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As part of its 125th Anniversary Celebration, AKC has implemented a new Medallion program for dogs earning (or who have already earned) titles at AKC events. Modeled after the original medallion used in 1910 (shown above), the new medallion will have the dog's name & title engraved on the reverse side.
Owners of qualified dogs can purchase the medallions via AKC's online store for $25. In the future, as dogs earn titles, a Medallion Order Form will accompany the AKC title certificate.
Have you read Mark Levin's wonderful tribute to his dogs? Check it out!
Chief Dan George
"If you talk to animals they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears one destroys."
"Never have the animals been in greater need of human compassion."
from The Best of Chief Dan George: My Heart Soars
Chief Dan George
Illustrations by Helmut Hirnschall
Conformation Competition
During its october 2009 meeting, the AKC Board of Directors voted to implement a new level of conformation competition -- called the Grand Championship. Chapters 3, 5, and 16 of AKC Rules Applying to Dog Shows have been revised to reflect this new program. Details on the competition are found on pages 10 to 13 of the Board's October 2009 Meeting Report.
We will be discussing this new competitive program during our upcoming meetings, and will provide additional clarification on the revised AKC Rules. You are cordially invited to attend and participate.
Planning Ahead
Ticks
A recent report from V.A.L. (Veterinary Associates/Affiliates Laboratory, Edmond, Oklahoma) provides end-of-year statistics on tick panels for the year 2009:
"75% of the tick panels ordered were
positive for a tick borne disease."
Of those positives, V.A.L. stated that 67% were positive for RMSF (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), 30% positive for Ehrlichia canis, and 3% positive for Lyme Disease. Also noted by V.A.L. were the results of tests for Anaplasma phagocytophilium....14% positive.
American Dog Tick
Wood Ticks
The College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia provides the following information:
"Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) is an important zoonotic disease that may cause clinical signs in both dogs and humans. It is caused by the organism Rickettsia rickettsii, a small gram-negative obligate intracellular parasite from the family Rickettsiaceae. RMSF was first recognized in humans in the western United States during the 1930's but, despite its name, RMSF is prevalent throughout the contiguous United States with the exception of the state of Maine. Although it has been long identified as a human pathogen, RMSF was not recognized in dogs until the 1970's.
"Hard-bodied ticks are the vectors of RMSF, and there are several species that have been known to be involved in its transmission. The most common vector in the eastern United States is Dermacentor variabilis (the American dog tick...) while Dermacentor andersoni (the wood tick...) is responsible for infections in the western part of the country. Amblyomma americanum and Rhipicephalus sanguineous also have been reported to carry the disease, although the vast majority of infections are due to the Dermacentor species."
