President’s Message

“Over the last month or so we have had some highs and lows in our dog world with some challenges to deal with. We feel for those in NSW and Victoria dealing with a surge in outbreaks of the Delta variant and longterm lockdowns. The focus on getting vaccinated has been excellent and great to see the supplies of vaccine increasing all the time.

We have been comparatively fortunate in Queensland, but it is so important that we not be complacent and that we do all we can to protect ourselves, our families and friends and those we come in contact with. I had my second vaccination a couple of weeks ago and it has given me a more confident feeling. I can recommend it! Protester outside Durack Showgrounds

Members may have been wondering about a man holding placards outside our grounds at Durack on and off over several weeks. It is important that members are kept informed about key issues of concern.

This man is a German Shepherd enthusiast who was a member of Dogs Queensland many years ago. There were

Code of Conduct issues on foot. He resigned his membership before action could be continued against him for breaches of the members’ Code of Conduct. The then Council determined to ban him from the grounds. He subsequently made a serious threat against a former President of the then

Canine Control Council (Queensland). The banning order has stayed largely on foot since that time. His partner continues as a member of Dogs Queensland.

Over the years he and his partner have applied to have this banning order lifted. There has been considerable ongoing support in the German Shepherd Club for the continuation of this banning order.

A few years ago, the former Board decided to give him another chance by granting him a Community Membership of Dogs Queensland. Following further problems on the grounds this was cancelled and the ban order was reinstated.

More recently some discussions and negotiations occurred with this man and the club about allowing him access to the grounds. These were unsuccessful and the Board determined at its August meeting to continue the ban indefinitely.

The Board and Mr Harrison have received a barrage of emails from this man that have been copied to key people in the breed both nationally and internationally. The emails have contained libellous and untrue allegations about Mr Harrison, our highly regarded General Manager and Secretary to the Board. This has been compounded by the quite scurrilous and defamatory wording of the protest placards that he has brandished just outside the entrance gates at the Durack Showgrounds targeting mainly Mr Harrison but also me. Mr Harrison has simply been doing his job in his chief executive role and it is totally unacceptable for him to be targeted and defamed in this manner. We owe a duty of care to all our employees to protect them from such extreme conduct. For this reason, the Board facilitated Mr Harrison seeking legal advice from a defamation law specialist. I will keep members informed of action taken. Blue Cards Just a reminder to all Junior Handler Judges to use the link provided by the office in a recent email to apply for the required Blue Card. All directors are in the process of obtaining Blue Cards as well. All Dogs Sports Spectacular 2021 has been a year of flexibility with the scheduling of events in our dog world. The good news is that the ADSS Conformation section of the committee and Grounds Committee have come together for a Christmas 3 day fund raising event – Friday night, Saturday night and early Sunday morning show (17, 18 and 19 December 2021). Please support this special 3 day event in any way you can. It should be a terrific pre-Christmas event showcasing our wonderful world of dogs. Dogs Queensland Show Bags It was sad that the Ekka was cancelled for a second year but a bouquet to Senior Vice-President Carolyn Pearen for her great suggestion that we refresh the show bags and go ahead and sell them for the sale price of $10 a bag. At the last count 418 bags have been sold. Keep a lookout for a limited number of Show Bags for sale at the Zone 2 Amenities shows and the Bundaberg Canine Club shows on Friday 3 to Sunday 5 December 2021. Stay safe and let’s keep our dogs and ourselves vaccinated.

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– Ulla Greenwood, President Dogs Queensland