Letter from AKC to Oprah Show
 

This can also be found on the AKC site.

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center...rahWinfrey.pdf

Deana
Prestigeous Yorkies

Letter from AKC to Oprah Show
 

This can also be found on the AKC site.

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/press_center...rahWinfrey.pdf

Deana
Prestigeous Yorkies

Thats a nice letter but as far as I know there are mills and USDA breeders that register with AKC. AS long as there is food and water , a bit of exercise, and the paperwork is in order, all is ok. Even if a dog doesn't live in a rabbit cage,and has food, if you own 100 dogs you can't give them the love and attention dogs need. I think AKC is the most responsible club but they don't have a limit on how many dogs you can own or breed. The answer I think is to change the laws so dogs are not governed by the same laws as cattle. Dogs are for companionship , they are part of our family. If a breeder couldn't mass produce dogs there wouldn't be mills and USDA breeders because there wouldn't be any $$ to be made. That would also cut down on petstores becasue there wouldn't be anyone to supply them. I don't know what the limit should be , but I know it's not 50-100-500 dogs !

all registries
 

Should allow a certain amount of litters to be registered per year per owner and address so for the mills withs 100s of litters they could not get them registerd I think that would cut the problem in half

There would always be ways around that too. A family would just have a PO Box for each person in that family and the dogs would be split up and registered under the names of every family member.

Monday, April 10, 2006
AKC / USDA Kennel Inspections?


AKC...errr....USDA kennel inspections

Thought you'd find this interesting, see below:

Yesterday, an AKC inspector went to the kennel of someone I know.

This person has been contributing to AKC's coffers in the capacity of showing and breeding top-quality dogs for over 30 years. These dogs are kept in great conditions. Thoughout the inspection, the inspector kept referring to USDA requirements and telling the kennel owner that the kennel did not meet USDA requirements. This person is not a commercial breeder and when the inspector was told that in that particular state hobby breeders were not required to get a USDA license, the reply was,"Not yet." In fact, I was told the AKC form actually has a check off box at the top to indicate whether or not it is a USDA inspection, which seems to indicate that AKC is going to go this route. It might also imply that AKC might decide that all AKC breeders should have USDA standard kennels (to keep up with the puppy mills, I guess).

What are some of the shortcomings this particular kennel did not satisfy for a USDA inspection? First, some of the kennel enclosures (for small breed dogs) were framed in wood. The kennel owner was told that USDA does not allow wood to be used. Secondly, during the day the dogs are put in a kennel which has inside/outside runs. The kennel area is heated and has A/C. The runs are not covered but instead are shaded by a large tree. My friend was informed that the USDA requires all runs where the dogs are "housed" to be covered.

The inspector was told that the dogs are not "housed" outside but are always in the house at night and during inclement weather. Even better, a large paddock exercise area apparently doesn't pass USDA muster either because according to the inspector USDA does not allow "dirt" surfaces. I guess grass grows on dirt. I wonder if pea gravel is excluded as well?

Well, this kennel passed AKC inspection but if the AKC is going to mirror the USDA standards for long term, responsible hobby breeders I think the bottom will really drop out of AKC registrations as most people I know will not put up with this type of officious and unwarranted intrusion of their privacy.

And obviously, despite what has been proclaimed by AKC that the new markup of PAWS exempts hobby breeders, it would appear AKC appears poised to adopt USDA commercial standards for all those who register with their services.

Anne M. Hier
Dog Shows Then and Now:An Annotated Anthology

Elizabeth Brinkley. MFA in Theatre
Dante Kennels, est. 1974
Latrobe, PA

Hermine Stover
Secretary
Responsible Dog Owners Of The Western States 23280 Stephanie Perris CA 92570
951 943 0990
fax 943 9199



Posted by Sam Basso at 8:24 AM
0 comments:
ABOVE IS: Another interesting read. I don't know if it's true or not.......

Large breeders could put dogs in their family members names but it would be a big hassle. You could also have no PO addresses allowed. Honestly, AKC is a great club, but they are in it for the $$ too. Think of how much $$ they would lose if they didn't let USDA breeders register their dogs with them. Laws just need to be changed on how companion animals are housed and treated VS being in the same catagory as cattle. It's such a mess with no clear answer on how to fix it, without taking away oners right too. :(

I didn't see the show. Did she say all breeders were a problem? Or just mills? The AKC letter seems a little defensive.

nice letter, however some of the grammar is a bit wrong.
still, it's a great letter.

There's another thread on this posted by Linda44 http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=124632

This is off topic but I think Layla is ABSOLUTELY adorable!!!! I love her in your avatar :)

Why is YT even allowing a name like that? and same for the avatar

Seems that its just up to most members to keep trying to keep it positive here. We need to talk out and let others know what we expect. Its a free country but we do have respect and regulations of this place we want to keep here.

and you thought the breeder's forum was rough. :D

gosh..surely not.. I think all the breed parent clubs would do something about that real fast...

ROTFLLLL!!

I watched the Oprah show and was glad to hear not all breeders were trashed, as was feared.

