedly around the parking lot outside the hall. To say that these events occupied a considerable amount of conversation would be an understatement. Each day, people asked “How many dogs today?” It was obvious that this question was not asking for the number of competitors, but rather the number of “high profile” breeds on display. Virtually everyone I spoke to Brits and foreigners alike - were aghast at the way things were playing out. On Gundog Day, the Clumber fell victim.

According to his owner, he had won the breed on several prior occasions and was a champ in over a dozen countries.

The Clumber, according to his very distraught owner, was accused of having conjunctivitis, because he had some pink haw showing. Some visible haw is, I believe, permissible in the UK standard, but apparently was offensive to the vets. One of the vets has since posted online, and is defending her decisions to promote “healthy, happy dogs,” as it says on the cover of the catalog. When I asked how the KC knew that the vets were not animal rights proponents, I was told that “they’d been interviewed.” Really??? And speaking of animal rights, Jemima Harrison, producer of the repulsive BBC expose called “Pedigree Dogs Exposed” was reportedly there on Sunday, making a fuss outside the Basset ring. There is a lot of excitement and enjoyment at Crufts no matter how many times you’ve attended; this year, the atmosphere was different. A meeting was held in Birmingham this week, sponsored by concerned breeders and exhibitors in order to discuss the issues and how they will impact the future of the sport. There is an active Facebook group as well, and much online discussion. Many of the most prominent dog people in the UK are members, and they have collected a substantial amount of money as of this writing. What additional fallout will result remains to be seen, but it’s surely going to be a bumpy ride for dog fanciers and for the Kennel Club. Don’t get me wrong

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– what dog lover would not want to further the health and welfare of the breeds they love? I don’t quarrel with the Kennel Club’s devotion to improving the health of purebred dogs; I just find their methods nothing short of mystifying. Thanks to Dennis Sprung who issued a strong statement on the AKC website during the show, assuring the American dog fancy that “it won’t happen here.”

On a more pleasant note, Geoff Corish was faced with a lovely array of dogs when judging of the Utility Group commenced. Geoff has been in dogs all his life, and is one of the top pro handlers in the U.K. He has handled the BIS dog at Crufts on two occasions, the first, the Westie CH Dianthus Buttons in ’76, and again in ’84 with the Lhasa Ch Saxonsprings Hackensack, half brother of the immortal CH Saxonsprings Fresno, a bitch many fanciers feel is the best show dog of all time. Geoff judged the Terrier group in 2002, and will have the singular honor of judging Best In Show next year. It was a delighted Margaret Anderson, owner/handler of the Lhasa, that Geoff put to Group 1. She is called CH Zentarr Elizabeth, and she was second, if I recall, in the Eukanuba World Challenge in December. In second place was the Keeshond CH/Am CH Kemonts Skyline’s Game Boy who is a U.S. import, with third to the Akita CH Redwitch Leather and Lace. Fourth place went to CH Vanitonia You’ll See, from a kennel which has produced top poodles (and other breeds) for decades, now in the hands of the younger generation represented by Lee Cox and Tom Isherwood. The group win must have been especially sweet for Margaret Anderson, as Lhasas are the breed Geoff is best known for.

Annette Oliver, well-known for her IGs, was in charge of sorting out the Toy group, and she found a rather unexpected winner, the young Pom Belliver Unexpected Dream. Only 18 months old, he appears to have been bred in Ireland, but is owned and was shown by Mikael Nilsson, who handled the first non-British Crufts Supreme champion, big poodle CH Topscore Contradiction, when quarantine first ended in 2002. He may be lacking in years, but the Pom was definitely not lacking in showmanship

and clearly had the crowd on his side. Second place went to the Pug, CH Pugalicious Provocateur JW, with Michael Coad’s Bichon CH Pamplona Bring Me Sunshine in third. Group 4 was the American Papillon CH/AmCh Lafford Fly Me Too Farleysbane, handled by his delighted American owner.

The KC, in its infinite wisdom, chose to announce, at the appropriate point in the Utility group, that the Bulldog “was not confirmed” at the veterinary exam and would not be competing in the group. Why this was announced for the benefit of live TV is beyond me, but the announcement about the Bulldog was followed 30 minutes or so later by a similar announcement regarding the Peke. Heaven knows what the TV audience – or most of those present in the audience at the NEC – made of the cryptic pronouncement. Interestingly, on subsequent days, no announcement was made. The unlucky dogs were simply not there.

Of course, events other than breed judging take place throughout the day in various parts of the NEC, which is something like 250,000 square meters in area. One can watch the top obedience and agility competitors in the UK, the Young Kennel Club competitions, junior handling preliminary competition, the Good Citizen Dog Scheme activities, and much more. You can also shop till you drop, by patronizing the more than 200 trade stands spread throughout the five halls, selling everything from fine art prints to pooper scoopers. The largest crowd was usually assembled in front of the “Miracle Dog Hair Sweeper” stand, an interest with which I identify, although I never found the time to stop and listen to the entire spiel. Once when I wore a pedometer, I found that I clocked as much as ten miles per day. I have a large collection of shoes, but fashion takes a back seat to orthopedic concerns while I’m at Crufts, and I drag out shoes that my students would never let me live down. They are polished when I return home, and spend the next twelve months quietly reposing in my closet, awaiting the next trip to Birmingham.

There’s more in the big ring in the evening than just group judging. Some if it electrifies the crown, like fly ball and agility, and some of it electrifies the true dog fancier, like the Breeders Competition. Judged this year by Scottish Terrier breeder Stuart Plane, the final judging was a truly amazing sight – 200 dogs in the big ring at one time! Stuart made his cut and ultimately gave first place to the smart- looking team of Pomeranians owned by Mrs. Averil Cawthera-Purdy, with second to Kate Irving’s Border Terriers. Former KC Chair Ronnie Irving helped with the handling. Third went to a team of Finnish Lapphunds, with fourth to the Chinese Cresteds. I’m not sure how successful our attempts to promote similar classes at select shows have been, but it’s clearly gained in popularity in the U.K. The fact that the teams make a real attempt to dress alike in attractive show outfits makes the pageantry even more enjoyable. Interestingly, last year’s winning team consisted of four lovely Clumbers, one of 2012’s “high profile” breeds.

