On May 31, AKC staff and ten different dog breeds met with legislators and state employees at Canines at the Capitol at the North Carolina Legislative Complex in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The Canines at the Capitol event was hosted by the AKC Government Relations team to educate lawmakers and the public about the AKC’s availability as a local resource for dog expertise and to promote the value of responsible AKC dog owners and breeders.

The State Dog of North Carolina, the Plott, was represented by world champion “Freddie,” who posed for photos with lawmakers alongside owner Christina Officer. Nine other dogs provided “dog therapy” to state workers. Participating dogs included AKC champions, therapy dogs, family pets, and a multi-titled mixed breed that competes in AKC events through the AKC Canine PartnersSM progam. Volunteer handlers from the K9 Unit of the Thomasville (NC) Rescue Squad discussed services performed by their search and rescue and human remains detection dogs. The K9 Unit has received past grants from AKC Companion Animal Recovery.

While the dogs remained cool under tents, AKC staff distributed educational materials and answered questions on topics that included identifying the best breed for the family, the Canine Good Citizen© program, dog training, and AKC events.

“I would like to thank all the participants for the tremendous efforts they put into making Canines at the Capitol such a success. We had an excellent turnout,” said Sheila Goffe, Director of Government Relations.

AKC staff talks to a legislative aide about using the AKC website to find the right breed for him

AKC staff providing educational materials to visitors

Mixed-breed dog Quicksilver’s Word Up, MX, MXJ, RN, FM (known as “Cameo”) loved greeting her many visitors

We were proud to have many different dogs for the public to meet – including Danae Regal Cadence (known as “Dina”) – a German Shepherd who serves with the TF5 USAR K9 Unit of the Thomasville (NC) Rescue Squad, and CH Solocha Rev’d Up at Kasiq, RAE, CA (“Revs”) – a conformation champion who also competes in Agility, AKC Rally, and serves as a therapy dog

The Plott is the State Dog of North Carolina and was proudly represented by CH CWSG CSG County Line Krueger (“Freddie”), an overall AKC Coonhound World Show Champion and AKC Supreme Bench Champion

Visitors loved the opportunity to get their picture taken with North Carolina’s State Dog (and Freddie was delighted to comply)!