Kennel Clubs Join for “Meet & Compete”

In 2016, New York City will host the 3rd Annual Masters Agility Championship alongside the Meet & Compete event. This event is designed to allow people the opportunity to meet hundreds of different dogs; it is a joint event arranged by the American Kennel Club (AKC) and Westminster Kennel Club. Meet & Compete will be held on February 13th, 2016. The event is sponsored by Purina Pro Plan. The event also focuses on responsible dog ownership.

2016 will be the seventh year the AKC holds Meet the Breeds. AKC Vice President, Gina DiNardo said, “We’re excited to be partnering again with the Westminster Kennel Club to bring the public Meet & Compete. We will have a fantastic variety of breeds at  AKC Meet the Breeds® for attendees to meet and learn about straight from the experts.” Westminster Kennel Club President, Sean W. McCarthy said, “We are combining and expanding two exciting events for Westminster Week 2016, and the dog-loving public is the winner. We have more space for AKC Meet the Breeds® and more access for all to the Masters Agility Championship at Westminster. We are pleased once again to be partnering with the AKC to make it happen.”

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Low Numbers of Purebred Dogs in American Shelters

The National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) conducted a study to examine the types of dogs present in American animal shelters. One goal of the study was to estimate the size of the purebred dog population in shelters. Previous estimates put purebred numbers at approximately 25% of the shelter population. First-hand observers feel that this percentage is too high.

NAIA wrote, “Establishing more accurate information would benefit policy makers who rely on such data when drafting legislation; consumers who consider it when choosing a family dog; and society at large, which forms opinions and attitudes about dogs, based on their perception of such issues.” The 25% estimate is seen as causing an unnecessary stigma that purebreds are a large problem for pet population control. It also leads consumers to believe that purebred dogs are readily available at most shelters.1

Previously, breed designation has relied on owner statements or shelter staff. Shelter staff are not typically dog breed experts, nor are owners surrendering their dog. NAIA found that Collie-like dogs are labeled as Collies, chunky black dogs are labeled as Labrador Retrievers, and stocky short-coated dogs are labeled as Pit Bulls. According to NAIA, the previous studies that put purebreds at 25% of the shelter dog population in the 1990’s used the number of purebreds that entered shelters. They did not examine the percentage of dogs that were available to the public for adoption. It is important to make this distinction because purebreds are reclaimed by the owners more often than mixed breeds.1

The NAIA’s Shelter Project Study found that purebreds make up approximately 5% of the American shelter population. NAIA wrote, “It is interesting to observe that the number of purebreds in shelters would be 3.3% were it not for two breeds that are overrepresented, Chihuahuas and dogs described as Pit Bulls. Together, these two breeds account for 35% of all purebreds listed by shelters in this study. What is not well known is that Chihuahuas are the single most numerous purebred found in shelters today. Because Chihuahuas are small, attractive to adopters and highly adoptable, their numbers are especially high in shelters that import dogs for adoption.“ 1

Director of Government Relations for the American Kennel Club, Sheila Goffe said, "The NAIA study results are very encouraging. It is the most extensive survey on this subject to date and it shows that dogs identified as purebreds are rare in American shelters today, an outcome that responsible breeders, rescuers and AKC have worked decades to achieve. We are gratified that AKC programs were able to contribute to this result and we are committed to continuing these programs to further reduce the need for shelters and rescues – not just for purebreds, but for all dogs." 2

Rescue Dogs from California Illuminates Sourcing Issues

Drew Van Niekerk

InfoStream Staff Writer

Rescue organizations continue to make news with continually evolving efforts to rehome stray, surrendered or abandoned pets. 

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“Thank Dog I’m Out” is a British Columbia based Canadian “rescue” organization that imports dogs from California shelters, transported via Bellingham Washington in collaboration with Wings of Rescue who flew dogs from California. B.C. families rallied to foster and adopt 100 dogs from California shelters through TDIO, again raising awareness that numbers of dogs available for adoption in Canadian shelters have dropped over the years. 

Sources of pets as puppies, kittens or re-homed adults has received considerable discussion with the Alliance for Urban Animals at the Regional Urban Animal Conferences and the annual International Summit for Urban Animal Strategies www.urbananimal.com. While some argue that pet families should only be adopting animals, breeders maintain that purposeful breed stock must be maintained, and consumers remain the driving force in demand for new pets, and it seems their appetite is still strong. 

Discussions continue over whether importation of pets is right or wrong, raising issues like the possible importation of disease with pets; or whether the efforts over years of humane and rescue work done locally are completely resolved. 

Are the efforts of an importation rescue service merely supporting unresolved overpopulation and breeding issues in places like California? What measures are in place to trace the origins of pets in shelters that are ‘rescued’? These are questions being asked by members of the animal industry in Canada.

Meanwhile, Canadian Kennel Club breeder registration numbers are dropping and pet stores are being picketed to close to pet sales. Quality breeders are struggling to justify their place in the supply chain but rescues allow an alternate, arguably broken, supply chain to function by gathering up the unwanted from that process. These are significant points to consider. 

Perhaps the transparency of knowing where every animal came would allow consumers to make educated choices and adopters to have all the facts.  Perhaps then the hard working people in the animal industry could focus their efforts on sourcing or ‘re-sourcing’ pets into homes in the best possible way without the judgment they currently face? After all, the market demands for pets are not linear, some families want purebreds, some want rescues. Other families want crossbred non-registered pets and still others prefer local and some folks will cross the country to buy or adopt. How could there be one answer?