What About Us? ◙ Warning!! Graphic!! ◙

[DvlshAngel985]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I don't think any one thing we do will change the situation, this is a complex problem and it will take action on several fronts. I don't want anyone who isn't registering their pet dog with the AKC to feel that they haven't done their part in helping with the immense problem, but I do see hope in registering our dogs, in that pet owners and good breeders will have more of a voice in the AKC in the future. Shouldn't a part of their income come from people who love dogs, and have their best interests at heart? Furthermore, the AKC does do kennel inspections, and I hope my registration fee assisted so that they didn't have to reduce the number of inspections they did this year. Apathy is a dangerous thing, and when we no longer feel like our actions make a difference, we no longer act. When we no longer do anything the problem gets worse.

I simply didn't register him because he wasn't going to be bred. The inspection aspect of the AKC never came to mind.
I'm a firm believer that every little effort counts. If registering Kaji brings us a teeny tiny baby step closer to a small gain towards higher standards for commercial greeders, I'd be happy to do it. I know there are countless other pet owners who have registrable dogs that simply did not register their pups because of the exact same reason. "What's the point? I'm not going to breed my baby." So imagine the potential of all of these pet owners registering. That teeny tiny baby step won't be so small anymore. Just another front on our effort to bring down puppy mills. The only problem is, I don't know how the AKC works, so I don't know if that would even work.

[rhondah]

Nancy, this was a great post!!!!!! Made me cry. I wish we could just wake up one day and all puppy mills be gone and those babies have wonderful loving homes!!!! The people who run these puppy mills are cold , heartless ........ well I want say , but you know what I mean!

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I don't think any one thing we do will change the situation, this is a complex problem and it will take action on several fronts. I don't want anyone who isn't registering their pet dog with the AKC to feel that they haven't done their part in helping with the immense problem, but I do see hope in registering our dogs, in that pet owners and good breeders will have more of a voice in the AKC in the future. Shouldn't a part of their income come from people who love dogs, and have their best interests at heart? Furthermore, the AKC does do kennel inspections, and I hope my registration fee assisted so that they didn't have to reduce the number of inspections they did this year. Apathy is a dangerous thing, and when we no longer feel like our actions make a difference, we no longer act. When we no longer do anything the problem gets worse.

I agree that apathy is a very dangerous thing and I see it on YT everyday from people not willing to dig into issues and fully understanding them.

If a pet owner really wanted to help with AKC then donate $$$ to them as they are a 501K and you can earmark where you want your donation used. You decide instead of them. Also based on your income it maybe tax deductible where your pet registry is not (you are receiving a value of the registration).

I also want to add everyone should read AKC's Annual Report to see how much their operating costs are and what income they have coming in.

http://images.akc.org/pdf/2009_annual_report.pdf

Pg 40

Pg 19 states the AKC now has 13 inspectors for the whole United States and they did a total of 5334 inspections which includes Kennels, Pet Shops, Distribution and auctions.

Out of the 5334 inspections they helped local authorities with 122 cruelty cases.

AKC does not want to get in the middle of what the local laws are concerning cruelty charges and will differ to those laws which are minimal at best.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by DvlshAngel985

I simply didn't register him because he wasn't going to be bred. The inspection aspect of the AKC never came to mind.
I'm a firm believer that every little effort counts. If registering Kaji brings us a teeny tiny baby step closer to a small gain towards higher standards for commercial greeders, I'd be happy to do it. I know there are countless other pet owners who have registrable dogs that simply did not register their pups because of the exact same reason. "What's the point? I'm not going to breed my baby." So imagine the potential of all of these pet owners registering. That teeny tiny baby step won't be so small anymore. Just another front on our effort to bring down puppy mills. The only problem is, I don't know how the AKC works, so I don't know if that would even work.

I approach it from trying to think who could influence the AKC? If the AKC makes most of its money through commercial breeders, they will be the ones with all the clout. Like it or not, this seems to be the way the world works. If just regular people petition the AKC, how would they know that they are not extreme animal rights groups who would like to see all breeding come to an end? If, however, pet owners, who believe in the right to own pets petition them, they just might listen. I think it's worth a shot. Like I said, in the past, pet owners haven't been involved, but the AKC is opening up more events planned just for pet owners, and as more of the money is coming from pet owners, pet owners will have more of a voice. One thing is certain, if you are not involved with them at all, you will have no voice.

[QuickSilver]

Originally Posted by livingdustmops

I agree that apathy is a very dangerous thing and I see it on YT everyday from people not willing to dig into issues and fully understanding them.

If a pet owner really wanted to help with AKC then donate $$$ to them as they are a 501K and you can earmark where you want your donation used. You decide instead of them. Also based on your income it maybe tax deductible where your pet registry is not (you are receiving a value of the registration).

