Editorial, November 26, 2021

Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love!

The Kennel Club of Philadelphia weekend was a huge success. Back to the four-day weekend that started off with the Penn Treaty Kennel Club and the Greater Philadelphia Kennel Club, followed by the back-to-back Kennel Club of Philadelphia. Of course, Saturday was the big day that was filmed to be aired on NBC this Thursday following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. True to its tagline, The City of Brotherly Love was evident during the four days of dog shows. It can always be a little off-putting when there are television cameras and crew milling around the show. But thanks to the production team of Carson International and the NBC crew, they have made it streamlined, with really good camera work of the dogs in the ring. With the possibly of being on television, it was great to see everyone in the best bib and tucker. After all, it is one of the rare opportunities for the public to see into our world of purebred dogs. As is true with most dog shows, the cream rises to the top, and Best in Show lineups were of high quality. Hopefully next year, more and more exhibitors will enter this event and truly make it “The National Dog Show.”

Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly Love?

With all the positives of the weekend, and the signs of brotherly love within the show venue, there is always something that leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth. We had one of those events this weekend. To preface this story, when Dog News was made aware of the misuse and illegal use of show dogs pretending to be service dogs to gain free access to the passenger cabin, we always condemned such behavior, and still do. There is no excuse for exhibitors using this service to fly around the country to advance their dog’s career and travel to dog shows by air and at no expense, taking the seat that some needful person legitimately has a right to use. Each and every one of us who is able to walk, see and has the mental capacity to function on a normal day-to-day basis should be thankful and not abuse this service. Fortunately, the airlines have recognized the abuse and have imposed stricter regulations. With all that said, it was beyond unsportsmanlike and repulsive that an exhibitor posted a photo of a dog wearing a service vest, informing those who read the post on social media that you could see the dog now or watch him in the show ring tomorrow. If that person filming was so appalled by that action, it should have been reported to the proper authorities. It was not done out of outrage or concern, it was done in the name of poor sportsmanship to malign a fellow exhibitor. It is that kind of backstabbing that our sport doesn’t want nor should it tolerate. Sadly, that exhibitor and his dog are not the only ones to abuse the privilege. While we don’t approve of the offense reported, we equally don’t approve of the method used to bring it to the attention of the fancy. Sadly, we are all aware of these breaches that occur. But instead of criticizing your competition outside of the ring, try breeding better dogs and beating them in the ring. So on this Thanksgiving weekend, give thanks if you and your family are healthy enough not to use a service dog and take the place of someone who does. We all know that breeding good dogs is a combination of knowledge, luck and other things beyond our control; good sportsmanship is easy and must rule each and every day.