From American Kennel Club
Ron Menaker, Chairman

Last month in my Chairman's Report I reported on a pending threat to
purebred dog ownership in California: Assembly Bill 1634 would require the
mandatory spay or neuter of dogs 4 months or older unless an intact dog
permit is purchased through local authorities. Should this bill become law,
I fear it could be a catalyst for other states. As the old saying goes, "As
California goes, so goes the nation."

As many of you know AB1634 passed by one vote on Wednesday in the full
Assembly. Despite this recent set back, it's important to note that this
vote was not strictly along party lines. Through our continuing efforts, we
were able to convince 6 Democrats to abandon their majority party to vote
against this bill in this Democratic controlled body, just as we were able
to convince other democrats to vote against it in the May 16th hearing when
the Assembly Committee on Appropriations voted 10-to-6 in favor of the bill.

I want to sincerely thank the more than 600 dedicated fanciers who attended
the Appropriations Committee hearing, all the California AKC-Affiliated
Clubs and their hard-working members who have diligently been advocating
against this proposed law, and all people across the country who sent
letters, faxes and e-mails to California legislators.

The next step for the bill is in the State Senate where it will go through
several committees and possible revisions before a vote. Should this bill
pass in the Senate it would then go back to the Assembly for another vote,
before it heads to the Governor. As you can see, this is going to be a long
process. It took 3½ months just to pass in the Assembly. And while we have a
long fight ahead of us, we are encouraged by those whose vote we have swayed
to the side of reason.

It is vital now that California dog owners and breeders contact their State
Senators as well as the Governor to express their opposition to this bill as
it continues its journey through the California statehouse. Contact
information for all California State Senators, along with sample letters and
talking points to oppose this bill are available on the AKC web site at the
CA Spay/Neuter Action Center at:
http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/CA_action_center.cfm.

While the sponsor of AB 1634 has amended the bill five times since its
introduction, none of the amendments make this bill an acceptable piece of
legislation. AKC vehemently opposes AB 1634 and will continue our strong
opposition until this bill is defeated.

As you recall, I also announced last month that AKC was pursuing the
possibility of starting a Political Action Committee (PAC). I am pleased to
report that this endeavor is underway. In today's political climate, having
access to lawmakers is critical. Establishing a PAC will allow dog lovers,
responsible owners and dedicated breeders to support what they believe in as
well as give AKC another tool for battling the continuing threat of anti-dog
laws in California and across the country.

In the meantime, we have received inquires from individuals and dogs clubs
as to how the purebred dog community can support AKC's efforts to combat
ongoing negative canine legislation. Individuals or dog clubs can send a
non-tax deductible contribution to our Canine Legislation Department. For
details visit our website at:
http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/donations.cfm.

The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship is scheduled to be held in Long Beach
in December 2007 & 2008. Although we have considered making Long Beach the
permanent home, I have communicated to both the Mayor of Long Beach and to
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that enactment of AB 1634 would make that
impossible.

While AKC is a national organization leading the way in opposing proposed
anti-dog laws, it is important for fanciers to also establish regional
organizations, both statewide and locally, to oppose flawed legislation.
This must be done on a continuing basis and not just when negative canine
legislation is introduced. An established and adequately funded organization
that is active year-round can make the biggest impact with lawmakers by
communicating with them prior to damaging legislation being introduced. All
clubs must now include active involvement in our legislative challenges on
their agendas.

One of the pillars of our opposition to AB 1634 is that we believe the best
weapon in combating irresponsible pet ownership is education. We put those
words into action every day of the year through dog shows, community events,
seminars, brochures and much more. Each September we have a special
opportunity to demonstrate our incredible strength in numbers and to
increase our ability to address issues in our local communities by
participating in AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Now in its fifth year,
this initiative has hundreds of AKC clubs and other like-minded
organizations holding free public events all over the nation. We call on all
California fanciers and clubs to show solidarity by signing up to hold an
event at: http://www.akc.org/clubs/rdod/index.cfm.

While the events will take place in September, we are currently enrolling
clubs and will be announcing how many are scheduled to be held statewide in
the coming weeks. We hope to be able to use the number of California events
as a tangible example of our commitment to public education.

Demonstrating our commitment to public education is critical to defeating AB
1634. I believe we can best accomplish this by having all our "hands" on
deck to demonstrate our opposition to the bill and the positive effects of
public education in our local communities.

Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman