Courtesy of AKC.org
incredibly valuable. The LLs who go the extra mile with active commu- nity involvement are our superstars. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, but the pay- off is huge,” Sheila Goffe said. RESOURCES FOR GETTING INVOLVED It’s not always easy to take the first steps towards getting involved, so the GR team provides a wide variety of resources that can help new LLs or any interested person get started success- fully and stay involved in the process. In addition to resources for legisla- tive liaisons, there’s a special Facebook group for LLs where they can share and learn from each other’s experiences across the country. In addition, there is a wide variety of resources available online on the AKC GR Legislative Action Center microsite www.akcgr.org. AKC GR’s legislative action center is a “one-stop shop” for information and assistance on public policy issues. All legislative alerts are posted there, along with information on finding out who your legislators are, how to reach out to legislators, sample letters, issue analy- ses and talking points on key issues and even op-eds/blogs that can be personal- ized for publication in local newspapers or the internet. It also contains several video presentations that are designed for club educational meetings or pre- sentations. One of the newest and most popular ones is called “All Politics is Local”. In it, Michael Houchard shares a lifetime of experience in working with policymakers and his community on a variety of issues—including dog issues. AKC awards are designed to build awareness of and motivate community action that encourages responsible dog ownership and advances the wellbeing of dogs. There are two categories of awards. The first type includes awards that AKC presents directly to outstand- ing clubs and individuals. The Walter Bebout Memorial award for leadership in advocacy recognizes individuals and organizations that have been actively involved in educating legislators about responsible dog own- ership issues and have worked to pre- serve the rights of responsible owners and breeders. Recipient clubs and fed- erations also receive a $1,000 award to help offset the costs of their activities. The AKC Canine Legislative Support Fund Educational Grant, administered
WHY WE NEED AKC LEGISLATIVE LIAISONS
related contacts. AKC encourages them to lead their clubs in reaching out to legislators and making sure that their club as a whole and its members get involved when AKC GR has sent out action alerts. The second part of being a LL is to let AKC GR know when there’s an issue or a proposed law in their community that AKC can assist with. This can be as simple as following the media, com- munity bulletin boards and county/city websites and Facebook pages. “Some of our most active LLs have gotten involved in canine policy advi- sory groups in their community, where they can have a direct impact and be the first to know of any issues that could become a problem for respon- sible breeders and dog owners. Oth- ers have gotten involved in the politi- cal process by becoming members of their town councils, joining their local rotary clubs and other service organiza- tions, or participating in local political party activities. All of these things are
AKC GR is urging all club and inter- ested individuals to check on whether legislative liaisons have all the infor- mation they need and whether their information is up to date with AKC’s GR Department. If your club does not have an active LL, please appoint one; or if you are interested in participating, please contact doglaw@akc.org. You can make a difference for dogs and our rights—and all you need is email and a desire to help. AKC Club-based legislative liaisons (LLs) are the direct connection between clubs and AKC GR. As the GR team increasingly intro- duces new positive legislation, LLs are on the front line of this process, too. AKC GR asks every AKC club to appoint a legislative liaison. There are two main components to what a LL does. AKC GR relies on LLs to receive GR legislative alert emails and to pass then on to all members of their clubs and their dog-
44 • S how S ight M agazine , M arch 2017
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