I also want to add everyone should read AKC's Annual Report to see how much their operating costs are and what income they have coming in.

http://images.akc.org/pdf/2009_annual_report.pdf

Pg 40

Pg 19 states the AKC now has 13 inspectors for the whole United States and they did a total of 5334 inspections which includes Kennels, Pet Shops, Distribution and auctions.

Out of the 5334 inspections they helped local authorities with 122 cruelty cases.

AKC does not want to get in the middle of what the local laws are concerning cruelty charges and will differ to those laws which are minimal at best.

My question would be, will they really use the donation for what you specify? I thought this was a problem for other organizations like the Red Cross - people donate for one particular disaster, and then the money gets set aside for something else. I'm fuzzy on this, though.

[livingdustmops]

I sat on the Board of two non-profit organizations and worked for a college that was also non-profit. In all 3 cases if a donation specified on the check it was to go to a certain area then it did. Now I don't know how it worked and maybe these organizations did it so they could continue to raise funds but I also would think they would have to have some accountability of funds coming in. I am not familiar with Red Cross and what you are referring to.

I will look at guidestar to see if they can explain this legally.

[QuickSilver]

Interesting. Here's a snap from the annual report livingdustmops linked to.

AKCRevenue.png


Over half of the AKC's income comes from registration/pedigree fees. About 25% comes from shows. The remaining quarter is miscellaneous. Contributions are negligible.

[livingdustmops]

I am not a tax expert..maybe one of our accountants on here can help but the more I kept reading the more I am sure if you designate your $$$ or property to a specific reason then by the IRS laws you have to use the $$$ for that purpose. If my mothers estate was 10 million dollars and she wanted it to be used as an ant farm then legally I believe they would have to follow her wishes...same as wills etc or $$$ be donated for a football program at a college or a scholarship.

Nonprofits: USA.gov

Most people who donate funds to a charity, trust they will use it to the best of their knowledge so rarely do they specifie where it is to be used. One of the beauty of GuideStar nonprofit reports and Forms 990 for donors, grantmakers and businesses is you can review the charity and are they following the statement used for tax exemption. It is also another reason to review Annual Statements to see if the $$$$ is being used the correct way. Organizations are open for audits and could lose their exemption.

[QuickSilver]

Okay, thanks for clarifying that.

[livingdustmops]

Originally Posted by QuickSilver

Okay, thanks for clarifying that.

Just remember I am not an expert but it is what I am thinking..

[QuickSilver]

No, I think you are right. I think that I've seen disaster organizations complaining about people earmarking funds for certain disasters, and then ones that get a lot of press get way overfunded, and other situations don't get what's needed. I think I've also seen the warning that if you don't earmark your contribution, you should be aware that it may go to something entirely different from what you intended. I'm not sure you can just write a check to the AKC and write "kennel inspections" on it, though. It also appears that they get next to no money from donations, so I'm not sure we can have any impact there.

[livingdustmops]

I think you could earmark it for Compliance Operations:

C O M P L I A N C E O P E R A T I O N S
Compliance Operations safeguards the integrity of the AKC
Stud Book, the world’s largest purebred registry. e division
includes Investigations & Inspections, DNA Operations, Case
Management, and Compliance Support.
irteen inspectors conducted 5,334 inspections of
kennels, pet shops, distributors, and auctions in 2009.
Inspectors monitor the care and conditions of the dogs
and kennel facilities, and review recordkeeping and dog-identification
practices.
e division coordinated with state and local governments
on 122 cruelty and neglect cases, and inspectors provided assistance
during several natural disasters, including tornadoes and
flooding in the Midwest.

[Nancy1999]

For those of you who haven't seen it, please read this thread and sign the petiton. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...uppy-mill.html

Also join Yorkietalk social group YAP (Yorkies Against Puppy Mills) and we will notify you when you can help. Join YAP Here!

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

For those of you who haven't seen it, please read this thread and sign the petiton. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...uppy-mill.html

Also join Yorkietalk social group YAP (Yorkies Against Puppy Mills) and we will notify you when you can help. Join YAP Here!

Signed!

I also spotted this petition while signing the puppy mill one:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/479266130

It's about preventing childhood drownings, which my little brother died from, so thanks for posting this! I'm going to add this to our website.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by Britster

Signed!

I also spotted this petition while signing the puppy mill one:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/479266130

It's about preventing childhood drownings, which my little brother died from, so thanks for posting this! I'm going to add this to our website.

Signed it, I remember your story about your brother, you could also do another thread in Off Topics and get more signatures, summer is coming up, and it's an important reminder.