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Welcome to 2009!
The start of this year has not been encouraging
- here in Shawnigan Lake we are currently knee deep in snow and
have the joy of torrential rain to follow. We have spent our Christmas
and New Year shovelling paths for people and dogs and now it looks
as though we need to build our own ark. Oh well, we might as well
stop moaning and just 'get on with it'!
I would like to thank the members who had the confidence
to vote for me and elect me as their Director for the next term.
We had two well qualified individuals running in this zone and
I would like to commend Karsten Kaemling for his excellent campaign.
I will try my best to make the CKC a more efficient and user friendly
organization for members. This is not easy because 25,000 members
have very different points of view; hopefully we will agree on
the larger issues.
The new Board will be meeting on January 10th and
11th, 2009. All Board members, new and old, will need to work
together to accomplish the goals set out by the recent Strategic
Planning Committee and approved by the past Board. I am sure there
will be new thoughts on how to accomplish some of these goals.
A new Board will go through various stages of growth before being
fully productive, so be patient!
Goals I would like to accomplish in the next three years include:
- Establish a community network for BSL issues.
It is better to know ahead of time when the banning of breeds
becomes an agenda item at local Council meetings. If CKC can
be pro active instead of re-active perhaps we can become more
effective in preventing the spread of breed bans.
- Encourage participation from every community for RDog
days. This is a great opportunity for local dog clubs
to be proactive in encouraging Responsible dog ownership. CKC
members can be the role models. We have years of knowledge.
Let's use it to educate the general public. This is a time to
promote our individual breeds and to educate people about our
dogs. We are overrun with designer dogs because the 'designer
breeders' in our communities do a better job of reaching out
to the public. We are comfortable preaching to the converted.
It is time for CKC members to have an organized strategy to
educate the general public.
- Encourage local Kennel Clubs to use the recently developed
Booklets for 'Dog Bite Prevention' and 'Children and Safety
around Dogs'. These booklets are prepared for our use
within our communities. They can be taken to many places such
as schools, Guides and Scout organizations and many more places.
These goals will take time to accomplish but I would like to
see this zone make an effort toward putting them in place. Other
issues we are facing include:
- Cropping and docking issues. The New Brunswick
Veterinary Association has taken a stand on cosmetic surgery.
How will this affect the rest of the Provinces? What role should
CKC play when we note that most of the dog world is quickly
moving toward banning such practice? There is not an easy solution.
CKC is a member driven organization. Most other countries do
not have this structure and can make swift decisions without
consulting the membership.
- Dropping entries. All Kennel Clubs are aware
of the dwindling numbers of dog entries at shows. If this trend
continues we will see the reduction in dog shows and Kennel
Clubs. Some may view this as a good move while others may fight
to stay alive. Whatever your point of view it is an issue to
be addressed.
There are many more topics for discussion but these will fill
many more pages! Let's work together and get started. If everyone
gave a little time we can accomplish much. For anyone wishing
to spearhead any of these initiatives please contact me... I look
forward to working with you.
Margaret Jones
CKC Director
BC Southwest
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