For the past eight years, I have been fortunate to serve on the Board of this great American Kennel Club, the world’s strongest and most effective champion for purebred dogs and our Sport. It has been a privilege to play a role in the advancement of AKC’s mission and to be a part of so many changes that have been put in place to support and improve what we do for our dogs and those, like us, who love them each and every day.
Thanks to the hard work of our management and staff, the good sense of our Board of Directors, and input from the Delegate Body, The American Kennel Club is stronger and better than ever before.
Registrations are the core of our business and represent the underpinning of our Sport. Several years ago, a sustained drop in registrations of litters and dogs was a pressing and primary concern.
Today, thanks to enhanced customer service, technology improvements and breeder recruitment, AKC has turned the tide. We have enjoyed more than six years of consecutive, annual increases in litter registrations, and expansion by twenty percent across the board.
We are embracing breeders as never before. Our Breeder Development Outreach department educates breeders of all kinds about the value of AKC registration and welcomes those who want to join us in producing quality purebred dogs for new owners everywhere.
Our Investigations and Inspections department seeks opportunities to educate breeders to achieve improvements in all areas of canine care and conditions.
Overall, we stand united in our commitment to responsible breeding. The Breeder of Merit and Bred with Heart programs were conceived to set responsible breeders apart and guide the public toward quality sources of purpose-bred dogs. All these efforts have played an important role in the growth of litter registrations and unique breeders in recent years.
Equally crucial with the development of our breeder base is the cultivation of a loyal audience of purebred dog owners. In a globalized world fueled by social media, doors to new adventures are always opening to people of all ages, and the AKC has become a destination. Our social media engages the public with a wealth of regularly posted, targeted information and newsletters.
Our entry into digital media with our own TV channel, AKC.tv, has allowed us to deliver the world of purebred dogs right into living rooms at any time of day or night. Dog lovers are coming to know the AKC as a trusted resource, a leading authority, and a stellar content provider. We know we are succeeding as we are seeing higher rates of registration and more engagement with AKC dog owners than ever before.
As well, we are experiencing increased participation in our sports. Last year brought us over 3 million entries in our events, the highest total entries in history! Thanks to the development of Grand Championships and the National Owner-Handled Series, and our deepening involvement with Juniors and young members of the 4-H community, we have provided more opportunities and reasons for exhibitors to stay in the game, enjoying the events they love.
Other notable additions include the introduction of the 4-6 month puppy classes, the Puppy of Achievement program, and FSS Open Shows; the launch of new activities such as Fast CAT, Scent Work, Farm Dog Certified, and the Title Recognition Program which includes exciting sports like Flyball, Dock Diving and Disc Dogs.
We developed the Family Dog Program to highlight the talents and potential of our companion animals, and with it we added a wide range of new skills tests to the venerable AKC Canine Good Citizen Program including Advanced, Urban, Fit Dog, Therapy dogs, temperament testing, and the highly popular Trick Dog program. With the help of our newly established Club Development Department, many conformation clubs have embraced these new programs right along with us, and the results are quite encouraging.
Within the past eight years, we have also made a strong commitment to continuing education. We have made it our duty to bring young people closer to purebred dogs with a more active Public Education department that has launched more than sixteen programs. We have reached thousands of children and their teachers in classrooms all over the country by offering unique resources that simultaneously educate and entertain children’s natural interests in dogs. A recent success has been our mobile app, AKC Math Agility, to reach the newest generation of purebred dog lovers.
Important changes to the judges’ approval process were put into effect to enhance quality judging. Our Canine College Judges Education platform has served more than 22,000 learners with 550 courses and exams to date. So far, more than 45 breed-specific courses have been created to provide additional resources for prospective and current judges.
Protecting the rights of purebred dog fanciers has remained a high priority. We have doubled the size of the Government Relations department, adding legislative analysts and community outreach coordinators to help breeders and owners take a proactive stance on canine policy where they live. The department now provides welcome expert canine advice to legislators, regulators and industries.
We have expanded our outreach to lawmakers through legislative conferences, workshops and events around the country, and are addressing a wider variety of canine issues than ever before. More than eight years ago, the department had its hands full with breed specific legislation, mandatory spay/neuter and breeder licensing laws.
Today, we are tackling many more sophisticated measures including anti-breeder legislation, importation and public health regulations, the shortage of detection dogs, and the issues surrounding service dogs. The department tracks approximately 450 regulations per year and regularly provides expert comment for administrative rules at the state and federal level. Our breeders and our Sport deserve this proactive work to ensure that our rights to breed, own and compete with purebred dogs remain intact indefinitely.
As a leader in our global community of dog lovers, we are building bridges beyond our borders to share knowledge and experience with our peers overseas through programs like AKC Global Service, and to find unity in protecting the future of purebred dogs and our sport at our upcoming international conference for kennel clubs.
It hardly seems possible that so many changes have been implemented in the span of eight years. Innovations at all levels, revitalization of customer service, and an unfettered commitment to our mission have brought about the improvements that we are enjoying today. AKC’s reputation is growing ever stronger and our public perception index is higher than ever, as evidenced by a thirty-nine percent increase in press coverage since 2012, and a media audience approaching 52 billion views!
Just the other day, on my flight to this meeting, a flight attendant asked me what I was on my way to doing. I asked her if she knew of The American Kennel Club. She responded, “Aren’t they the people who protect dogs?”
We have all—Delegates, Staff, and Board—played a role in this evolution of the AKC and should be proud of what we have accomplished together. It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside all of you at this time in the history of The American Kennel Club. I know the best is yet to come. Believe me when I say it, the AKC rocks!
-Bill