08.20.10
The Future of our Fancy – an Open Letter to AKC
AKC has forgotten the primary constituents of its member clubs. That would be we, the breeders, owners, and exhibitors. AKC has forgotten us in so many ways.
Most of us don’t make nice six-figure salaries. In this economy, many of us are lucky to even have a job. We allocate our resources so that we may feed ourselves and our dogs, provide care for ourselves and our dogs, and hopefully have cash enough left over to show or trial our dogs.
We have kids, or grandkids, or elderly parents who require our care and our time. We juggle our jobs, our kids, our parents, and our dogs, and hopefully have enough time left over to show or trial our dogs.
A recent AKC survey questioned selected recipients about an associate membership in AKC. Apparently, one would have to “belong” to AKC in order to show in AKC events. Most of us cannot afford additional fees. We already belong to breed clubs (who, in turn, are AKC members) and local clubs. We already have to carve entry fees, club membership fees, litter registration fees, licensing fees, and kennel permit fees out of our every-day incomes. Worse, with the increasingly restrictive legislation, our licensing, intact dog, and kennel permit fees grow every day. We cannot afford another fee just to be able to enter our dogs in AKC shows.
Many of us are spending what little extra income we have actively fighting the ever-expanding breeder licensing and regulation legislation.
AKC is also trying to implement a sort of judge’s tax or fee, whereby judges would have to pay for the privilege of being a judge. Since judges don’t generally make money from judging, they would have to pass this fee onto the clubs…thereby increasing the cost to exhibitors.
Even the rapid explosion of “cluster” shows can work against the hobbyist. The hobbyist often cannot attend all shows during a cluster. We have responsibilities to our day jobs. Yet, it seems difficult, if not impossible, to get a dog noticed if it is not exhibited all four (or five) days of a cluster. Judges seem to increasingly give the nod to dogs on handlers that are seen more often than owner-handled dogs who are only out on occasion, even though the owner-handled dog may be a better dog.
Is it any wonder we don’t have a lot of young faces in the fancy? Is it any wonder we don’t have more judging applicants? What young person, in their twenties or early thirties, with a child or two, a mortgage, a car payment, and little seniority in their job, could possibly afford to enter the fancy? Who would want to even try to finish a dog, knowing that since they can only attend a few shows their chances of winning are stacked high against them?
Most of us have had to cut back on our luxuries during this economic recession. Perhaps it is time that AKC recognized this as well. Cut back on some of the extravagances. Remind your judges that every exhibitor deserves equal attention, and that just because a dog isn’t at a show every weekend, it still might be a good – or even great – dog. Remind your obedience judges that some people compete more for companionship than perfection. Get more involved in the fight against bad legislation.
Help us, the little guys, continue to do what we do – breed, exhibit, and trial our chosen and beloved breeds, and provide healthy, sound puppies for future owners to do the same.
