After a great deal of upheaval, storm and strife, the Chinook Club of America has FINALLY advanced a proposal whereby any UKC registered Chinook (whether Cross or otherwise) will be admitted to AKC FSS. This proposal has been greeted with choruses of "Hallelujah" and email threads along the lines of the title of this blog posting. Of course, if they had any sense that is what the CCA Board would have done at the outset. Probably 95% of COA supporters would have tumbled on board the AKC-train with enthusiasm. At the present moment there are a lot of bruised and battered feelings, a lot of suspicions remaining as to whether there are undisclosed agendas; support may be less wholehearted. Nevertheless, "Hallelujah" is the phrase of the moment.
Personally I do not see how any breed can support this scenario of "one gene pool, two breed clubs and two registries." I see that as an inherently unstable configuration. The two breed clubs, the two registries, will inevitably struggle for domination of the one gene pool, and the larger, better-funded, better legally-staffed entity will be the eventual winner. No prizes for guessing which one I mean.
So it has to be, in the words of the song, "a cold and broken hallelujah." COA breeders seem determined to submit to AKC rape.
And sure enough, some of the very people who were not interested enough in the unique Tullibardine Chinooks to come and get them, free for the taking, subject only to providing their own transport for the dogs, are now hopefully dangling before my wife and myself the offer to AKC/FSS those same dogs, free of charge (as will be the case for any UKC Chinooks for a certain time period, according to the proposal), because they "want those dogs in the gene pool."
Sure, they want them in the gene pool. Just like the Siberian Husky people wanted Jeffrey's Seppalas in their gene pool, as long as Jeffrey or someone else would continue to CKC register them, breed them, feed them, and care for them, while those SH people remained free to diss and bash them at liberty -- and avail themselves of the genetic resource from time to time when their own bloodlines needed an injection of "soundness."
These people are operating on the same old tired assumption that prevails like a sickness throughout the purebred dog world -- the assumption that a person's dogs do not belong to the owner really, they "belong to the breed," so that others who contribute to the support of those dogs in no way whatsoever feel entitled to dictate to the owner what she must or must not do with those dogs. Well, I don't buy it.
I'm here to say that I want NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH A.K.C. And most especially I will not feed, train, and care for AKC Chinooks so that others can enjoy the security of being able to use them when they get desperate enough with their "purebreds." Not on my nickle; not on my time; not on my energy.
Posted by ditkoofseppala at March 26, 2009 12:10 PM