Day Two was Gundog (Sporting) day. The entry is so large that only one group is judged on the day. Again, we were greeted midday with the news that the Clumber had not made it through. The Clumber’s owner has given a very emotional interview which can be found online in which she says, unequivocally, that she will not show in the UK again. The fact that the Clumber was put to BOB by one of the most iconic judges in the UK, herself a Gundog expert, makes the matter still more disturbing. John Thirwell did Group honors. No stranger to the winner’s circle, he is probably best known for handling the

record-holding Vizsla “Yogi” who went BIS at Crufts two years ago. It was no surprise that John gave the top spot to the big winning Irish Water Spaniel SH CH/Am CH Whistlestop’s Elements of Magic CD RN. He has three all breed Bests in Show and has won the group on nine occasions. He is American bred, and is handled by British co-owner Judy Carruthers. In addition to numerous other wins, he was Group 2 at Crufts in 2011. By the way, all Gundogs without field qualifications bear the title SH CH, meaning “show champion.” Full champions in Gundogs are as rare as hen’s teeth. Reserve Best of Group, as they say, was the yellow Lab SH CH/Am/Can CH Salty Dog of Tampa Bay. There were 275 dogs and 299 bitches entered in the breed. Group 3 was the English Springer SH CH/Nord U CH Barecho Hold Your Horses, who is a Swedish import, with fourth to the Pointer SH CH/NZ CH Robwyn Dreams Are Free At Ridanflight, who is imported from New Zealand. How extraordinary that, in a group typically identified with Great Britain and its sporting traditions, all of the winners were imports, two of them from the U.S. Continued on page 96

Dog News 75

BY EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS

the column

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RONNIE IRVING and STEVE DEAN. Not many Americans attended Crufts this year. Year after year some regular attendees get bored and want to see other shows in other venues. I think the lure of the World Dog Show held every year in a different country is attracting more Americans. Among the repeat visitors and first time visitors were KAY PEISER, BARBARA MILLER, PAM BEALE, BETH SWEIGART, PETER GREEN, TRAVIS WRIGHT, WOOD WORNALL, JENNIE WORNALL, CHRISTIAN RANGEL, GEORGE WRIGHT, BILL MCFADDEN, VICKI HOLLOWAY, BARBARA LOUNSBURY, SCOTT SOMMER, SYBIL SOMMER, PATRICIA MARCOUILLER, MARJORIE GOOD, LIZ TOBIN, JOE VAUDO, SUSAN & DENNIS SPRUNG, GINA DINARDO, MICHAEL CANALIZO, BARBARA UHLMANN and BILL SECORD, who was the recent recipient of the award of excellence by SPORTING CLASSICS for his contribution to sporting art as an author and dealer. NAN GILLIARD is recuperating from recent arm surgery and hopes to soon be back in the ring. Our deepest sympathies to TERRI MEYERS on the loss of both her parents.

ARTHUR “BUD” MEYER and BARBARA MEYER passed away within a month of one another. They bred poodles under the Swag prefix. In addition to TERRI survivors include children ROB, KAREN, NANCY, JOHN and LORI and grand and great grandchildren. Celebrating Birthdays…SUSAN KIPP, REGINA KEITER, GEORGIE COVEY, SONDRA KATZ, PLUIS DAVERN, DIANE STEELE, MARY BEECHER, SHAUN COEN, CHRIS KING, CEIL RUGGLES, TIFFANY SAXON, NICK LOMBARDI, GABRIEL RANGEL, JACKIE HARRINGTON, NICOLE FISHER, DORIS COZART, CINDY SMITH, MARJORIE MARTORELLA, SHANNON STONE, MARY RODGERS, CINDY COOKE, MEAGAN ULFERS, ALLISON FOLEY, KELLY WISCH, LISA STUMPF, DAVID POWERS, DON RODGERS, PEGGY MCDILL and RUTH ZEIGLER. And just one question in closing: ADAM BERNARDIN, what are you doing in MARIPI WOOLDRIDGE’S grooming spot?

gossip

A

s we disseminate the results of our board of directors election last week…as big as the differences are between the two factions on the board, our problems pale in comparison to the problems across the pond. The real discussion is with our English cousins as they try to come to terms with the breed inspections of the 15 targeted best of breed winners at the Crufts dog show. The aftermath of the six best of breed winners, the Clumber Spaniel, the Pekingese, the Bulldog, the Basset Hound, the Mastiff and the Neapolitan Mastiff not passing the health inspection is that all hell has broken out in the otherwise stayed U.K. Several thousand people have joined the “CANINE ALLIANCE”. The Alliance is a group of concerned dog breeders, judges and exhibitors and others who support the sport and feel that the present scheme of vetting dogs at the dog show is not in the best interests of those breeds and every other breed. Its first meeting was held right after the dog show and ANDREW BRACE seems to have taken a lead role in the organization. In an interview ANDREW states that the 15 breed clubs targeted were humiliated and that they are not against any health testing but that it should be for all dogs on a level playing field.

He also stated that they are not looking to establish a new kennel club but to present to the English Kennel Club recommendations as to how to proceed from here on.

Surely, the way the health inspections were conducted has left many wondering if the procedure could be improved. Two of the judges who judged breed winners that were disqualified were FERELITH SOMERFIELD (Clumber Spaniels) and ZENA THORN ANDREWS (Basset Hounds). Both of these ladies are strong believers and supporters of the Kennel Club and to have their opinions second guessed has angered many of those involved with the sport. ANDREW, one of our feature writers, writes in-depth about this situation in this week’s issue, as does

... he finished in Five shows with Five majors ... his Sixth show he won the SHCA National Specialty under Breeder-Judge Mrs. Wendy Wilhauck ... his Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth shows he was Best of Breed at Three Area Specialties

Ch. Kontoki’s Isaiah Little Prayer For You ... his Tenth and Eleventh Show

Owners: Ron Tang Sam Kao Nan Wisniewski Marlene DePalma Thomas L. Oelschlager

á

Breeders: Tom Oelschlager & Marlene DePalma 2011 AKC Breeder of the Year Working Group

Presented by: Tommy “O” 724 255-0120

Dog News 77

BRACE YOURSELF Continued FROM page 72

Revill had in the meantime offered their services as minute-takers so we had ample backup.

Shortly after 6 p.m. on Thursday 15th March 2012, exactly one week after one of the Kennel Club’s biggest PR gaffes ever I opened the meeting with the following speech: “Ladies and gentlemen, dog lovers, This evening’s meeting is the result of a chance conversation between Michael Gadsby and Stuart Baillie at Crufts and the subsequent formation of a Facebook group.

Within 24 hours of being set up, the group had amassed more than 3,000 members. That figure has now increased to more than 5,000.

At the outset let me say that the purpose of this meeting is not to oppose the Kennel Club’s stance on health monitoring. Quite the reverse in fact. It is to discuss the methods that were employed at Crufts and to attempt to produce a set of recommendations that will actually HELP the Kennel Club progress in its quest to improve the health of our pure bred dogs, whilst at the same time supporting the breeders, exhibitors and judges who fall under its jurisdiction.

Tonight is not about bringing about the demise of the Kennel Club, or contemplating an alternative. What I believe everyone in this room wants is a governing body in which it has total faith.

Tonight there will be no elephants in the room so let me begin by saying that the screening of PEDIGREE DOGS EXPOSED caused widespread reaction. Some may feel that the programme was in some ways biased, but I believe I am right in saying that those of us who genuinely love our dogs and our breeds found viewing it uncomfortable and it did cause us to question whether or not we were doing our best by our breeds from the health standpoint. Certainly those of us who judge dogs have possibly changed our priorities somewhat when in the ring, being even more mindful than we were before about not awarding prizes to dogs that displayed any visible signs of unsoundness or discomfort.

The singling out by the Kennel Club of a specific number of breeds that were to be monitored differently from others did not rest easy with many. We were given advance warning of the decision that had been made and many of us had grave reservations as to how the logistics of veterinary examination of dogs in the listed breeds would work in practice.

As I understand it the overwhelming feeling after Crufts has centred around three major issues: 1) Not all breeds are being treated equally.

2) There has been great criticism of the actual veterinary examination at Crufts, several of those involved feeling that the inspection was far more aggressive than we had been assured.

3) By withholding the Best of Breed awards from dogs who had been judged by some of the country’s best respected and experienced judges - on the opinion of one veterinary surgeon - this undermines the whole judging process in this country.

Just so that we all know exactly where we stand, and prior to asking the Chairman to take over, could I please ask for a show of hands in response to the following questions: 1) Is anyone in the room against doing everything

78 Dog News

within our power to ensure that our breeds are as healthy as possible?

2) Is anyone in the room against the Kennel Club’s implementing veterinary examination of all breeds at dog shows if administered in a non-intrusive manner using nothing more than their hands and eyes?

3) How many people in the room are Kennel Club members?

4) How many people in the room are members of the Kennel Club’s Assured Breeders’ Scheme?”

That gave us an idea of the profile of the meeting – for the record there were 320 people present of whom more than 20% were KC members and more than 33% members of the ABS. I then asked Martin Wyles to take over the chair. Interestingly at last year’s Kennel Club when I understand members were encouraged to attend as the Crufts coat testing controversy had been placed on the agenda, there were 225 present.

First to speak was Mike Gadsby, who felt the checking procedure had fallen down in a number of ways: that it applied to just 15 breeds, not all; the way in which the vets had been selected; no appeals procedure or second opinion; we had been told the procedure would be similar to the judging process, which wasn’t the case; no one in authority was present at the checks to ensure protocol was followed; lack of empathy and respect for those involved; the press releases issued, especially for what they didn’t say; incorrect information given regarding the lighting; judges’ feelings not considered; the implication of the results to all concerned; failure to react when flaws in the system were pointed out; telling the public that only dogs who displayed exaggerations would be excluded when several of them have had clean bills of health on previous or subsequent examinations; and why could it not have been launched more ‘softly’ at a different show when any shortcomings could have been ironed out.

He invited views on a solution to these issues while at the same time showing the world that we support health and welfare.

Regarding the examinations themselves, Derek Storton, co-owner of the Basset BOB, said his had taken about 20 minutes, starting with the dog being moved outside.

About three quarters of the rest of the time involved looking at the eyes, to a degree that a dog with a less good nature might not have accepted.

Basset enthusiast Margaret Ledward had understood that the vet’s report would be taken to the show committee who would make the final decision about whether the BOB would be confirmed. Others had been assured that the examinations would be visual only, not involving aids such as pen torches.

Mike Gadsby had decided to investigate claims that the reason a pen torch had been used was that lighting in the screened-off areas was less good than in the judging rings. He had found that there was strip lighting in those areas, and even if it hadn’t been switched on the lighting was just the same as in the rings.

Solicitor Howard Ogden thought that the KC was in breach of contract to its exhibitors in that the schedule said the examination would be carried out by the show’s official vet; in fact none of the team of show vets was used or consulted.

He felt that no (legal) judge in this country, or indeed Continued on page 80

Best In Show under Northern Dog Breeder Mrs. Sheila Balch Group First under Breeder-Judge Mrs. Wendy Willhauck

Dog News 79

BRACE YOURSELF Continued FROM page 78

in Croatia where one of the BOBs comes from, would uphold the system as there was no appeals process. He reiterated that what had been announced previously about the procedure had not been what occurred. He felt that the KC had not kept to its side of the bargain and that he had no doubt that a claim for ‘loss of status’ would succeed. Without transparency, clarity and fairness, no court would support the procedure.

He felt that if the rejected BOB winners were to sue, they would be likely to have an apology, the award reinstated and be offered an ex-gratia payment of between £500 and £1,000, as well as immediate suspension of the scheme.

Like others he emphasised that health is not the point at issue, it is the implementation of the checks and their lack of transparency.

Liz Stannard, who as a KC sub-committee member, breed liaison officer and breed health representative, felt she was the highest-profile person at the meeting, said she had heard from Jim and Jean Smith that the Pekingese examination had taken about 15 minutes.

The bitch had not been allowed to have a drink before the examination, she had been told. She had been in various capacities to four KC meetings where the checks had been discussed, and in all cases what had been said was different to what actually happened.

There was some discussion as to whether the breed judges should have been given the opportunity to be present for the veterinary examination. When the KC invited group judges to a lengthy meeting last year I made this suggestion and was told it was impractical. Towards the end of the meeting I asked if we could have a show of hands to see if other group judges felt this would be constructive as it could well be that the veterinarian may welcome some kind of clarification on an area of concern. The meeting was abruptly closed and the show of hands refused.

Mike Gadsby introduced the suggestion of all dogs attending shows having some kind of basic annual health check so that all dogs over a year old could come to shows with a certificate of health. It was felt that this needed further discussion at a later date.

Those present voted to invite the Kennel Club 1) To suspend the high-profile breed veterinary checks.

2) To agree that, on the available evidence from Crufts, the existing system is flawed.

3) Not to re-introduce the checks until they are transparent, there is clarity and fairness, and they are non-discriminatory.

The next step was to form an organisation to carry things forward.

There was plenty of discussion on the most appropriate name for the organisation and eventually the vote was in favour of Canine Alliance, with a strapline ‘Responsible for Pedigree Dogs’.

Who should form the steering committee? Some suggested a representative from each of the high profile breeds but this was not felt to be the way forward as the whole point was that ‘all breeds are equal and should be treated equally’.

It was felt that seven would be the ideal number to form a committee. A large number of names were

put forward, some declining gracefully, ending up with a total of 14.

After a short break the suggestion was made that rather than have a vote between these 14, the committee should be increased in size to that number. In spite of having voted just a few minutes earlier for seven, the meeting seemed largely to agree so the steering committee now consists of Andrew Brace, Joy Bradley, Lisa Croft-Elliott, Phil Freer, Mike Gadsby, Steve Hall, Robert Harlow, Stuart Mallard, Howard Ogden, Dianna Spavin, Tony Taylor, Susan Whitehead, Sigurd Wilberg and Martin Wyles.

The entire meeting will soon be available to view FREE OF CHARGE on www.dogworld.tv.

I found this open meeting to be a revelation. Here we had a huge cross section of the grass roots dog people, getting together, saying “enough is enough” and speaking out. Men and women, young and old, gay and straight, mason and non-mason, KC members and non members, judges, breeders, exhibitors, lifelong experts, relative beginners ... all were there singing together from the same hymn sheet, desperately hoping that at last our governing body will actually listen to them when they still have the chance.

Many speakers spoke passionately, one of whom was Heather Storton, the owner of the Crufts Basset Hound, and everyone present could sense the agony she and Derek have been through since that fateful Sunday. Geoffrey Davies, one of the Kennel Club’s biggest supporters, surprised everyone with his no-nonsense assessment of the situation and his alone should have had the alarm bells ringing in the corridors of Clarges Street. However the one lady who impressed everyone beyond belief was Liz Stannard. What she did took BALLS. As someone who wears several Kennel Club hats, Liz proved to the world, and on camera, that her passion for and love of the Pekingese breed was far in excess of any concept of self interest. Waving a copy of the statement she had received from Jim and Jean Smith, owners of the Crufts Pekingese BOB winner, she made Margaret Thatcher look like a dormouse!

The next show where the veterinary examinations are due to be carried out is the UK Toydog show on 31st March. If Clarges Street goes ahead with them, they do so at their peril.

People left the Motorcycle Museum optimistic and united. Dogdom would never be the same again. Canine Alliance was born.

As reports of the meeting began to spread what happened over the next few days was amazing. My inbox was inundated with messages from people from all over the country who had specialist skills and were keen to put them at the Alliance’s disposal ... accountants, lawyers, bankers, computer programmers, graphic artists, web designers, printers, auditors and so on, all wanting to offer their services to The Alliance free of charge. It was overwhelming.

By the time you read this we will have had the first meeting of the steering committee when the constitution of The Alliance will have been discussed along with membership details and other pressing matters that were raised at the open meeting.

Watch this space ...

Supplementary reporting courtesy of “Dog World” and Simon Parsons.

80 Dog News

Eli and Erika GROUP THIRD Judge Mrs. Susan St. John-Brown

GROUP FIRST Judge Mr. Kenneth McDermott

GROUP SECOND Judge Mr. Robert Ennis

GROUP FOURTH Judge Mrs. Gloria Geringer

WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB BEST OF VARIETY Our heartfelt appreciation to Judge Mrs. Keke Kahn!

Owners: Bill and Tina Bregman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Breeders: Roseland Chihuahuas

Presented By: Erika Lanasa Bayard (443)-744-6300 Dog News 81

82 Dog News

Dog News 83

MAID TO ORDER Continued FROM page 63

Mead, one of the largest English boarding kennels of the day, was famous for its Dandie Dinmont Terriers.

Proximity to the great dogs of these prolific kennels gave students an opportunity to learn the intricacies of a particular breed, as well as the general care of canine boarders.

British Pathe (www.BritishPathe), the UK-based video archive, offers several films on kennel maids, who parade everything from St. Bernards to Salukis. In a short from 1931, the flickering silent screen shows a quote from Miss Trefusis Forbes, proprietor of Bell Mead Kennels: “The job of looking after our doggy friends is attracting more of the fair sex every year – as a business.”

To be sure, kennel-maid schools provided essentially free labor for the kennels, with only the cost of room and board, and the bonus of tuition fees.

Ardross noted that its numbers grew explosively in the 1930s, from two students in 1932 to a whopping 43 in 1937, with the latter class representing Australia, South Africa, Austria, Italy and Romania. In turn, the reputations of the schools – and the often titled individuals who gave their patronage, such as HRH Princess Marie Louise’s affiliation with Bell Mead – meant that students were essentially guaranteed employment after graduation.

Continued on page 88

84 Dog News

C Introducing D

Ć’ Kareenas Morrigan Ć’ of Presidio Thank you Judge Mr. Sam Houston McDonald Owners Myles Thurman and Kareen Buckner

Expertly Handled by Betty Costantinidis Dog News 85

Click

Sacramento Kennel Club Photos by EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS

Click YORK, PENNSYLVANIA KENNEL CLUB

BY CARLA VIGGIANO

86 Dog News

Dog News 87

MAID TO ORDER Continued FROM page 84

“All students fitted with good posts,” promised an Ardross ad.

Though the life of a kennel maid was a decidedly unglamorous one, tediously set to the feeding and exercise schedules of the dogs, some of the schools advertised “extras” that would appeal to students.

“There is ample scope for recreation – tennis, golf, swimming, and an excellent riding school close at hand offers cheap rates to Ardross students,” read an article about the kennel. “During the winter terms there are lessons in carpentering” – building kennel runs was another project assigned to kennel maids. “Continental students have the facility of combining learning or perfecting the English language with the kennel education. A certificated English teacher (B.A. of Oxford University) is on the staff, from whom they receive lessons after kennel hours.”

Ardross also had a “holiday branch abroad,” at Palais d’Azur, Juan Les Pins, on the French Riviera. “There is a large terrace facing the sea for sun bathing; physical culture” – what we know as yoga and isometrics – “horse riding, swimming, and for experienced swimmers, boating, surf-riding and sea-skiing,” Ardross’ promotional literature waxed on. “Overseas students can visit the Riviera (accompanied by one of the principals) and attend the International shows on the Continent.”

Beyond the professional training and credentials they provided, kennel-maid schools offered another advantage, however unspoken: They were a haven from the gender restrictions of the day. In their androgynous uniforms – jodhpurs, shirts and ties at Bell Mead, turtlenecks and Continued on page 92

88 Dog News

U.K.& Am. Grand Ch. Laffords Fly Me Too Farleysbane J.W. Multiple Best In Shows & Specialty Best In Shows (Top Papillon UK 2010) Best of Breed • Westminster Kennel Club • Judge Mr. Norman Patton Best of Breed • Crufts • Judge Mrs. Mary Whitehall & Group Fourth

” e v a “D

Crufts critique: “Flowed around the ring, sweetest of heads, darkest of pigmentation, good reach of neck, well laid back shoulders, strong hindquarters, correct tail carriage, coat was fine and silky, in tip top condition.”

Bred and owned by Carol Lees and formally owned and shown by Sue Victor Presented well in 2010 to Multiple Best In Shows by Erika Lanasa Elyse Vandermolen owner • Clearlake Papillons • Elysevandermolen@aol.com Co-owned by Sharon Newcomb Dog News 89

Click

Sacramento Kennel Club Photos by EUGENE Z. ZAPHIRIS

Click CRUFTS

BY BARBARA LOUNSBURY

90 Dog News

Dog News 91

MAID TO ORDER Continued FROM page 88

slacks at Ardross, the occasional beret in honor of the Poodle’s origins at Nunsoe – the women were liberated from any preconceived gender roles. Indeed, at first glance, some of them, with their short, pageboy haircuts and lack of jewelry or makeup, could be easily mistaken for adolescent boys.

