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for the entire collection was a foreign entity the magazine went out of business. Whatever
who’s only interest was selling off the pieces.
All collected archives take up too much space
in an average home for those willing to save
them but the Percy Roberts collection was
huge. It filled two, entire rooms of my house. I but if you are not leaving family behind, one
learned that it had been found in an old barn
that was set to be demolished, and the buyers
of the farm had sold it to a flea marketer
which is where the estate buyer had made its
discovery. Why such a man as Percy
Roberts did not preserve his archive before
his death is simple. There was not a repository
for such a collection in the 1970s. His
daughters had kept their illustrious father’s
things together but when they died, the
grandchildren were not interested and left it
all behind in a barn. This is how civilization is
lost. Certainly, the world of Dogdom is a part
of that civilization.
BEQUEATHING LETTERS, ARTIFACTS
AND MONEY
Assuming you have things important to the
fancy and wish to preserve them, here are
a few things to ponder. If your collection is
vast and contains letters, sort through them
and put them into piles according to their
importance to the breed. Then, make a list
of things of which you are sentimental (such
as old dog statues) and to whom you would
like them to go. If you don’t know who to
gift them to, donate them to your parent
club to be used as a raffle-fundraiser during
the national specialty. Sorting papers may
be easier said than done but things such as
letters to and from breeders might seem
trivial now but could be of great importance
to your breed’s parent club fifty years into
the future. If you have some money and wish
to gift it to where it will make a difference,
consider your breed’s parent club, the Canine
Health Foundation, Take the Lead or an
endowment to the AKC’s Museum of the
Dog. In my walk through a life in dogs, I have
met octogenarians who have bequeathed
their entire collection to peers–fellow
octogenarians. This makes sense only in that
they have known each other and held one
another in esteem for many years. The folly in
this, of course, is that both parties will be gone
too soon. What will happen to your things
when the second octogenarian dies? I know of
one, long-departed AKC judge of great note
(not Mrs. Clark) who left her entire collection
to the owners of a then-popular doggy-
publishing entity. That publisher died and
became of the judge’s archives I cannot say
but I do know I have learned nothing of
their preservation for the future of our sport.
Money is the most difficult subject to discuss
should not forgot that young, ardent breeders
are oftentimes struggling. It is a beautiful
sentiment to have one’s obituary read, “Mr.
Muckity Muck bequeathed his fortune to the
Endowment of the Preservation of the Golden
Goose” but how does that benefit our sport?
How does that benefit our breed? Would your
money not be better used to help the “little
people” in your breed? Vet bills, dog food,
gas money are the constant grind that most
of us face month to month. Why not chop off
a little of your cash and help those who will
carry on for your breed after you are dead and
gone?
One important note that I must add is no
matter how small, giving away your things
to an individual must be accompanied by a
signed note stating your intentions. If you tell
someone, “when I’m gone you may have it”
put it in writing. Believe me, it is important.
If you can’t get it to them right away, many
people put the name of the intended recipient
on a piece of tape on the object, and appoint a
trusted friend or relative to see that things are
distributed as per their wishes.
Time has a way of sneaking up on all of us.
When we are young, vibrant and showing
our dogs, we think little of paperwork sitting
in our files back at home but these archives
are tomorrow’s history. While it might be
true that few modern exhibitors have a true
reverence for the history of our breeds,
we must remember that times change and
interests are renewed. What is important
to a twenty-year-old exhibitor may be very
different than what this same exhibitor deems
relevant when they hit the age of fifty-five.
God willing, they will have developed an
interest in the history of our sport. What a
pity if they don’t have your archives to pour
over and ponder for inspiration.
Originally published in Canine Chronicle –
June 2023