May 1st marked National Purebred Dog Day, and AKC Government Relations was pleased to celebrate and recognize the importance of our beloved purpose-bred companions in a variety of ways throughout the last month.
One of the best ways to promote purebred dogs is to allow the public to interact with the breeds and learn about them from experts. AKC Meet the Breeds kicked off in late April in Tampa, Florida, to an eager crowd who were excited to meet, pet, and love the dozens of breeds in attendance. AKC GR’s Patty Van Sicklen was on site to answer any policy related questions. Look for future Meet the Breeds events in Dallas, Columbus, and San Diego. Where possible, local and state lawmakers will attend and participate as “Honorary Chairs” and promote the importance of responsible dog ownership.
AKC GR was also pleased this month to join with the New Hampshire federation to celebrate the State Dog. The New Hampshire’s Dog Owners of the Granite State (NH DOGS) presented a painting of the Chinook to the NH House Environment and Agriculture Committee. The painting was completed with photo assistance from the Chinook Club of America. It will be hung in the committee’s hearing room for everyone to enjoy and to permanently commemorate the Chinook’s importance in the state.
Investing in future generations of dog owners is an additional way to promote purebred dogs. This month, the AKC Government Relations department was pleased to award Dr. Tonya Harris, student at the University of the District of Columbia, as this year’s AKC Animal Law Writing Contest winner for her paper on the constitutionality of mandatory spay/neuter ordinances.
We were also pleased to participate in National Purebred Dog Day (NPDD) founder Susi Szeremy’s annual photo contests in honor of the day. AKC GR sponsored the category “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” which challenged the contestants to show you can’t always determine the true qualities of someone or something by superficial details alone. The AKC Political Action Committee (AKC PAC) sponsored “Someone’s in the Kitchen” which encouraged contestants to think outside the box when illustrating a way their dog is in the kitchen. AKC GR congratulates the winners and thanks Suzi for her continued work and commitment to this wonderful day celebrating purebred dogs.
In addition, AKC GR continues to work tirelessly on legislative and regulatory issues to protect purebred dog owners and the future of our breeds. This includes a recent webinar that examines the impact of pandemic on the detection dog industry. This webinar is part of a series presented by the AKC Detection Dog Task Force (DDTF).
We invite you to explore this issue to learn more about current issues legislative and policy issues, including a California “dog and cat bill of rights” (which has since been positively amended), and information on a recent resolution about “One Health” by the United Nations.
If you have questions or hear of an issue in your community, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at doglaw@akc.org. Thank you for your continued partnership.