The juxtaposition of two Bell Mead film clips drives this point home. In one, a very properlooking client comes to pick up her energetic white terrier, and is greeted by two of the kennel managers, also impeccably dressed in tailored suits, cloche hats, and nylons and dress shoes.

In the other clip, 10 Bell Mead kennel maids in overalls run through a meadow toward the camera, the joyously galloping dogs barely visible in the high grass.

Just as telling is a 1934 short, titled “Greyhound Girls.” Voiced over by a veddy British-sounding commentator, it rings sexist and patronizing to a modern ear, referring to women with musty biblical and mythological references: “Eve’s interest in dogs and her skill in

92 Dog News

the maintenance and breeding of show specimens, from Pekingese to Poodles, has long been acknowledged and accepted as a normal happening,” it begins. “But what of these Greyhound kennels, almost entirely organized and managed by fair Dianas?”

Amid footage of kennel maids soaping and bathing the racing dogs, the film notes that some 200 Greyhounds at this unidentified kennel “are kept in tip-top condition by 24 kennel maids whose occupation demands tact, patience and knowledge – in fact, all those characteristics which we males thought were our own exclusive features. This is one more illusion shattered and encroaches still further on men’s preserves. Well, we have to admit that she does her job more than well: Did you ever see better behaved Greyhounds?”

Just as the kennel-maid schools were beginning to come into full flower, World War II arrived.

The war had a chilling effect on every strata of the dog world: The owner of Bell Mead, Dame Katherine Jane Trefusis Forbes, left the kennel in 1939 to accept a post as the first director of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Despite holding the rank of air commandant – equal to a brigadier in the army – she, like the kennel maids she once instructed, ran up against the gender stereotypes of the day: Only permitted to present her views and recommendations to the Air Council with a male intermediary, and constantly overruled by male colleagues, she left her military post in 1943.

Like the breeding kennels that spawned them, many of the kennel-maid schools were irrevocably shaken by the war’s devastation. Though some continued on into the next half of the 20th Century, these vibrant oases of dog culture never regained the heady promise or prominence of those pre-war years.

ACE

Am. Bronze, GCh., Guatemalan Ch., Grand Guatemalan Ch., Las Americas Y El Caribe 2011 Trumpet’s Winner Takes It All A Group Winning and Multiple Group Placing Keeshonden FLASH! Group Third Colorado Kennel Club I Thank you Judge Mr. Carl E. Gomes

Thank You to Judge Ms. Denny Mounce for this Group Third win!

Always Expertly Presented By Jill Bell Assisted By Chase Waddell Owners: Vickie L. Louie & Chase Waddell Karina Keeshonden www.karinakees.com

Breeder & Co-Owner: Beth Blankenship Trumpet Keeshonden www.trumpetkeeshond.com Dog News 93

94 Dog News

Dog News 95

BIG DOINGS IN BIRMINGHAM Continued FROM page 75

The hunting demo on Gundog night is truly entertaining, and, even though I’ve seen it several times before, I still love to watch the eagerness with which these dogs do the work for which they were bred. Makes me want to teach my rescue Cocker to do something other than sleep upside down on the bed. Each year the finals of the Gamekeepers classes take place in the big ring. While these were originally meant to include only those dogs who had worked the previous hunting season, it seems as if this has become a bit more lax over the years. I was astonished to see, standing in the ring during preliminary judging, two American cockers in full show coat. Not just more-thanthe-usual hair, but full, flowing coat. Certainly they hadn’t been hunting for a season, unless it was many years ago. The finalists, however, all looked fit and keen, although clearly not trained for the show ring. Judge was the aptly named Ms. Partridge. Some of the competitors are true “keepers,” the men and women who work on large private estates and “shoots.” Amazing that such jobs still exist…in my next life I want to be a gamekeeper (except for the shooting bit).

Saturday was Working and Pastoral (Herding) Day. Each year, the day’s groups remain in the same order, but advance by one day. Jeff Luscott was chosen to do the Working Group. Starting with Danes, he is best known for his Belgian’s, both Tervs and Groenendaels. Next year Jeff will be doing the Pastoral Group.

Group 1 went to the multi-titled Newfoundland King of Helluland Feel the Win, coming all the way from Slovakia, with second place to the Siberian CH Siberiaskye Brite Borelias of Pelenrise. In third place was the perennially successful Boxer CH/ IrCH Winuwuk Lust at First Sight, with fourth to the Tibetan Mastiff Sierra’s Yogananda. Thank heaven Boxer exhibitors have given up the very peculiar habit of throwing a small rug under the rear end of their dogs when they come to a stop in the ring. In past years, it looked like the cleaning crew had taken over, so many small rugs were flying around the breed ring. It was purportedly to help the very angulated dogs keep their footing. Not such a good practice with all the current emphasis on health and soundness, so it appears to have fallen into disuse. Two members of the working group, the Mastiff and the Neo, were absent from the Group ring, but no mention was made by the announcer.

Albert Wight, one of the UK’s best known judges, judged the Pastoral Group on Saturday night. He has owned and shown a variety of breeds, and has judged on group level on three prior occasions at Crufts, doing BIS in 2003. Mr. Wight gave top spot to the Old English CH Bottomshaker My Secret, who traveled from Hungary to compete, tail and all. Seems funny when someone says, “the Bobtail won the Group,” now a misnomer. Second was the Beardie CH Sengalas Indiana Jones, with #3 to the big-winning German Shepherd Dog CH Elmo Vom Huhnegrab. He is a lovely dog without the exaggeration seen in some members of this breed. Fourth place went to the Border Collie, SH CH/ Aust CH Danari De Beers. As with Gundogs, Border Collies must have a performance (herding) qualification in order to be full champions. Elo the GSD is a very popular dog at British shows, and his fans were justifiably thrilled when he was “confirmed” by the vets. By the way, vet checks similar to the controversial examinations at Crufts will now take place at each champ show for the

96 Dog News

“unfortunate fifteen.” Before a dog is awarded his championship title, he must also pass a veterinary exam. I’ve heard of at least one well-known champ show judge who has declined to judge one of the “high profile” breeds at a future show, and there will undoubtedly be more.

On Day Four this year, terriers and hounds filled the halls of the NEC. In Hounds, one of the high profile dogs made it through (the Bloodhound) and one didn’t (the Bassett). Interestingly, Basset Hound judge was one of Britain’s best known judges, Zena Thorn-Andrews. She is currently the UK’s only all-breed judge, and her Drakesleat Kennels has produced more CC winners than any other kennel in the UK. Judging the Terriers was the well-travelled Sr. Paolo Dondina, who did Best In Show last year, as well as Best at the Garden. Sr. Dondina gave first place to the Norwich Ragus Merry Gentleman, shown by the very successful Leslie Crawley,

and put through by Peter Green (who also did Norfolks) with Group 2 going to the Kerry CH Perrisblu Kennislains Chelsey, owned by the Yingling family and breeder Welshman Phil Davies. Chelsea was shown to top honors in the UK by Geoff Corish, before coming to America and another successful career in the talented hands of Bill McFadden. Another American dog got the nod, with Irish Terrier CH/AmCH Fleet St Fenway Fan getting the yellow ribbon. He was a big winner here with RC Carusi, and is the first Irish to be top terrier in the UK under the ownership of Tony Barker and Victor Malzoni. In fourth place was the Dandie Cloverwood Royal George, owned by Glenn Tinsley, who is the breeder/owner of top terrier Lemon Drizzle, who made history when she went BIS at National Terrier this year handled by Geoff Corish. I met her – Glenn that is - at Montgomery and we spent four enjoyable days together, laughing and gossiping. Hope she comes over again this year.

