[ SHOWGSD-L ] Hunte letter page 4
- From: Peggy <pmick12@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Showgsd-l <Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:54:06 -0500
Visualizing Common Eye Disorders
With "big screen" photos and complete descriptions of common eye problems
Tail Docking and Dewclaw Removal
Step by step color photographs showing methods for achieving excellent
results (information to be shared with your veterinarian)
Saving Crashing Puppies/Tube Feeding
Tips on critical care with a hands-on demonstration
Improving Dental Health
Basic equipment and demonstration for recognizing, treating, and preventing
dental tartar
Microscope Use/Parasite Identification
Excellent "how to" demonstration for using your own microscope
Understanding Heat Cycles/Progesterone
Simple explanations for unraveling the mystery of the canine heat cycle
Baths, Dips, Ears, and Mites
Learn basic techniques for proper skin and ear hygiene
Grooming Adult Dogs
Basics for practical and show grooming
Some of the key note speakers were:
Dr. John Sessions- Known for his multiple advance studies in both Texas and
Georgia spoke on Lepto.
Dr. Pamela Fonti- A renowned expert on Nutrition. She spoke on that subject.
Dr. Gerryl Hall-Lead Veterinarian for Schering-Plough Animal Health spoke on
preventative medicine
Dr. Carmen Battaglia-President and Chief Executive Officer of Companion
Animal Recovery and a member of the AKC Board of Directors and German
Shepherd Dog Club of America, spoke on Tools and Skills for Better Breeding
And others-AKC Board Member Steve Gladstone was among the keynote speakers
in both 2004 and 2005. The well known Dr. Robert Hutchinson spoke on
Pediatrics and Frozen Semen in the year 2000.
My membership in The German Shepherd Dog Club of America will enhance my
ability as a dedicated enthusiast of the breed to educate breeders in the
highest standards of animal husbandry and animal care practices. This
will also advance the objectives of the Club.
The Hunte Corporation provides a free puppy to any child that requests
it through the Make A Wish Foundation providing that the parents of the
child
commit to caring for the puppy throughout its lifetime.
The Hunte Corporation does not represent showability nor breedability.
Our goal is to sell healthy puppies that will end up in happy homes. The
essential prerequisite for employment at The Hunte Corporation is that
the applicant must love puppies. Each of our employees practices animal
welfare
every day; they must love animals, and puppies especially, to work for us.
I invite this Board to visit The Hunte Corporation and tour our
distribution facility, our kennel, and our veterinary facilities. It
would be my great
pleasure to host your visit and personally show you all that we are
doing to advance animal care excellence in breeding puppies. Many
leading members of
the fancy have visited our facility, including officers and directors of
the American Kennel Club. They were favorably impressed, and I believe you
would be also.
In response to some of the misinformed comments and objections made
concerning my application for membership in the German Shepherd Dog Club of
America, I would like to offer a few comments, but before I do that I
would like to talk a little bit about Katrina. We all remember Katrina.
We were
contacted by rescue groups in four different states. We were asked by
all if we would be willing to assist in transporting some of the many
thousands
of animals involved in that disaster because in the entire United States
of America we are probably best equipped to handle such a situation as it
relates to the transportation of smaller breed dogs. We positioned our
Delivery System units awaiting instructions only to be told by all four
agencies, "We are sorry but we can not accept your help because of what
you do." How sad! Imagine for a moment that you are a dog, a loved
family pet,
about to be put down and because our help was refused due to lack of
information, or a strange animal rights ideology, you will not be rescued.
How sad that when people have an ideologically biased opinion they tend
to seek out information supporting that bias and they often ignore any
information that contradicts their bias.
As a matter of fact, I and my company are very active in resisting
animal rights legislation aimed at breeders and dog owners. We were active
opponents of the Santorum/HSUS "PAWS" legislation in Congress, and we
are fighting against proposed restrictions on breeders in several other
states.
We are committed to opposing harmful animal rights legislation wherever
it arises. One of things that strikes me in all of this is that very often
breeders don't understand who their real adversaries are. Animal rights
extremists who advocate the end of animal breeding and ownership are the
adversary. Others who practice animal animal welfare, as all dog
breeders should, are our allies.
Now back to the objections of certain GSDCA members and my comments in
response.
Objection: This is a club of dog fanciers, and GSD enthusiasts.
My comment: I have been a serious dog fancier for over 40 years and a
dog lover for 55 years. Six years ago I acquired a female GSD puppy
named Lyka,
with a good Shutzhund pedigree, to be our house dog. I did not intend to
breed her, nor show her so I had her spayed. This puppy grew to become a
wonderful, smart addition to our family. She really sparked my interest
for the breed. As I attended various dog shows and read more about the GSD I
decided that I would acquire the best possible bred GSD puppy from the
most highly respected GSD breeder. I was blessed to be able to acquire a
male
"Dallas" grandson. He has become my best buddy and sleeps at my
bedside. Both dogs are loved by our family. Arno finished at 9 months
of age,
handled by Jimmy Moses and Lenny Brown. He is now 19 months old and I
have been showing him occasionally in order to remind him that he is a
show dog
in preparation for campaigning him when he has matured. I have handled
him myself in local shows and he is currently being handled in close to home
shows by a professional handler named Linda Williams.
