The dog show originated for the purpose of the exhibition and evaluation by knowledgeable authorities of the purebred breeding stock of each breed. But, have you seriously considered what the title of “Champion” means today?    I have, for the past several months, been working with a group of Toy fanciers in their attempt to make their parent club conform to that club’s constitution and by-laws. It seems that for the past several years, the club has been run by a rogue board of directors. There are no minutes of meetings. In fact, there are no scheduled meetings. The meetings which have supposedly been conducted have been via e-mail only, but the by-laws prohibit this form of doing business. “Roberts Rules of Order”, though required by the club’s by-laws, have been ruled “unnecessary”. Standing Rules, likewise, are “unnecessary”. The board refuses to publish a membership list even though the legal documents of the club specifically require that such a publication be regularly distributed to the membership. There is no regularly published “Bulletin” of official club business. Members are summarily booted off the “official” e-mail forum for merely asking relevant and appropriate questions regarding club business. The board has abruptly halted the membership process ruling that the application (upon which they themselves applied for membership) is “not in accordance with the by-laws”. When it was pointed out to them that ruling the “bogus” application form nullified their own membership, they suddenly, and selectively, approved a few more applications from that same form, while disapproving others without rescinding their ruling on the illegality of the application form on which these few approved applications were submitted. This ruling of its board would seem to have nullified the entire membership of said parent club, leaving it a club totally void of legal membership. Yet, this selective, unknown, even dubious membership subsequently “approved” a standard revision against which their dogs are now being evaluated, and adjudicated champions. Dogs from this breed are now being awarded BIS over meritorious Siberians evaluated by our well-written and correctly approved Standard. Do these matters warrant our concern?    I have, in the Summer 2002 Issue of this Column, indicated that, if judging is be an evaluation of Quality in our breeding stock, and if corruption is to be avoided, “judging” ought to go no further than the awarding of the BOB placement, written evaluations ought to be presented to each exhibitor, and that a three judge panel ought to replace the current single judge system. In the above mentioned Toy breed, however, dogs are apparently being given the title of a “champion”, and given the distinction of BIS, even though the standard by which they are evaluated may be unwittingly used by judges who erroneously believe it to have been approved by a legitimate membership of a bona fide parent club. Does this concern you? Well, if the dog show is seen as a tool of integrity by which breeding stock is to be competently evaluated, it should.    If, on the other hand, the dog show is seen merely as a means by which one’s otherwise low self-esteem is validated, I suppose that the situation I have described is of little concern at all, and it is just viewed as yet another flaw in the already corrupt system. I have heard it said that “any dog can finish; it just takes poor ones their entire lifetime”. The less thoughtful exhibitor might apply this same cavalier attitude to the situation I have above described.    But, for those who do use the exhibition ring as it was originally intended, I’m sure that they find the above described situation a disgustingly bitter pill to swallow. I’m sure that they find themselves asking, “What does my dog’s Championship title mean, anyway?” “Does it mean that I have had enough money to enter the dog in enough shows so that it eventually finished? Does it mean that I have had enough tenacity to enter the dog in enough shows so that it eventually finished? Does it mean that I hired a handler with sufficient political “pull” to insure that he eventually finished?”    For those who do use the exhibition ring as it was originally intended, they might reflect back to those judges whom they feel gave them an unbiased and competent evaluation of their entry. How might that person’s opinion be changed if the standard that judge was asked to use had not received the approval of the membership of our parent club, or if the very membership of our parent club were itself known to be dubious? But, if you were, indeed, the person confronted with this pathetic reality, what would you do? Would you stop exhibiting?    If judging must persist beyond the BOB award, any “irregularity” of any breed club immediately becomes the business of every other club, and of every serious exhibitor. One would think that AKC would “police” their member clubs, and I’m sure that it does, but when fed mis-information by the elected official of these breed clubs, even the AKC is thrown into chaos, and it becomes increasingly difficult for the general membership to re-gain control of their own parent club to which they have, in good faith, looked for responsible leadership.    To avoid these fiascoes, it is incumbent upon the parent club membership to vote for officers and representatives whom they know to be honest, forthright people who put the integrity of their breed before their own ego-need for recognition. It is the responsibility of the larger fancy to keep itself well-informed, and to accurately promulgate correct information, without spreading gossip. Although I haven’t always approved of what our parent club has done, I believe that we have no need to hang our heads in shame re its conduct. I think that they keep us reasonably well-informed, and we have a Standard that provides for us the representation of the Ideal Siberian. We are fortunate.    When you ask yourself the question, “What does the title of ‘Champion’ mean today”, what is your considered answer? Does it mean that its owner has had enough money to enter the dog in enough shows so that it eventually finished? Does it mean that its owner had enough tenacity to enter the dog in enough shows so that it eventually finished? Does it mean that the dog’s owner hired a handler with sufficient political “pull” to insure that the dog eventually finished?” Perhaps none of the above; perhaps it simply means that its owner will be able to breed the dog, and get a higher price for stud service, and/or the get.    Or, does “Champion” indicate to you, and possibly to others, that the holder of the title possesses genuine Quality as represented by our well-written Standard – genuine Quality which you want passed on to its get through careful and informed breeding?    CONSIDER THIS: What do you consider to be your responsibility when you are firsthand witness to corruption, and fraud which removes integrity from the title “Champion”? Do you actively intercede, or do you turn a blind eye, and hope that someone else will “get involved”?   ### -- The above article is published in The Siberian Quarterly: Hoflin Publishing, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Winter 2002 - 2003 Issue, p. 22.

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