Last Group of the night was the Hound group, judged by Keith Thornton, who is best known for his Afghans and racing Greyhounds. People in the UK seem to look upon Greyhound racing a bit differently than we do here. Perhaps retired Greyhounds are treated better in the UK than seems to have been the case in the U.S. True to his sighthound inclinations, Mr. Thornton selected the Borzoi CH Rothesby Sholwood Snow Hawk as his Best in Group, with the top winning PBGV CH Soletrader Peek A Boo in second. She won the group last year, was Reserve BIS, and was made up as a puppy. She was bred by Sara and Gavin Robertson, who have had great success in the breed in spite of their young age. There are a number of top breeder/ handlers in the U.K. who are in their 20’s or 30’s, and it’s not uncommon to see even younger exhibitors in the Group ring. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to be the case very often here, and I wonder just who will be attending dog shows in the U.S. 20 or 30 years from now. In third place was the Saluki, Jorjenjo Mirzam of Fernlark JW (stands for Junior Warrant, a title achieved by winning at Open shows), with Group 4 to the Mini Smooth Dachshund CH Carpaccio Captain Scarlet JW.

Best In Show judge was Frank Kane. Frank, who’s known to everyone who has ever watched the TV coverage as the “voice of Crufts,” had the honor of choosing the Crufts Supreme Champion this year, and thus had to put down his microphone for this round. Frank is best known for his association with American Cockers, but is also in that small league of people who has made up a Sealyham! His interest in Cockers stemmed from a visit to Biddy Postgate (now Horn) from whom I got my first few Sealys. His second “American” came from Harry Horn, who is now Biddy’s husband. Small world! I suppose I’m a bit biased, but the Lhasa showed like a dream and was, in my mind, the standout on Sunday night. Geoff was home by then watching on the telly, and was, as you might imagine, overjoyed that his Group winner had gone all the way. Reserve BIS went to the Newfie.

The show is still magic for me, and my enthusiasm doesn’t wane even after all these years. The controversy caused by the vetting of the unfortunate fifteen may have tarnished the spirit of the show, but didn’t stifle it completely. Crufts is still good dogs, good friends and good drama, as always. There was just a larger-than-usual dose of disturbing drama this time around.

It’s always a bittersweet time when we all assemble in the Press Room for the last time on Sunday night. It means saying goodbye to friends we may not see again for a year - or perhaps more. It means that the event that we’ve planned for and looked forward to for so many months is “done and dusted” for another year. As always, the four days would be unbearable without the friendly, efficient, and patient folks from the KC who man the Press Room for the duration. Special thanks and congratulations to frontman James Skinner, who’s marrying fiancé Liz this summer. He’s become a friend over the years, and it wouldn’t be the same without him. To Sara (good luck with the babies), and Helen, and Caroline, and all of the others, our thanks as well. To my soon-to-be-really-retired boss, Bill Moores, I owe you, as always.

As I stood there on Sunday night, I realized that within arm’s reach were friends who had travelled from Canada, Belgium, Iceland, Greece, Spain, and Austria. I had touched base with numerous other friends from places as far removed from Birmingham as China and Japan, New Zealand and Australia. What else could bring together such a diverse group of people other than the world’s greatest dog show? I’m already planning for #18.

See you there.

Dog News 97

HANDLER’S

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98 Dog News

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BESTChihuahua IN SPECIALTY SHOW Club of Greater New York Judge Mr. Hissayoshi Kadowski, Japan Best of Opposite Sex - Chihuahua Club of America Judge Mr. Michael Dachel

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Elyse Vandermolen Clearlake Papillons League City, Texas Dog News 99

HANDLER’S

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100 Dog News

Guy H. Fisher

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Bruce: 951 314-8357 Tara: 951 515-0241

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THE LIGHTER SIDE OF JUDGING Continued FROM page 64

of mine. Having claimed the middle seat for all of his goodies, I refrain from expanding beyond the borders clearly outlined by my folding armrests. Dr. JD consumes his scotch in short order. I choose to savor the wine and watch Dr. JD’s head bob up, down and from side to side.

His head finally stabilizes between the two seats.

I pull one of the regional English-version Columbian newspapers---that I had collected upon boarding---from the seat pocket directly in from of me. I begin to read, “After the summer arrest of Cartel Leaders Rodriguez Orejuela, Miquel Orejuela and José Santacruz-Londoño (Alias: Chepe – Don Chepe) police are on high alert.

The bombing, which killed twenty three people two weeks ago, has added to the tension,” The scenario explodes in my brain. “What the f#*^$#*%,!” I whisper, turning my gaze from the newspaper to the landscape in the sky. “With homicide rates three times higher than anywhere else in the world, people are advised to take precautions,” I continue to read. I stop reading and urgently hit the attendant call button. VGYM arrives. “Excuse me; can you bring me another wine?” I plead. Dr. JD, in deep sleep, is unaware of my current state of anxiety.

VGYM returns and provides me with more libations that are seriously welcome. I take deep breaths between gulps of wine with the intent of calming my fears. With eyes wide open, I rest my head on the side of the plane and stare out the window.

Our stopover in CTG is of little significance. The open-air terminal provides much needed space for me to process my never-ending sense of doom. Dr. JD continues to sit in a semi – comatose state and I force an out of body experience (OBE) while pacing the terminal. I envision myself as Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone. Kathleen plays the character of Joan, who ends up in a remote Columbian jungle, almost killed by ruthless militia and drug lords. A swashbuckling bird exporter, named Jack T. Colton and played by Michael Douglas, saves Joan and I can only hope my own ending is movie worthy.

“Attention, attention, attention,” I hear in English. Will Mr. Michael Faulkner and Dr. JD please report to gate five for immediate departure to MDE? I repeat: Mr. Michael Faulkner and Dr. JD please report to gate five for immediate departure.” Shaking Dr. JD to awareness, we tumble aboard and find our seats. A smaller plane than the one from ATL we situate ourselves in our assigned seats immediately to our right with no room between us.