Objection: One who mass produces puppies of many breeds for the purpose
of selling them to Pet Stores one of which he favors called Petland. It is
generally understood that this man owns these stores which are branched
out nationwide. Financially profiting, labeling him a puppy miller of
the worst
kind.
My comment: I do not produce puppies; I do not own Petland Inc. It is
true that I have interests in three Petland stores, and that my business
makes a
profit. It seems to me entirely appropriate to profit as I can by
educating an industry in need of education, and by promoting superior
animal welfare
practices. The end result is that the welfare of puppies and dogs is
advanced. That is a goal I hope we all share; it is much more important
than whether someone makes a profit. I do not know what a "puppy miller"
is, far less one "of the worst kind." The term "puppy mill" is a pejorative
conceived by the animal rights movement as a tool to defame all who
breed puppies- hobbyists and professionals alike. It is a shame when
breeders
unwittingly fall victim to this tactic and use the term to refer to
other breeders whom they perceive to be competitors.
Objection: I would like to object to this individual becoming a member
of the GSDCA based on the fact that he is involved in the mass
production/distribution/wholesaling of multiple breeds of puppies and/or
dogs. Not only is he involved in this type of business, it is his
livelihood. Furthermore, I would propose that the GSDCA revise its
by-laws to exclude any individual so engaged from becoming a member of
the GSDCA.
My comment: The by-laws of GSDCA do not stipulate that membership should
be denied to an applicant who is involved in the pet industry, or for that
matter any other industry. Article 2 of the GSDCA by-laws state:
SECTION 1. Membership.
Membership. There shall be one type of membership (except for present
Life Memberships which the Club shall continue to honor) in an unlimited
number.
To be eligible, a person must be eighteen (18) years of age or older, in
good standing with the American Kennel Club, and shall subscribe to the
objects of the Club.
I am beyond the minimum age, in good standing with the American Kennel
Club, and subscribe to the objectives of the Club, thus am well
qualified for
membership. There is in fact no cause for the Board to deny my good
faith application for membership.
Neosho News article, November 2003
My comment: This article resulted from the unfounded complaints of a
disgruntled former employee to the state of Missouri and the local
newspaper. Regulatory officials from two Missouri state agencies, the
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Department of Agriculture
inspected our Sunrise facility and were interviewed by the Neosho News.
The DNR inspector identified a broken water line damaged by a truck and
requiring repair, and unauthorized construction waste materials that
were subsequently removed. Neither state official backed up the disgruntled
employee's claims of illegal behavior. In fact, the Department of
Agriculture inspector was quoted in the article, concerning The Hunte
Corporation: "they're in compliance with state law." The simple truth is
that The Hunte Corporation has never been cited for illegal activity by the
State of Missouri.
Objection: I have no information whether or not Mr. Hunte is the breeder
of record of any litter of German Shepherd Dogs.
My comment: No, I have not bred any German Shepherd Dogs. At present I
only own a spayed bitch and a 19 month old male. But I am interested in
breeding
German Shepherds. I have never involved my personal dogs in my
commercial business because I have always had demand for my puppies from
friends and
acquaintances. To be very clear, my application for membership is based
solely on my interest as an enthusiast for the breed. I do not intend to
use my membership in the Club in any way to increase the number of
German Shepherds sold in the pet industry.
Objection: He and his corporation are the antithesis of responsible
breedership. Even the AKC figured that one out.
My comment: Ms. Elsoff is misinformed or uninformed. I am puzzled about
her AKC comment because the AKC has visited, inspected and approved our
facility
on many occasions.
Objection: Their education of the fancy in non existent. I believe his
ethics and goals are not inline with the mandate of our club.
My comment: Ms. Snider is incorrect on both counts. She should consider
her sources of information. Many people from the "fancy" have attended our
Breeders Educational Conference. Breeders attend to learn from our
mini-seminars and key note speakers.
Objection: But has yet to make a commitment to the breed aside from
applying for membership. He has not even, to our knowledge, attended or
entered Shepherd specialties close to his "facility"-GSDC of Kansas City.
My comment: As a matter of fact I did show in Kansas City. In fact, I
spoke to the President Lew Bunch at that show and invited him to visit
The Hunte
Corporation.
Example from supportive message sent by GSDCA member to Board of Directors:
If the bylaws of the club are changed to keep certain people from
joining the club, what will be the long term affect? If changes come
into effect,
what will keep the bylaws from being changed again down the way to keep
more people out? . . . Where does the club draw the line? Where does it
all end?
Is the parent club going to be run by mob rule or by the rules?
I support Mr. Hunte's membership to the GSDCA.
My comment: I very much appreciate this point of view, am grateful for
the support, and believe it very likely represents the opinion of the
majority
of the members of this Club. I sincerely hope that this Board will
endorse my application for membership. I encourage anyone who wants to
know more
about me, my commitment to the German Shepherd breed, my commitment to
improving breeder education and animal husbandry and care practices, or
about my company to speak with me directly. I welcome your questions.
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org
============================================================================
Other related posts:
