[ SHOWGSD-L ] Article<>Canine Chronicles - Dr. Al Grossman
- From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l List <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:42:50 -0700
There are some intriguing points in his article. FYI,only
Stormy
http://www.caninechronicle.com/Features/Grossman_07/grossman_607.html
By Dr. Al Grossman
For the past five years, part of which I spent as an AKC Delegate, I
have seen AKC inadvertently shoot itself in the proverbial foot. The
PAWS legislation, which tore the fancy apart, and the ?clandestine?
approach to the agreement with the Petland Pet store chain come
immediately to mind.
During this period PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
and the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) turned themselves
into a powerful legislative juggernaut backed by millions of dollars
that were milked from a gullible public and have become a royal PITA
(Pain in the Ass). AKC was slow to recognize their growing influence
and has suffered the consequences,
Three major tsunamis occurred during this time to create a perfect
storm for AKC and the world of purebred dogs. First was the expansion
of leisure time and the phenomenal growth of the recreation industry.
Many different opportunities arose for leisure time activities from
Little League baseball to the explosion of the cruise industry. The
cadres of die-hard fanciers stopped growing as the next generation
found other pursuits more interesting and challenging. Breed and All
Breed clubs began to wither and die on the vine as few new members
were to be found.
A growing number of entrepreneurs saw an opportunity to make a fast
buck from the growing pet dog population by starting ?registration?
bodies and issuing a piece of paper stating ?Your dog is now
registered with God All Mighty Kennel Club? ? no need for a stud book,
inspections, DNA testing or whatever. You now have a purebred dog
registered on the cheap. With a PC and a printer you too can become a
registration body. Just print the meaningless document and collect the
dough.
At last count, AKC had 26 competitors in the registration business.
For many years the only ?real? competitor was the United Kennel Club.
At least they maintained a stud book, published magazines, and held
dog shows. Everyone could live with such legitimate competition.
Interestingly enough the number of homes with dogs as pets has
increased as AKC registrations dropped. The registrations of AKC began
a steady decline as people either were not convinced of the value of
registering a dog with AKC or were deceived by effective advertising
and promotion to register with other bodies. Of course, it did not
help that many puppy mills, discouraged by AKC?s growing number of
stringent rules about inspections, frequent sires? DNA confirmation,
and emphasis on health and good animal husbandry, turned away from the
AKC bureaucracy and created their own registration bodies, which for
them simplified their registrations and cost them less money. The new
registration bodies were able to promote these ?new? registration
entities to the pet shops, which sold their products, by giving them
kickbacks.
Some of these entrepreneurs also found another gold mine. They helped
foster the breeding and promotion of so-called ?designer dogs.?
CockaPoos, Labradoodles, Puggles and the like began to be the ?in?
thing for the unsophisticated public. Eureka, another vein to mine.
Now along came the most vicious threat to the sport of purebred dogs ?
the resurgence of the Animal Rights Movement. This is a movement so
insidious that it grows likes a cancer. An unhealthy amalgamation of
extreme environmentalists, Greens, Greenpeace, ALF, PETA, HSUS, etc.,
has learned to prey upon weakened institutions like a bunch of
jackals. It appeals to the young and idealistic who are seeking a
cause to give meaning to their lives. They practice all of the
techniques of cults and give them a philosophy of veganism,
environmentalism and radicalism. Upset the status quo, be in the
forefront of a new movement, change the universe and you will be part
of the new chosen ones, is their motto. This has high appeal to
impressionable young people and is a message as old as time now
supported by money, advertising and hucksterism.
These people have become dangerous. They have destroyed facilities
using animals for research. They have killed and maimed animals in
their quest for the new nirvana. They have harassed researchers and
others involved in vital medical research. Lastly, and most telling,
they have learned the art and skill of manipulating legislative
bodies. With their huge cache of money, they have been able to mount
punitive anti-dog legislation in city after city and state after
state. The punitive, anti-dog legislation in Louisville, Kentucky
shows that the inmates have taken over the asylum.
