LINES FROM LINDA
by LINDA AYERS TURNER KNORR
F or as long as I can recall, going to the Ringling Broth- ers Barnham & Bailey Circus has been an annual tradition for the Ayers family. My parents took Roy, Jr. and me and as an adult I have taken my son, Todd Turner. Todd reminds me that I kept him home from school to see the perform- ers parade the animals through Green- ville from the train station to the arena. I wrote a note to his teacher asking her to excuse his absence as he had to feed the elephants. In more recent years, I befriended a member of the Circus team and gave her a tour of our city. She then invited me to come aboard the Circus train. My heart was pounding like that of a five-year- old. My mother, Hazel Ayers, delighted as she was chosen to ride elephant one year. These experiences are memories my family will treasure forever. Now as the grand tradition of the Ringling Brothers Barnham & Bailey Circus comes to an end this month, what is next on the agenda of groups like PETA (People for the Ethical Treat- ment of Animals), the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States) and ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals)? These “anti every- thing we love” organizations are rapidly infiltrating where we live. We must not allow them to come into our cities and states without putting up a fight. The responsibility to preserve our rights falls directly on our shoulders. We must educate our local elected officials in all areas of government. They want our votes. We need their help! Sheila Goffe, Vice President of Gov- ernment Relations and her staff are anx- ious to help us in any way possible. In recent conversations with Sheila, I have learned some of the many new ways her department is working to protect breeders and our sport. “ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL” Our greatest asset in fighting bad legislation and introducing good public policy is our people—their expertise and their passion for dogs. Thousands of fanciers and club members devote their lives to a single breed or blood- line—and they develop extraordinary experience and expertise to accom- pany that. We need to share that in our communities. For far too long, we as individual breeders and fanciers have simply let our detractor’s lies stand.
It’s time for all of us to stand up, be proud of what we do as dog experts and breeders and educate people about what we stand for. We are on the side of science, advancing the health and wellbeing of our dogs, and our future depends on sharing that message.
There’s an old maxim that “All poli- tics is local.” Conventional wisdom tells us that all the issues that politicians deal with and all the decisions they make come down to one simple formula: poli- ticians are driven by the desire to stay in office and where possible, increase their influence. To stay in office, poli- ticians must be able to get re-elected; AKC GOVERNMENT RELATIONS DEPARTMENT NEEDS YOU GOING LOCAL
40 • S how S ight M agazine , M arch 2017
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