Dr. JD continues to go in and out of consciousness, while I, by contrast, return to my Romancing the Stone escape, where I control both the beginning and then end of the story, all the way to MDE. Exiting the airplane and walking side-by-side with Dr. JD in his beige American jogging suit, I am painfully aware of the attention we receive while pushing our way through customs. Marcos, our driver, has no trouble spotting us as we parade past an extensive line of locals waiting to pick up family and friends. “Hello gentlemen – Welcome to Medellin – my name is Marcos. Please let me take your bags and follow me.” Dr. JD and I follow closely behind Marcos. I cannot help but notice the security forces patrolling the parking lot in groups of a dozen or more, in full battle gear with M-16s pointed in every direction as Dr. JD and I enter the back seat of the bulletproof sedan. Marcos and Sidekick occupy the front, both sporting weaponry of their own.

Travel to our hotel takes approximately forty-two minutes. We pull up to a massive gate, flanked on both sides with twin towers.

Stationed in each tower are men in camouflage proudly holding their weapons, ready for immediate action in the event we are ambushed by the Cartel, I assume.

Marcos takes us individually to our rooms. Dr. JD is first to be dropped in front of a quant, chalet-style bungalow. “Alright Dr. JD – I will get settled and I will check back in an hour or so.”“Give me at least two hours before you come knocking,” he instructs. “I need to rest a bit and then we will have a drink and meet for dinner.”

Marcos guides me to my chalet, explains the mechanics of the door entry, and then leaves me to privacy. The room is spacious, very clean and charming. I quickly unpack my clothes to minimize wrinkling and to retrieve my toothbrush and toothpaste. After wash-

ing up a bit, I collapse on the bed for a quick nap. I look to my right. On the table, in the corner of the room is a welcome note accompanied by several baskets of goodies. I rise, move towards the table and collect the note. “Mr. Faulkner – Welcome. We are most happy to have you judge our show. If you need anything to make your stay more pleasurable, please contact us. See you at 7:00 PM for dinner. Meet us in the resort lobby.” Gazing to my right, I notice the alarm clock next to the bed reads 5:20 PM. “Good…enough time to relax a bit before a long night of food and drink,” I say aloud. Situated next to the note is a platter rampant with scrumptious slices of mango and papaya. I lift a piece of fresh mango from the decorative tray. Sliding it through my lip, I hold it on my tongue longer than necessary. The sensuous culinary treat does not begin to prepare me for the additional items provided for my pleasure. Next to the mango / papaya platter, I find three baskets. Basket number one contains an assortment of liquors, basket number two contains three different brands of cigarettes, and basket number three proudly displays a large assortment of condoms in various sizes. “Holy shit!!!” – I boldly exclaim, trying to play out the potential scenario in my head. “What does all of this mean? Am I expected to get wildly intoxicated, stoned and have uncontrolled sex before judging?” Or, the unthinkable enters my mind. “That’s it – the dog show is actually controlled by the Cartel and I am expected to perform under pressure. I will be forced at gunpoint to do the unspeakable. OMG! What would Kathleen Turner do?” I think to myself. After a minute or two, I settle down and realize Kathleen Turner would change clothes, relax, light a cigarette and have one strong cocktail or two before dinner.

“Knock, knock, knock.” My hand thumps the door to Dr. JD’s chalet. “Come in,” his voice dictates from inside. I open the door while saying, “What the hell, Dr. JD – you had no idea who I was and you called me into your room. I could have been anyone…even a member of the Cartel ready to whisk you away to some remote jungle destination.”“Boy – lighten yourself up a bit. You have to relax and enjoy the experience. Hey, did you try the paaaapaaayaaaa?” Dr. JD asks in his southern accent. “Sure did along with a smoke and two drinks,” I respond. “Well, you need to drink a little more and relax your tired ass, if you ask me.” Dr. JD continues with professional advice not requested. “Tell me, what do you make of the basket of condoms?” I inquire. “Nothing as of yet, but you never know who I might meet at dinner.” Dr. JD replies with a wicked laugh.

W

alking to the lobby, I notice numerous guards discretely placed throughout the resort. The grounds are lush, well-manicured with baskets of flowers everywhere in preparation for tomorrow’s dog show. We pass the main outdoor arena area before entering the lobby and I am taken aback by the attention to detail and the sheer beauty of the setup.

“Señor Jones, good to see you once again,” a male voice intones from the lobby entrance. “Good to see you, too. This is my colleague, Michael Faulkner, and we are thrilled to be here.”“Miguel, my name is Martin and I am honored to meet you and to have you judge our show.” Dr. JD enters the expansive lobby area next to Martin’s side and I follow from behind.

“Gentleman, we will dine in the resort this evening as I assume you both to be very tired from travel. Tomorrow, Friday, you will have at your leisure. Marcos will take you around the area and into the city for a tour. Whatever you would like to see or do please communicate with him and we will try to make it happen,” Martin graciously offers.

After drinks in the lobby and a meal far too heavy on the red meat side, both Dr. JD and I are escorted back to our individual chalets for the night. I close and lock the door immediately once inside. The night air is crisp, cool and the evening sounds seem to magnify within the walls of the bungalow. Crawling in bed, I am once again greeted by my baskets of booze, smokes and condoms. My three friends stare directly my way daring me to partake in sin. I push all thoughts away and choose a good night’s rest. At 2:23 AM gunfire erupts outdoors. Intermittent gunfire continues for several hours, ending around 5:15 AM. I pacify myself by telling anyone who might be able to hear, “Oh Lord, please don’t let the drug lords through the gate. I am not ready to leave my family and friends. I was tempted by the booze, the smoke, the condoms, but I refrained from going to the dark side.” I pray in hopes of seeing daylight.

The morning arrives. Once again, I meet Dr. JD on my way to the lobby for breakfast. This time, he waits for me outside his front door on the small landing.

“Good morning, good morning. Did you sleep well?” He asks full of joy. “Hell no! I was up all night listening to gunfire, hoping I was not going to get taken out or taken away.” I say. “You must have been dreaming. I slept like a baby,” Continued on page 105

Dog News 101

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THE LIGHTER SIDE OF JUDGING Continued FROM page 101

Dr JD boldly brags. “Right, you probably got drunk, smoked too many cigarettes, took a couple of pills and dreamed about wild condom use,” I silently think to myself, internally chuckling at my thoughts.

The dining room is vacant with the exception of another couple sitting in the corner on the opposite side of the room. Dr. JD and I are seated next to window with an expansive view of the surroundings.

“Senores de buenos dias,” the young waiter greets. “Buenos dias,” I add to the morning conversation. “What did he say the breakfast specials are?” inquires Dr. JD. “Actually, he just said good morning,” I add laughing. “Here – look at the menu and attempt to figure out what you would like.”“I know what I want – sliced papaya, two eggs over easy, toast and three slices of bacon,” Dr. JD recites. I wait in anticipation of the waiter returning to take Dr. JD’s breakfast order and to bring me a hot, strong cup of coffee.

“Puedo tomar su fin?” the waiter asks. Dr. JD rolls his eyes, then looks in my direction for guidance. “He is asking to take your order,” I inform.

