Page 24 - Chow LIfe - Spring 2021

AKC Delegate

Report

November 2020 by Margaret DiCorleto, Delegate

The AKC Committee meetings were held during liability litigation for nonprofits and events (e.g. dog
the week of November 16 and the AKC Delegates shows, etc.) that operate in keeping with CDC, state
meeting was held December 2. All were conducted and other recognized health and safety guidelines.
virtually. This is located at https://akcgr.org/akc/covidliability
Highlights of the Parent Club Committee: AKC Task Force on Anti-Breeder Harassment and
The AKC Government Relations (GR) Department Retaliation: This interdepartmental staff taskforce is
designed to support and educate breeders, enthusi-
continues to be very active. I have included the en- asts and those who participate in political advocacy
tire report because I think it’s important to be aware for dogs with respect to any possible harassment or
of all that the department does. targeting by animal rights/protection groups. A new

Year to date, AKC GR has monitored, evaluated and website and resources were launched, along with a
responded to more than 3,300 federal, state and local webinar introducing the initiative. A new key issues
bills and 630 pending implementing regulations that page/website provides resources and allows for the
could impact responsible dog ownership. This rep- reporting of incidents so they can be tracked and
resents a nearly 50% increase in legislative analysis studied for possible trends and alerts. Some of the
activity and a 40% increase in pending regulations new resources (online) include:
over the same period in 2019. o Webinar about AKC’s Anti-Breeder Harassment
In addition, AKC GR has provided testimony and Task Force
published nearly 200 legislative alerts. This repre- o Understanding the Role of the AKC When
sents a 46% increase in advocacy engagements over Breeder Harassment is Suspected
the same period in 2019.
o Resources to Combat Anti-Breeder Harassment
Alerts are published online at the AKC GR Legisla- & Retaliation: Webinar Q&A
tive Action Center at www.akcgr.org ( note this is
different from the main AKC webpages) and as geo- o Why Legal Compliance Matters
targeted emails to impacted delegates, club officers
and legislative liaisons to distribute to all their club • Detection Dog Task Force: GR provides the staff
members for action. lead for this board-directed taskforce. A current
area of focus is education and information about the
GR also monitored 753 proposed regulatory (admin- rearing of potential future detection dogs via: (1)
istrative rule) changes at the state and federal level. a Canine College “Confident Puppy” course open
630 of these remain actively pending. to all; and (2) a specialized “Patriotic Puppy” pilot
program” (PPP) which provides one-on-one assis-
COVID-19: tance to breeders interested in learning how to rear
GR continues to maintain daily updates and expand a puppy suitable for sale/placement in advanced
resources on two webpages that provide assistance training as a detection dog. The primary goal of the
related to the COVID-19 pandemic. patriotic puppy program is to train interested train-
ers and breeders to prepare their dogs for work as
• The AKC GR COVID-19 resources webpage on explosives detection dogs, and to determine if AKC
the AKC Legislative Action Center, https://akcgr.org/ breeders could provide a suitable and reliable source
akc/covid19?3 provides daily updates on the con- of future detection dogs to address the U.S. shortage
stantly changing status of state legislatures, and rules of explosives detection dogs.
impacting dog owners. It also includes information
on how to work with local officials for planning a • The first phase of the patriotic puppy program
show or event during the pandemic. concluded in July. Phase 2, which began in Septem-
• The COVID-19 Civil Liability Limit Legislation ber features more structured and hands-on train-
ing, a new subject matter expert/ Program Manager,
webpage provides monitoring and advo- and emphasis on a broader range of opportunities
cacy for legislation that provides temporary, for dogs participating in the program. We are con-
targeted protection from COVID-19 civil tinuing to recruit breeder and trainers of Labrador
22