Message Dated: May 9, 2001

The USBC is the oldest Dogue De Bordeaux club in the United States. Our registry contains the foundation dogues of today's gene pool. The USBC has been working with the AKC since 1986 in preparation for recognition. Our first two national specialty shows were judged by AKC judges. Our by-laws, shows, registration papers, litter applications, etc. are all modeled after AKC standards.

On April 27, 2001, representatives of the USBC met with Elaine Dorwart of the AKC. Ms. Dorwart is in charge of New Breed Admissions for the AKC. The meeting lasted four hours, and was very informative. The main purpose of this meeting was to investigate and dispel the rumors of the possible admission of the Dogue De Bordeaux into the AKC.

The propaganda that is currently circulating about admission for our breed is FALSE. One of the main criteria for recognition by the AKC is consistency. The Dogue De Bordeaux at this time does not have the consistency required for AKC recognition. To obtain this goal, we all should work together within the breed standard.

During the course of the meeting, Ms. Dorwart stated that there are currently 201 Dogue De Bordeaux in the FSS; 81 have 3 generation pedigrees, and the other 120 have "0" generation pedigrees. FSS is only a service provided by the AKC. Registering FSS does not guarantee that this breed will ever be recognized by the AKC.

Pedigrees accepted by most countries are: FCI, USBC, and UKC. However, no FIC Dogues within a pedigree are acknowledged by the FSS, FCI, and UKC. In other words, if you have FIC dogues within these accepted registries, your pedigree will be voided because of the FIC Dogue in that pedigree. No FIC Dogue in any pedigree will be considered for registration by the AKC. With the vast number of FIC registered Dogues in this country, there is a very strong possibility that our gene pool could be totally destroyed, because FIC Dogues will not be eligible for registration anywhere in the world.

Do your registration papers have a future? In preparation for possible future admission into the AKC, and to eliminate the possible annihilation of our gene pool, the USBC in encouraging all breeders, fanciers, etc. to register all FIC Dogues with the USBC. The USBC will work diligently for you to re-register all FIC Dogues, and provide a 3-generation pedigree with USBC numbers, which will make your Dogue eligible for full registration in the event that we go AKC. You can either email or write us to get the process started:

email Mailusb@wmconnect.com
-or-
USBC
7420 Woolsey Road
Girard, PA 16417

The Dogue De Bordeaux is not being considered for admission now or in the near future. There is still a lot of work to be done to achieve AKC recognition. We must all work together to achieve consistency and unity within the clubs. Now is the time for us to put principles above personalities for the Betterment of the Breed.

The USBC would like to ensure, if the situation should ever arise for breed recognition by the AKC, we would be in a position to preserve our breed. When the situation does become a reality, we will take a vote at that time of all members to determine whether or not we should seek AKC recognition.

You as a member will decide the future of our breed. We need your support to help us realize our goal of preserving the true Dogue De Bordeaux!!!

Sincerely,

USBC Board of Directors

cc.: Ms. Elaine Dorwart/AKC New Breed Admissions