Question of the Week

Patty Fanelli

Lovingston, Virginia

AKC needs to immediately put a policy in place that states that ANYONE — judge, handler, exhibitor or breeder — who is convicted of any form of sexual misconduct with a minor or animal, or dealing with porn of such, loses all AKC privileges and is permanently banned from all AKC events, and will be removed if they appear at any. They currently say to go to a rep or the show chair with any suspicions or concerns, but with no policy for them to utilize, they are basically helpless.

What kind of message is AKC sending when they won't stand up for or protect the young exhibitors — the future of the sport! — or the dogs themselves!

Pam Mandeville

Somerset, New Jersey

Like most people, I'm sure, I have lots of thoughts. Sexual abuse and misconduct exist throughout the world; it's hardly unique to the dog-show world. But that's not an excuse to do what we've always done: Nothing.

Shows are a setting that people of power can use to abuse those without it for their personal gratification. Plus, if that's not a good enough reason alone to take action, consider that we want showing dogs and events to be something accessible to all, and that's not going to be the case when a child pornographer and abuser is identified in the media as an AKC judge.  

There is a role for everyone here: AKC as the regulatory body for the sport, judges as figures of authority, handlers as employers, clubs as event hosts and all exhibitors. Efforts to create an environment that is as safe as possible —and, no, we cannot make it completely safe — fall on all of us. At minimum, everyone should seek out "Safe Shows," an initiative by a number of caring, determined women based on SafeSport, so that we can recognize threats and be safe havens for those who need it. AKC should get a qualified consultant to help design programs and procedures to help make shows safer. Judges should stand up and on their own take SafeSport education and at a bare minimum, AKC should require it of ALL Juniors judges and eventually, ALL judges. Clubs should do something as simple as adding a paragraph to their judges' contracts requiring SafeSport education and allowing them to cancel a contract of anyone charged with any crime. PHA and RHP should require SafeSport education for membership ... and make sure that their members all understand that they are employers, even of the assistant who comes in for a weekend, and laws about sexual harassment of employees apply to them. And smarter minds than me have even better ideas than these.

Finally, we all learned "If you see something, say something" following 9/11. Well, start speaking up when you see something ... that it's not OK to make suggestive comments or get handsy. It's no longer the "good old days" when we gritted our teeth and tolerated that crap.

The Rev. Dr. C Patrick Ormos

Nashville, Tennessee

I have been raising these issues with AKC for a couple of years now, and warning them of the possible legal and PR consequences. AKC has refused to be proactive, and the chickens have come to roost!

First, institute a clear and public policy to safeguard our young people from sexual abuse.

Second, instruct all clubs and superintendents that they MUST adhere to such a policy and not protect the abusers in favor of the victims.

Third, institute mandatory training and background checks for show secretaries, show superintendents and those in charge of working with Juniors. 

Churches, schools and youth programs all have these in place. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Fourth, accept background checks and up-to-date training certificates from other professional organizations.

Fifth, consider mandatory background checks and training for all officials who may be in official contact with Juniors.

Get in front of this issue and set the tone for others.

Laura Taft

Brooklyn, New York

In response to your question about the unthinkable, my wish is for the community to feel compassion for those struggling with illnesses of all kinds. We can maintain our standards of good sportsmanship and be supportive of those who have broken down and made mistakes, even terrible mistakes.

Without condoning bad behavior, kindness continues to rule as the best guide for our own actions.

Jeff Bulger

Dundee, Illinois

AKC needs to own this and “take the lead” with respect to education and training of judges, superintendents and show chairs. This involves not only education, but training, process/procedure and notification to the appropriate authorities where warranted. Unfortunately, people who engage in this deviant behavior will gravitate toward those roles intended to be a gateway to safety for the vulnerable. Therefore, Zero Tolerance is required here — this isn't poor sportsmanship. This is illegal, despicable behavior. 

Molly Martin

Pike Road, Alabama

From what I read this week on social media, my opinion will not be popular. I think the business that is getting paid $20 a pop for the good people in our sport to be "certified good people" is going to make a lot of money. I suspect everyone who completes the online course will receive a certificate. I doubt if many perverts will sign up for the course, and I think it's sad that so many people think they need to take a course to know what is unacceptable behavior and how to respond to it. Can't we use common sense? Apparently the now widely called for background check would not have identified the recently arrested AKC judge because he had no prior convictions. I commend AKC for stripping him of his judging privileges immediately, and kudos to law enforcement for exposing this despicable person. I think we all need to be on the lookout for unseemly behavior, and parents of children need to be especially vigilant. However, I find it disheartening that so many think that all judges should be required to "prove" they are innocent of evil intentions. If anyone knows for a fact that there are convicted sex offenders currently judging AKC shows, I hope he/she will speak up, and then I will reconsider my opinion. Otherwise, I think a lot of the rhetoric we are hearing is simply a knee-jerk reaction to a horrible situation that none of us could have prevented. 

Brenda Weiss 

Nashville, Tennessee

We all know these episodes of deviant behavior have been going on for many years. Occasionally someone is or has been caught doing the unspeakable with an underage person. Nothing new here. My question is, why has it taken so long to stop this perverse behavior or attempt to stop it? It’s a day late and a dollar short. But better than nothing. 

Lindley Henson

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Unfortunately, this is not "our" problem. It is societal. We should not beat ourselves up because he is in our sport. ... Won't stop the problem.

I have been a teacher for more than 25 years. I have taught in Kansas, Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, and now Tennessee. I am fingerprinted and background-checked every three to five years, depending on the state. Background checks only "catch" people who already have been arrested. Won't stop the problem.