Oprah does her homework, and when she is wrong about something, she corrects it and than some.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Well, what I really meant to say was.....

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Sammiz your little one in the avatar is gorgeous. :D

Deana
Prestigeous Yorkies

am I missing something here??? I am not seeing any of the posts that contain some of the quoted posts you guys have and I am TOTALLY lost :confused: :confused: can someone please fill me in on what is going on??????????

Thank you so much! She is the love of my life. :D Just the sweetes darling. She is so good...all the time. Never gets in trouble.

Thanks again.:)

Trust me, you're not missing anything.

First off let me say, I believe the AKC is a top registry for dogs but they also have their down side. I suppose I was pretty naive when I first got into rescue and thought that any organization that benefited from dogs would also help to protect these animals. I was mistaken.

The AKC has signed a contract with Petland Discount stores to get them to register the dogs they sell as AKC animals. That's right -- the AKC is making the sale of pet store puppies a core part of their business plan.

The AKC business plan is that the stores will charge the AKC registration fee at the time of sale and register the puppy online. My understanding is that the Board of Directors of the AKC voted 12 to 1 to enter into this contract.
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com...and-naive.html
http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffec...&Hunt.10.3.asp
http://www.nopuppymills.com/index.php?page=hunteletter

Here is a very interesting report from AKC in regards to high volume breeders:

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/about/specia...VBC_finalA.pdf

I would be thrilled if some of this information is outdated and AKC is protecting the dogs not just the pedigree’s.

Also I am really struggling with the math on this information:

“In 2007, our team of 15 inspectors visited over 5,600 kennels throughout the country. AKC spends over $6 million each year to inspect our customers, thereby ensuring the integrity of our registry and the proper care and conditions for dogs registered with us.”

$6 million dollars for 15 people to travel the country and is 15 inspectors enough? Keep in mind they are only looking at kennels that have 7 or more litters a year.

The AKC is a non profit organization but look at their 2006 Annual Report:

http://www.akc.org/pdfs/about/annual...2006report.pdf

Total revenues of $72.3 million in 2006 were comparable to 2005. Core registration revenues for dogs and litters were $2.3 million lower than the prior year. Royalty and sponsorship income was higher by $1.3 million or 21% due to the success of AKC’s licensing programs. Recording and event fees rose by 9% primarily due to increased entries in Agility and Rally. CAR’s enrollment revenues declined by $1.1 million or 25% from 2005. Revenues for 2006 and 2005, respectively, include $3.9 million and $3.2 million for the approximate values of in-kind contributed services received primarily in the form of donated advertising on television, radio stations, and in print, which is included in operating costs related to public education. Interest and dividend income for 2006 increased 41%, primarily due to higher dividends received from investments. Operating expenses of $69.1 million increased by 6% from 2005. Payroll and related benefits rose by 5% over 2005, primarily due to changes in actuarial assumptions associated with the pension and other postretirement benefit plans. All other operating expenses increased by 6.6% to support program costs.

I also struggle with this comment: “Our commitment to health research continued in 2006 with a donation to the AKC Canine Health Foundation of $1.2 million, bringing our to-date total contributions to $15 million. Our $170,000 donation to the AKC Museum of the Dog helped preserve the history of the purebred dog.” AKC was started in 1884 which means it has been in existence for 124 years but yet they have only donated 15 million for health research.

I do believe AKC is better than all the other registries in the US but in my opinion they have a long way to go to protect the dogs.

Cindy thanks for this post,
I actually ran across something last night and I was sickened and saddened I have past it onto a legislation group I am a volunteer with so they can investigate it further because I do believe that I need to know the good the bad and the ugly of the registeries so I can make a informed decision on wether I wish to remain involved in showing etc. I will be passing this post along also if you don't mind.
I do think to get to the bottom of the puppymills all the big players have to be accounted, for their part in it in order to bring puppymills to an end.
I was so sick last night. So much to sift thru, so much to think about.

Deana
Prestigeous Yorkies

I have never seen this before.
I was just on their site and found it.
Has anyone seen this link?
http://www.akc.org/pdfs/clubs/demand_akc_papers.pdf

Deana, I grew up with a father who bred Black Labs and registered them with AKC. I am a firm believer in purebred dogs and do believe in AKC registration. It wasn't until I got into rescue that I started to see the other side of what AKC does. Over the last 6 years I have been very disheartened by what I have read (weather all of it is true or not I cannot say) in regards to AKC but there is enough information out there to make me believe they are fightening to keep their business going. You can read/see this in their Annual Report. I have always felt if true purebred dog lovers really understood all of the facts then the Parent Clubs would start to demand more out of AKC. In many cases it is all about politics in the dog world and the ones to suffer are the dogs. The animal industry is a 94 Billion dollar industry and you are going to have people who will fight (legislation) not to lose a dime. You have to understand each organizations agenda to know where they are coming from.

Please let me know if you learn something new but I don't have my hopes set that you will as most of everything I posted came right from AKC.org.