Many years ago, when I was the publisher of Doral Publishing, Patti
and Rod Strand came to me about publishing a book exposing the
takeover of the Animal Humane movement by groups of fanatics. We
published it under the title THE HIJACKING OF THE HUMANE MOVEMENT. It
was a great critical success. As a result of its publication, I
received a number of death threats, but I also got to participate in
the founding of NAIA (National Animal Interest Alliance) and served on
its first Board of Directors.
As I became more and more concerned about this insidious cancer, I
approached AKC to take some affirmative action against these fanatics.
I got plaudits for my writings but the powers-that-be at AKC indicated
that the situation wasn?t too serious and that I was being an
alarmist. So much for foresight.
As these events hovered in the background, they finally came together
to form a perfect storm which hit AKC and the fancy with unprecedented
violence. AKC and the fancy reacted with shock and dismay at our
failure to anticipate the results of our inaction and the support of
PAWS and Petland without consulting the delegate body and the fancy in
advance. The realization of unintended consequences struck us like a
thunderbolt. We have been scurrying around ever since trying to
regroup and decide on a corrective course of action. As the famous
Oliver Hardy of the Laurel and Hardy comedic team would say, ?Well,
here is another nice kettle of fish you?ve pickled me into?.
Having painted this canvas full of gloom and doom, I would like to
take this opportunity to change my pallet and paint another type of
picture. Hopefully one that uses brighter colors and offers some clues
to a better future.
First off, we need to recognize we are no longer in a growth industry.
We need to re-identify what business we are in. Just like the
Pennsylvania Railroad, who discovered they were not just in the
railroad business but the transportation business, we are no longer
just in the dog game. We are a part of the leisure and recreation
industry and must begin to act accordingly. We must change our
constitution and by-laws to accommodate this change.
? We need to recognize that the sports of Agility and Rally are the
growth portion of our new industry, and begin to give them the
recognition and representation they deserve.
? While the emphasis on the bottom line is important to our survival,
we should not become overly dependent on the roller-coaster stock
market for a major share of our income.
? We should initiate a study of the possibility of acquiring the UKC
so there would be one strong body representing purebred dogs. Greater
economies of scale would be possible with this concentration of
resources.
? AKC should move out of New York, sublease the current facilities,
and join with the Raleigh portion of the company. As our registration
income shrinks, it is folly to stay in New York with its ultra-high
costs. Admit the division was a mistake and now rectify it.
? Let?s admit that the delegate body has become unwieldy as the number
of clubs joining AKC increases. The new constitution and by-laws
should address a new way of representation, making sure that it?s
duties and responsibilities are more clearly spelled out.
? The archaic notion that the Board of Directors of AKC must come from
the delegate body has to be reviewed. We should have the opportunity
to bring in expertise from other arenas to give us wise counsel as
needed. We need to open our eyes to the realities of the 21st century.
Our flexibility is being limited by our own ?inbreeding?. We need what
we extol in our dogs ? ?hybrid vigor,? which some good outcrosses can
give us.
? The Board of Directors should cease micromanaging the organization
and delegate more authority to the President and staff.
? The National Championship show should be permanently located in one
city so it can grow its? identity. It needs to be placed in a location
that can rival New York City as a destination city. Tampa and Long
Beach do not meet those criteria ? Las Vegas does. Good
transportation, lots to do and see, and excellent facilities. It?s a
natural.
? We need to change the direction and philosophy of how to combat
animal rights legislation. AKC should take a leaf from Union
organizers and hire people to go to the hot spots, organize the
campaign, help letter writers, and lobby the local/state legislators
in place. They should spend at least a month on-site to do this.
? AKC should retain a PR firm whose sole job is to poke fun and
ridicule at some of the preposterous things that animal rights groups
do. They need to point out that these people don?t realize the
consequences of their own actions and spell out the unintended
consequences. Humor can be very effective, especially biting humor.
I leave you with the following guideline. Tactics knows what to do
when there is something to do; Strategy knows what to do when there is
nothing to do.
Dr. Grossman, a long time judge of Sporting Dogs and publisher of
Doral Publishing is now the President of WinningSolutions.info, a
website devoted to developing the Professional Mentor concept via
vital information for the beginning breeder/exhibitor at
http://winningsolutions.info
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