I have taught in Catholic schools and am a volunteer in the Episcopal Church. The various programs — "Protecting God’s Children," "Virtus," "SafeSport," etc. — are to train people to recognize predators. They do not guarantee that the person who takes the course is not a predator. Won't stop the problem.

I have been in the sport for more than 50 years. When the victim was a minor female, and the predator a well-known handler, everyone was indignant because he was cheating on his wife with the kennel help. Why was he allowed to still participate in our sport? We didn't stop the problem.

We are in the age of "see something, say something." We are training our schoolchildren with this mantra. Social, emotional education is something that good schools include. Part of this is to overcome the "snitches get stitches" mentality. "See something, say something" can not only save your life, it can save someone else's. It can help the problem.

Gayle Bontecou 

Clinton Corners, New York

I think the less publicity these weirdos get, the better it is. Commenting on sick behavior just adds fuel to the fire. It’s certainly nice to know that the vast majority of our dog-show world has nothing to do with such trash …

Linda Tilka 

Madeira Beach, Florida

Should it be a surprise that we have these disgusting humans walking around our dog shows? They are there in our everyday lives. They do stuff that we would never imagine a human could do. In our sport they are messing with our dogs, in our lives they are messing with our baby humans. We have Juniors in our sport; we should be aware of these disgusting excuses for a human. Those of you out there who knew about these people should be ashamed. Those of you who knew the kind of people these were should excuse yourselves from our sport. Sadly enough, they are still walking among us at the shows. You know who they are. If you know something, say something. Let's clean house and remove the trash. Do the right thing and protect our sport.

Mary Anne Brocious

Milford, Michigan

While this depraved behavior has been around for thousands of years, at this time in history we have the technology to find these people. They can no longer hide behind their screens. Our sport is not the only arena in which this occurs. We must remain vigilant in all aspects of our lives. While social media has become a mainstay in our lives, it brings the freaks out of the woodwork, too! In this particular case, I think all of us who know the perpetrator are stunned and wonder how we missed it. This person and others like him know how to hide behind their status in the community and appear to be all that is good. This is not an AKC problem; it is a problem of the world. The AKC will look at this and determine what they might do to assist in keeping our events safe, for adults and children alike.

Honi Reisman 

Baldwin Harbor, New York

Over the past few days, I have had many discussions on this sad news. I understand that the AKC has no legal authority to act on this, but I do feel they must at least accept some responsibility to address this issue. Believe me, if a parent of a child involved in our sport finds out a judge or handler has not been vetted to hold these positions and commits abuse of their child, they will name the AKC as a negligent party. Kids in our sport are enamored by our handlers and look to apprentice for them. Please know that this isn't something new. I believe our judges and handlers are very professional in their positions, but our sport reflects our population, and every once in a while we are going to be faced with the realities of every-day life. I don't know the approval process of AKC judges or handlers, but I do believe that in many corporations, a background check is done on applicants. You may think this is an invasion of privacy, but I believe better safe than sorry. Better to be proactive than reactive; our kids deserve this. I truly hope that this incident opens up serious discussion, and that as people who love our sport, who encourage our young exhibitors to be involved, we make this a priority.

Sarah Murphy

Spring Hill, Florida

SafeSport and background checks would be a great tool for judges and handlers, but the AKC really should suspend any individuals convicted of any assault against minors. If a dog bites someone at a show, it is disqualified and has to be removed from the grounds … Child molesters and predators should not be able to be welcomed back to AKC events!

Susan Shephard

Deltona, Florida

My local kennel club, the West Volusia Kennel Club, has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual predators. If one is brought to our attention (screen shot from the state public sexual-predator list), we will trespass and have them removed from our show site. It can't be based on rumor, feelings, etc. — it has to be a conviction. We started this last year and, to be honest, took some heat over it from some dog folks that surprised me. But we stood our ground and will continue to do so. At least in Florida you can trespass anyone with no reason given. The venue management and sheriff's department firmly support our policy. 

If AKC can give a lifetime suspension to animal abusers, I think they can do the same to child abusers/sexual predators.

Vicki Kubic

Endicott, New York

There are bad people in every sport and every profession.

In my opinion, I think we are calling too much negative attention to our small sport, which is already struggling.

What is happening on social media is our entire sport and fancy are being painted with a negative brush.

We should let the courts decide the outcome of the allegations. Not us.

Victoria Corse

Ardentown, Maryland

It is heartbreaking to all of us who think of our acquaintances in the dog world as like-minded when deeply disturbing behaviors come to light, with thoughts that are alien and incomprehensible to most of us. Instead of finger-pointing, it is important to understand that it’s the people who committed these actions who are solely and completely at fault. Healing for all of us lies in placing blame only where it’s deserved and working on ways to protect the young and the vulnerable in our sport. Mary Dukes has offered some sensible and practical solutions, like SafeSport, and it needs to be a priority for all of us. 

Christie Martinez

Gig Harbor, Washington

Sadly, unspeakable travesties rear their ugly heads in all walks of like. Our dog world has always been one of the most tolerant and accepting. It’s our family. But how to combat and weed out the snakes among us?

People are afraid to speak out for fear of being sued, even if they know or suspect something unwarranted is going on.

We have two outstanding judges organizations — ADSJ and DJAA — and the handlers have PHA. Maybe through them the judges and handlers can find a way and give us guidance into how to identify the predators in our midst and report them.

One friend suggested in the programs at the shows there be a notice saying something like, “If you feel uncomfortable or need someone to talk to, call Mary at (555) 555-5555.”   

We are a family, and we need to safeguard our community and our children.

I look forward to hearing what others have to say.