----- Original Message -----

From: Harriett

Sent: Thursday, April 13, 2000 2:18 AM

Subject: [purelypets] URGENT PLEASE help FORWARD TO ALL

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Hello folks We need your help,

AKC (American Kennel Club) is doing it again.
They are losing money   because a lot of pet buyers are not bothering to send in the "puppy paper"
and have launched a major campaign using the breeders to encourage the new owners to send in
the papers. 
They spend a lot or money trying to figure how to make more money.
They came up with a big one.

It started out with  AKC offering volunteer DNA testing.
Now do NOT get me wrong, I think this is good, especially if you own a
nice show dog and you breed her to another even nicer show dog and you
have wonderful little show puppies-definately proving that show momma
and show pappa really are the parents is good, especially if you are the
one spending the money buying a "show quality puppy."

HOWEVER

Today I got a letter REQUIRING that stud males be DNA tested at owners expense ($40 per dog)
before the litters can be registered.  The way I read it, you send your litter application in and they check to see if the male (even if he was owned by someone previously) has sired pups before and if he has  (at this time) sired three litters in the year or seven litters total he HAS to be DNA profiled and the litter will not be registered until the sample and your $40 is sent in to AKC.
 
Hey folks read the hand writing on the wall, the next step will be the mother dog and then, each puppy will have to be tested before it can be litter registered, and a litter of  6 - that will $240  plus the
$20 fee to register the litter.  Some dogs have as many as 14 puppies ($560).

 This is a hobby, where one rarely makes a profit because you always
spend the money back on the dog and her care, and most of us do it for the love of the breed, so unless you are a show breeder who can sell your  puppies for over a thousand dollars a piece, this is going to greatly impact our being able to afford to breed our wonderful dogs.

 If our federal or state government were making us do this, it would cause a flood of letters to our congressmen and it would be stopped. 

AKC  is a CLUB if you register your dog with them you belong to the club. If, like me, you do not agree
with ;
 "The board of directors redefined the American Kennel Club's leadership role in the world of purebred dogs by being the first all breed registry to require DNA profiles for stud dogs routinely siring litters."
(effective July 2000)

Write them, or email them and tell them you do not want mandatory DNA profiling. 
The pen (or in this case key board) is mightier than the board of
directors, we DO still have freedom of speech,  please use it.

You can contact AKC by
email: tws@...
 
or by writing:
AKC
5580 Centerview Drive Suite 200
Raleigh NC 27606-3390

FYI most all Dog registries, including UKC and CKC, offer DNA profile testing to any one who wants to do it.  Dogs who have it done have DNA profile numbers on their papers. However, AKC will not honor DNA testing unless done through them.[ This information is for those of you who have dogs double registered.]

And if you are not a dog breeder, "How is this going to affect me?  Why should I bother with this?"

If you, someone in your family or a friend goes to buy an AKC puppy the
prices will be higher to pay for the expense of the DNA testing.