“I would like two eggs over easy, wheat toast, three strips of bacon and a side order of sliced papaya,” Don quips using perfect English.

The young waiter turns in my direction, his eyes pleading for help. I refrain from giving guidance, enjoying the communication breakdown between Dr. JD and the wait staff. He repeats using a louder, slower cadence. “I repeat – I----would----like--------two----eggs----over----easy---three---pieces of-----bacon---wheat toast------and-------papaya.” The young waiter, totally confused, nods his head in bewilderment begging me to help. “Dr. JD I don’t think he understands what you are asking for. “Listen clearly.” Dr. JD speaks even louder in a slow stern voice. “Just bring me some sliced PAAAAAAPAAAYAAAA PLEASE!”“OMG – just by saying it slower and louder does not make it any clearer,” I add while laughing my ass off. “ Mi amigo le gustaria tener dos huevos, tres rebanadas de tocino, pan tostado de trigo y papaya en rodajas para el desayuno. Gracias! I communicate to the young waiter on behalf of my friend.

“Ademas, puedo tener café con leche, jugo de naranja y una tortilla,” I add on behalf of my own breakfast order.

Marcos and his sidekick promptly pick us up for our MDE tour at 9:00 AM. We are transported in a Bullet Proof Range Rover (BPRR) with Marcos driving and Sidekick once again in the front passenger seat, gun by his side. “Gentleman – I would like to give you a quick tour of the city and for a special treat, if you would like, I can take you to see some wild cats,” Marcos suggests. Dr. JD looks my direction shaking his head no.

“Sure, we would love to see some wild cats,” I say with confidence. “The cats are beautiful,” Marcos adds. “I told my connection you were buyers from the United States and you had contacts within the department of agriculture to smuggle the animals across the border. I will tell them you do not discuss money on the spot and you are only here to take a first look at the cats,” Marcos adds to the creative conversation. “Dr. JD stares daggers straight through me. I tap him on the shoulder saying, “Hey – live a little! We have a chance to see some beautiful wild cats up close and personal.”“And get our asses killed!!!” Dr. JD contributes. I have to admit I am a bit shocked that I agreed to partake in this wildcat hunt. For some reason, my fear level lowers. It is the vision of meeting a wildcat exporter. My judging abroad experience now connects back to Joan and the swashbuckling bird exporter in hopes he will become my savior--rescuing me from the drug lords who are bound to kidnap me before I return home…just as he did for Joan.

Marcos slowly swings the BPRR through a set of industrial looking gates. Once inside we are forced to stop. Four guards inspect the vehicle and spend what seems like eternity speaking with Marcos and Sidekick.

Marcos pulls the BPRR to the right of the building, bringing it to a stop.

Marcos and Sidekick get out of the BPRR. They walk around and each one opens a back door, escorting us to the warehouse entrance. We are frisked for weapons and led through several series of doors and checkpoints before landing in a larger open space. Two gentlemen and one lady walk forward and greet us using broken English. Motioning with his hands, the taller of the two men signals and a side door opens. A man appears with the most beautiful young panther in his arms. He immediately walks in my direction and places the young cat in my arms. Totally in shock, I caress the thick, dark pelt and savor the exotic experience. Dr.

JD avoids holding the animal, but pets its head while the cat purrs in my arms. The panther is removed and a young leopard is next in line for me to personally experience. For over an hour, they bring one exotic cat after the next for my review and potential purchase. When we view the last beauty, we say our goodbyes with promises to return with further information.

Back in the BPRR, I smile at Dr. JD and say, “Marcos – Thank you so much for making this all possible. What an unbelievable experience and how beautiful they are,” I add. (Indeed, the cats were all healthy, beautiful, and well maintained. This was, after all, a time before we had come to be more judicious about the where, the when, and the how of wild animals in captivity.)

T

he remaining afternoon includes roadside tours of various city regions and a sumptuous lunch at the restaurant of Marcos’ cousin. Three quarters of the way back on a steep, mountainous road, our return to the resort is interrupted. BPRR slows down to a crawl. I notice four men ahead dressed in military gear, waving us to the side of road. “Gentlemen, please do not say a word. Do not react and do not get out of the vehicle unless we say so,” Marcos clearly instructs. Dr. JD and I share a look of total bewilderment, crossed with fear. Marcos exits the driver’s door leaving Sidekick for internal protection. Through the corner of my right eye and through the passenger window, I watch Marcos deliberate with the militia. They communicate for exactly twenty-one minutes. Marcos returns to the driver’s side of the BPRR. “I need your passports.” With synchronicity, Dr. JD and I hand our passports to Marcos. The Militia and Marcos converse for an additional ten minutes. Marcos taps on Sidekick’s window and Sidekick lowers it three inches. ”All three of you get out of the vehicle and do exactly what they ask,” Marcos clearly instructs. “This is it… this is it…I am going to be taken right here, right now and I will never judge another dog show as long as I live,” I think while moving to the rear of the BPRR. One of the Militia Men walks around examining the two of us for potential use and desirability. Marcos continues swift talking and negotiation. Sidekick initiates small talk with the shortest of the four men. I watch two women, on the opposite side of the country road, hoping to peddle handmade goods to us in the event the Militia chooses to release us.

“Gentleman, please get back in the BPRR,” says Marcos, while handing us each our passports. With sweat dripping off our foreheads from the warm sun and total fear, Dr. JD and I quickly retreat to the backseat and wait for Sidekick and Marcos. They enter and we slowly leave, picking up speed once out of sight of the four men.

“We are very sorry you had to be subjected to this situation,” encourages Marcos, trying to reassure us. We are fortunate Sidekick realized he and the shorter man are actually first cousins, assisting us in getting you back safely to the hotel. “Amazing! What would have happened had you not been cousins?” I boldly ask. “Probably nothing – it just would have taken a bit longer and maybe additional help from kennel club members,” Marcos confides. The four of us were relieved to return to our secure, well-guarded resort, our quaint bungalows and the dog show.

The weekend judging in Columbia turned out to be a rewarding experience filled with excellent dogs, beautifully presented and in great condition. I returned home filled with wonderful, exciting stories and many new life-long friendships. To this day, when I check into a secure, sterile host hotel in the USA, greeted at the front desk by a cheerful person handing me a bright colored goodie bag filled with… a bottle of water…a package of peanut butter Ritz crackers…a warm, soft, not so tasty red delicious apple… and a bottle of hand sanitizer, I always force an OBE back to my little chalet in Medellin…my plate of sliced papaya… my basket of booze…my basket of cigarettes… and yes… my basket of assorted condoms in various sizes. “Oh, the allure of romantic faraway destinations.” *Note: Since my initial trip in 1995, Columbia is and always will be a favorite destination place for Big Michael and I. Our dog friends are incredible breeders, great hosts and today it is wonderful to explore the country freely and without fear.

Dog News 105