Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) today released a "Discussion Draft" of an amended version of S. 1139, the "Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005" (PAWS). The Discussion Draft includes language clarifying several original provisions and adds some new provisions which resulted from input following a November 2005 hearing on the […]

  --David Keene and Dr. William R. Newman Elected to Board of Directors; Incumbent Director Nina Schaefer Re-Elected; Ronald H. Menaker and David C. Merriam Re-Elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman Respectively -- The Annual Meeting of the AKC Delegates and subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors took place on March 14, 2006. David […]

Annual Benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Has Raised Nearly $3 Million to Date New York, NY — The American Kennel Club (AKC®) announced today that it will sanction the renowned Decatur County – St. Jude World's Largest Coon Hunt. The event, which has been raising funds for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital for […]

  New York, NY -- The American Kennel Club (AKC®) announced today the winners of the 2006 AKC Lifetime Achievement Awards. The awards will be presented to the winners by AKC President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis B. Sprung, at the January 17, 2006 Delegates Meeting in Tampa, Florida, in conjunction with the AKC/Eukanuba National […]

I'm pleased to report that Senator Rick Santorum this past weekend provided us with an advance copy of his "discussion draft" of an amended version of the "Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005" (PAWS) bill. This discussion draft will be posted on the Senator's web site (http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm) this week. The draft clarifies several original provisions […]

Senator Santorum's staff and Senate legislative counsel have completed a draft of the revised PAWS bill. The draft was provided to the US Department of Agriculture and the 26 Senate co-sponsors of PAWS at a briefing last week for their review and comment. The Discussion Draft of PAWS will be made public after input from […]

-- Click here for more information about PAWS -- --Monday June, 13 AKC Delegate Meeting, Chicago IL Remarks from Dr. James Holt, AKC's Legislative Liaison Regarding the Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005-- The Chair now calls on Dr. James Holt, AKC's Legislative Liaison to address this body. Dr. Holt: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and […]

-- Click here for more information about PAWS -- The following is an interview with AKC's federal government relations consultant Jim Holt in response to dog owners' questions about PAWS. The article originally appeared in Dog News June 10th, 2005. Who is regulated under current law and how would PAWS change that? In simple terms, […]

-- Click here for more information about PAWS -- To help dog owners better understand the recently introduced PAWS legislation, please see the bill analysis below as prepared by Dr. James Holt, AKC's federal government relations consultant. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS OF S. 1139/H.R. 2669, THE "PET ANIMAL WELFARE STATUTE" (PAWS) INTRODUCED MAY 26, 2005. […]

Hunters and dog fanciers in Texas are extremely concerned about HB326 and its companion, SB172. The identical bills would amend the state's cruelty law in several ways. First, the measures make it a crime to cause bodily injury to an animal, with "animal" being defined as any "nonhuman mammal, bird or captive amphibian or reptile." […]