Question of the Week

Mimi Tysseling

Tucson, Arizona

More than 10 years ago, Fiesta Dog Shows in Arizona and a few other West Coast clubs held dinners, lunches, silent auctions and other events for AKC CHF in conjunction with their shows. With the advent of club focus on additional competitive and special events and the decrease of volunteers, it seems these have disappeared. It is my belief that if AKC CHF would create a program assisting clubs on how to host fund-raisers, many clubs would embrace it.

Nancy Russell

Walsenburg, Colorado

Get the companies that sell dog food to donate a space on every bag of dog food for information about AKC CHF. You will need a photo of a dog to catch the eye of the consumer and then the information about AKC CHF. Something like, "The AKC Canine Health Foundation research could be saving your dog’s life!” Then a link to their website. I am sure the people that do advertising could come up with better options for the ad.

Cathy De La Garza 

Cleveland, Texas

I think the AKC needs to properly market/brand the AKC CHF with a massive campaign targeting veterinarians. The Canine Heath Foundation is proof that we care about all dogs.

Conformation people are aware of it through common need, yet many performance people do not know about it. Performance, especially agility, should be utilizing the information for injuries. The needs are endless for all our sports.

Erin Mayfield, DO

Pensacola, Florida

I fell in love with the CHF 20 years ago and used to be our national breed-club liaison. I wrote comprehensive review articles for my breed-club magazine.

One way to increase exposure is to talk about the CHF during the AKC televised events. Why don't they talk about it? Those announcers are talking non-stop about all kinds of stuff to fill time, so why don't they talk about the CHF?

Create a PR program for club liaisons to use with their AKC clubs. You have to tell them what to do and how to say it. The medical information has become so much more complicated in the past 15 years. They need guidance to understand how to promote the work. 

They can be encouraged to, for example, share a health tip from the CHF to their monthly meetings. 

They can ask for a $1 or $5 donation — pass the hat — at their monthly meetings.

They can be encouraged to have a webinar/workshop event where they get together to watch one of the CHF videos on a pertinent topic. Canine Movie Night.

They can be taught what the Donor Advised Fund is and how it is under their control and benefits them.

They need to be encouraged to sign up for the virtual AKC CHF conference, another opportunity for a watch party.

They can be encouraged to share the conference information with their vets.

Offer veterinary continuing-education credits for the conference. It is a fabulous one.

Mary Anne Brocious

Milford, Michigan

Bring the good works of the Canine Health Foundation to the public through advertising and public-service announcements. Reach out to people who might be doing estate planning and preparing their will or final wishes. Remind these lifelong dog lovers of the opportunity to continue good works in the name of their loyal dogs that were part of their lives with a bequest to the Canine Health Foundation. Commercials or features during Westminster, Philadelphia and on AKC-TV events, where the audiences include this demographic.

Pam Mandeville 

Somerset, New Jersey 

Your question implies the answer: Promote it! AKC has a communication and promotion team ... put them to work. Get on TV, social media and TikTok, and tell the great stories of how purebred dog people are devoting time, money and other resources to improve the health of all dogs. The National Dog Show on Thanksgiving gets great ratings; start there. Feature the hemangiosarcoma research, a disease that reaches across almost every breed and presumably mixed breeds as well. Tell about breeds such as mine (Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier) that was supported by AKC CHF and as a result made great progress in reducing the incidence of PLN (protein-losing nephropathy). It's US, the responsible purebred dog world, who are pouring our hearts and souls into this, not doodle breeders.

Stephanie Montgomery, DVM, PhD, DACVP

Chief Executive Officer

AKC Canine Health Foundation

Raleigh, North Carolina

Thank you for inviting a timely discussion about how we can share our work with more dog lovers.

The AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) has developed a strategy to help more people learn about our work. We want to tell everyone about our success and invest in reaching new audiences. By sharing our stories and finding new ways to connect, we hope to inspire more people to join us in building a healthier future for all dogs. 

This year, we have made great progress in research that benefits all dogs. We have funded new studies to address critical health issues like epilepsy, heart disease and cancer, and we have launched a new program to support specialty training in canine sports medicine. So whether you and your dog participate in conformation, performance or companion events, we are investing in veterinary sports-medicine specialists to care for your athlete.

Next year, CHF will celebrate its 30th anniversary! Over the years, we have accomplished incredible things through research to help dogs. As we look to the future, we are excited to keep discovering new ways for dogs to live longer, healthier lives. 

We invite you to learn more about our work and join us for one of our most anticipated events — this year’s Canines & Cocktails (caninesandcocktails.org), which will take place on December 12, 2024, at the Rosen Centre.

I look forward to seeing you there!