ON THE SCENT
by CLAIRE “KITTY” STEIDEL
N ever has it been so easy to deliver “fake news” as the politicians and news media call fabricated news stories of today. The dog world is no exception unfortunately. We accept and perpetrate that with which we agree; we reject that which does not please us. We are all guilty. Let’s consider some of those things we do—our faults so to speak—then our virtues. OUR FAULTS We alter photos with Photoshop; we dye and more than enhance the natu- ral features of our dogs; we tie up ears with threads or the dog’s own hair to show a proper earset. That earset does not by nature exist. We double handle not merely in the Shepherd ring but in many rings. Worse, and a major fault, we deny and hide genetic disposition to some very serious problems: eye prob- lems, heart and hip problems and bleed- ing disorders. “My dogs never had that.” Denials of pain inflicting predispositions are serious faults and should be breeder disqualifications, in/by any standard. Less offensive, but nevertheless dis- honest, we claim number one some- thing in breed, in groups and in Bests, hoping there will be no fact checking. We select judges then show to them putting them in awkward positions. We want to win no matter how. Our tricks are endless.
“WE ARE ACCEPTING OF ONE ANOTHER BASED ON OUR INTEREST IN AND LOVE OF OUR ANIMALS. NO ONE FORCED US TOGETHER; WE HAVE CHOSEN OUR BREEDS, OUR FRIENDS AND OUR LIFESTYLES.”
to others. We listen to gossip, we create our own gossip by twisting something we heard or read or taking something out of context. We know it may be half-truth but we perpetuate it anyway. These are just a few of our faults. OUR VIRTUES All that said, nevertheless we also have many virtues. First and foremost, we are the very best example of diver- sity in society today. We embrace each other regardless of political affiliation, social status, sexual orientation, skin color, religion or race. We are accept- ing of one another based on our inter- est in and love of our animals. No one forced us together; we have chosen our breeds, our friends and our lifestyles. We educate on responsible dog owner- ship; we donate to worthy causes both human and canine. We have many vir- tues and the virtues could, with a little work, dwarf the faults.
The breeder DQs are those that do harm, sometimes serious harm THE NEW YEAR Let’s be honest with ourselves: let’s reign in the hurtful gossip and fake news in the new year. Let’s welcome others and win in good competition. Let’s keep in mind, “Those who can, do; those who cannot, criticize.” Let’s look at these seasonal photos often saved for the holidays and then put away. Let’s maintain the holiday spirit throughout the new year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. RING IN THE NEW 114 • S how S ight M agazine , F ebruary 2017
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