EDITOR’S PAGE
A Time to Take Stock
W
10
DOGSinREVIEW.com
of the Fabelhaft French Bulldogs, Japanese Chin and Afghan
Hounds. Most people in our sport hope to achieve a modicum
of success in a single breed. James has achieved worldwide
fame in three breeds, and it hasn’t taken him a lifetime to do
it. He has strong opinions about his breeds and also the state
of the sport. We hope you enjoy his refreshing candor and get
to know James better through this interview.
We can only hope that
with the election now
behind us, we will come
together by remembering
the things that unite us
rather than push us apart.
We are happy to extend heartfelt congratulations to the
winners of the 2017 AKC Lifetime Achievement Awards: Patricia W. Laurans (Conformation), Elizabeth (Tibby) Chase
(Companion Events) and Jim Campbell (Performance).
The Awards, first created and bestowed in 1999, are
presented in recognition of exceptional participation and
achievement within the dog fancy. The finalists and winners,
based on nominations from AKC member clubs, have impacted the dog sport on a national level through club involvement,
judging, exhibiting, breeding and teaching.
Please note that we will be publishing a special double issue in January. We look forward to starting the new year with
you and your string of 2017 show dog hopefuls. Until then, we
wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a joyful
if short respite from dog show travel.
Allan Reznik, Editor
[email protected]
JULIE LYNN MUELLER
hat an exhausting year this
has been! So
emotional, so stressful,
so bitter in many ways.
While the dog world does
not exist in a vacuum,
most of us appreciate
the times that our sport
can offer a welcome distraction — if only for a
weekend — from the
pain, cruelty and violence of world events
that surround us.
Alas, that was too
much to hope for in
2016, as those worlds
collided. National
politics spilled over
into our dog world,
and things got ugly fast. Passionate supporters of both parties took to social media and got personal. Insults were slung, mud was flung, and friendships were tested
in a very public arena. It was interesting to converse with people we’ve known casually for decades but for the first time,
on a subject weightier than next weekend’s judging panel or
which stud dog to consider for an upcoming breeding. We are
an emotional community, and it became clear that differences
of opinion are not always handled respectfully, even among
longtime friends. We can only hope that with the election now
behind us, we will come together by remembering the things
that unite us rather than push us apart.
One genuine source of sadness this year has been the loss
of so many great participants in our sport: judges, breeders,
handlers, men and women; lives well lived and others who
were taken from us too soon. In this issue, we have compiled tributes to many of them, written by those who knew
them best.
We also asked many in the sport to share their most memorable moment of this past year, and their fondest wish or
New Year’s resolution for 2017. Not surprisingly, most hope
for healing and reconciliation in these volatile times, while
keeping in mind the privilege of living in this country.
Our Kennel Visit in this issue takes us to Portsmouth, Ohio,
the home of James Dalton, acclaimed breeder and exhibitor