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INFORMATION RE: AKC FORMS, etc. |
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PLEASE RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP. WE NEED YOU AS PART OF OUR CLUB! |
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 Composite Picture |
last updated on: 07/14/08
WebManager
& Info
Gail Smyka
(click to email)
email with suggestions, info, corrections
thank you very much
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AKC Report
Dear Members, this is the report I have submitted on our behalf
to the AKC. It was contained in a The American Kennel Club January 31, 2006 Dear Ms. Lejman, This is the bi-annual report from the Swedish Vallhund Club of America (SVCA). The SVCA would like to thank the AKC for the opportunity of participating, as of 9/1/05, in the Miscellaneous Class at AKC shows. The Club has been very involved in reorganizing and updating programs, policies, procedures and forms in our quest to achieve full AKC recognition for our breed, the Swedish Vallhund. As of January, 2006, we have 608 SVs registered with AKC/FSS . We have 129 USA members and 112 households. The USA Members are spread among 34 states. The USA map is included in this packet. The July, 2005 report indicated 118 USA members in 32 states with 102 USA Households. Thus, the SVCA continues to be a viable, growth-oriented club and breed. As we have reached a milestone with being approved for the MISC class in the AKC, it is appropriate to review our Breed=s history and our Club=s history. In the past, it has been given to AKC in parts, as it occurred. This is the history of breed and the complete history of the Club and major votes, as requested by the AKC, to date. I. Swedish Vallhund Club of America: Breed and Club History This document is intended to provide two areas of information: 1) a brief overview of the Swedish Vallhund up to the SVs arrival in the USA and 2) a history of the Club, The Swedish Vallhund Club of America. A ALeadership History@ of the Club is kept as a separate document. Breed History The Swedish Vallhund (SV) is a very old Spitz type breed known since the time of the Vikings Sweden states the Swedish Vallhund dates back over 1000 years to the time of the Vikings when it may have been known as the >Vikingarnas Dog.= During the eighth or ninth century, historians state either the SV was brought to Wales or the Corgi was taken to Sweden, hence the similarities between the two breeds. The historian, Clifford Hubbard thought the Swedish Vallhund was the older of the two breeds. The SV is an alert, eager to please and learn, energetic, hardy dog that is longer legged, but not as long in body, nor as stocky as the Corgi. The Swedish Vallhund was bred to work on farms and ranches and originally herded cattle. Sweden has declared that this breed is a >Lantras=. This designation includes the exhibition of qualities such as: long life, patience to hardship, and hardiness,
By 1942, the breed was almost extinct. In this year, Bjorn von Rosen, who had worked to save several old Swedish breeds from extinction, remembered the SV from his boyhood and became involved. After placing an advertisement in the papers asking for information from anyone regarding these beloved dogs from his childhood, K. G. Zettersten responded. Together they began a partnership to save the breed. The men scoured the country to find the best breed specimens they could fine. They started with one male named Mopsen and three females named Vivi, Lessi, and Topsy. According to Nicky Gascoigne in her book, The Swedish Vallhund (Dalsetter Designs, 1989), Mopsen and Lessi produced a dog, Jerry 265OTT; a breeding of Mopsen and Vivi produced a female, Tessan 3999VV; and a breeding of possibly Topsy with Mopsen produced Borgalls Mopsan 7871VV. Together these five Swedish Vallhunds were the foundation of their new breeding program. In 1943, after a year of exhibition showing, the Swedish Kennel Club recognized the breed. In 1964, with the Swedish standard revised, the breed became known as Vastgotaspet after the Swedish province Vastergotland in which the revived breeding program originated. In English speaking countries the breed became known as the Swedish Vallhund, where "Vallhund" meant "herding dog." In 1974, the first Swedish Vallhund came to England. Ms. Nicky Gascoigne helped organize the Breed Society in 1980. Championship Status for the breed was received in 1985 from the Kennel Club in the UK. The first Alittle Viking Dogs@ were imported to the USA to California in early 1983. In 1985 while visiting England, Marilyn Thell of Rhode Island, being of Swedish descent, brought two SVs to the United States The first litter of nine SVs in the United States was whelped at Jonricker Kennel, September 4, 1986. The Swedish Vallhund is now recognized and found in many countries. Among them are: Sweden, Britain, Finland, USA, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Holland, Denmark, and Switzerland. Swedish Vallhund Club of America (SVCA) In 1987, Mrs. Marilyn Thell founded the Swedish Vallhund Enthusiasts Club (SVEC). In 1994, the Club name was changed to Swedish Vallhund Club of America (SVCA) to more descriptively reflect Club status and the geographic distribution of the Club as its membership grew. Mrs. Thell remained president through 1996, when she became President Emeritus. An important step was taken by the Club in 1997. During the annual general membership meeting in Detroit, MI, the membership voted to send the SVCA registry to American Kennel Club/Foundation Stock Service (AKC/FSS) and begin the process to achieve AKC recognition for the SVCA and the Swedish Vallhund. The Club was reorganized in 1998, as detailed below, to accomplish this and provide structure and growth for the Club. The Swedish Vallhund Club of America was formed to preserve and promote the prosperity and true qualities of the Swedish Vallhund. The Club emphasizes the breed=s natural qualities in the breeding of the SVs and provides education to the public about this wonderful breed. The SVCA is dedicated to preserving the health, quality and temperament of the breed. On October 11, 2000, the Swedish Vallhund Club of America became incorporated in the state of Delaware. SVCA History of Application to AKC At the Club=s meeting in the Detroit, MI area in 1997, after the specialty, a vote was taken. At the time there were sixteen (16) members in the Club and twelve (12) members present at the meeting. There was no proxy voting. The group voted to: 1) send the SVCA breed registry in to AKC/FSS (American Kennel Club/Foundation Stock Service) and 2) begin the process of achieving recognition for the SVCA and the Swedish Vallhund by the AKC. The vote was nine (9) for and three (3) against. During the next months, the Club experienced a delay in gathering the required information for application to AKC/FSS. The SVCA was reorganized in 1998 specifically with the goals of sending the SVCA registry to AKC-FSS and applying for the process of AKC recognition as well as continuing the growth of the Club and the protection, preservation and promotion of the breed. Written information passed on to the reorganized Club indicated 13 members in early 1998. At the SVCA Specialty (Independent) of 1998, we had 42 registered members. Ten members were present at the General Meeting. All ten voted in the affirmative to proceed both with AKC/FSS and the AKC recognition process. Work was then completed that same year to produce major documents needed by the Club: Constitution, Bylaws, Standard, Code of Ethics, and major policies and have these reviewed by members as well as to proceed to vote on some of them. The formal application to have our breed and breed club recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) was made on August 25, 1998. By December, 1998, all Club members participated in a ballot to ratify the newly written Constitution, Bylaws, Code of Ethics, and Breed Standard of the SVCA. The Constitution and Bylaws stated that we would follow AKC=s rules and regulations. The Constitution specifically stated "The SVCA will be governed by the rules and regulations of the American Kennel Club (hereinafter referred to as AKC)." The Bylaws stated: "The prospective member agrees to abide by the SVCA=s Constitution, By-Laws and Code of Ethics and the rules of the AKC." The Breed Standard was formatted to match the AKC=s requirements. At this time, the SVCA had 44 voting members. Thirty return ballots were received. The results were that the Constitution, which showed our goal to fully affiliate with the AKC, was passed twenty-eight (28) to two (2). The Bylaws passed twenty-seven (27)votes to three (3)votes. The SVCA was greatly aided by two Swedish Vallhund Breeders in gathering the information needed to produce pedigrees for the SVCA. Ms. Leonie Darling of Australia provided the Club with the Breedmate database program, which was the basis for generating our pedigrees that were eventually sent to and accepted by the AKC. Ms. Darling and Ms. Jacqui Bayliss of the UK were instrumental in entering older generations of SV information into the Breedmate database, which provided all the ancestral pedigrees for our SVs. The SVCA=s 1st registrar, Gail Smyka, adapted the Breedmate pedigree to AKC requirements and designed the SVCA certificate. The 2nd registrar, Cindy Kingsley was responsible for entering all data, provided by USA breeders, into the database and incorporating the SVCA(owner)certificate into the USA database. As a result of these efforts, the SVCA was able to provide to both owners and the AKC a three generation pedigree and certificates to owners. The SVCA officially submitted its registry to AKC/FSS on December 30, 1999, with 292 SVs. The registry was accepted by AKC/FSS. The Foundation Stock Service (FSS) registry of AKC would henceforth record all SVCA pedigrees and aid us as we worked to gain full AKC recognition. In addition to ratifying a rewritten Constitution, The AKC required a separate, specific vote, by secret ballot, for SVCA members to ratify their desire to affiliate with the AKC. On August 14, 2004, our membership having grown appreciably in six years, 133 ballots were sent out to members. On September 15, 2004, 57 ballots were returned with 47 voting in the affirmative to join AKC. This indicated that 87% of SVCA members voted to work towards full AKC recognition for our breed and club. As per our bylaws, on a vote such as this, a simple majority of 51% of votes returned would constitute a win; in this case 87% of those returning a vote voted for in favor of joining the AKC. In September 2004, The Swedish Vallhunds were allowed to participate in AKC agility and obedience trials as well as AKC herding exhibitions. During this process of review to move towards full recognition by the AKC, recommendations were made by the AKC and the SVCA Board to bring our Constitution, Bylaws and Breed Standard into closer compliance with current AKC regulations. These recommended changes were voted on by the General SVCA Membership by secret ballot, per Bylaws. on 10/18/04. There were 139 ballots sent out and 62 were returned. Of these 62 ballots, 42 votes were to ratify the Breed Standard. The Standard was thus ratified. The secret ballot regarding the Constitution and Bylaws was sent out on 8/20/05. Votes to ratify changes to the Constitution and Bylaws were received by 9/25/05. There were 123 ballots sent out and 60 votes returned. Of these 60 ballots 56 voted to ratify the corrected Constitution and Bylaws. These documents were therefore ratified. The Constitution, Bylaws, and Breed Standard were also reviewed and approved by the AKC. On September 1, 2005, the Swedish Vallhund Breed was moved into the AKC Miscellaneous Class. II. Policies and Forms In this section, you will find updated forms and policies along with updated Leadership History and Committee contacts. The Membership, Renewal and Breeder Sponsored Membership form have been revised. To be in accordance with the requirements of the AKC, the following policies/documents were revised: Constitution; Bylaws; General Membership Policy; Breeder Sponsored Membership Policy; Membership Policy. Because there have been many changes to policies in the last year, this section contains our completely updated Membership Packet, which contains all SVCA Policies. III. Programs 1. Our Regional Committee, chaired by Ivy Underdahl,
has been very active. They have divided the area of the country into 6
regions, each having a contact person: West, Southwest, South, Southeast,
East, Midwest. These contact persons are becoming more active as evidenced by
the amount of calls/email inquiries they receive. Each regional contact person
has been approved to represent the SVCA in matters pertaining to General
Education regarding the SV and the SVCA. The listing of inquiries is noted in
the section on Committee Reports and Minutes. 2. Our General Policies document was revised. Among other things, it now includes specific information and requirements for persons to be approved to represent the SVCA in matters of Judge Education as well as General Education regarding the SV and the SVCA. 3. Members, approved in the General Education area, have been participating in forums to educate the public in regards to the SV and the SVCA. BJuly 23 & 24, 2005: Mary Carter organized and participated in a Meet The Breed Program at the Houston, Astro World Series of Dog Shows. B December 17, 2005: Darlene Sjoberg participated in an informal Meet the Breed program at the Cleveland Ohio Christmas Classic Show sponsored by the Medina Kennel Club. SVCA Organizers: Louise Mc Combs, Rose Martino. B March 18, 2006: Gail Smyka and Cheryl Albert are to participate at the Detroit Kennel Club Bench Show for Meet the Breed. 4. Judge Education Programs have been held or are scheduled for the following dates. The presenter is Rose Martino September 10, 2005: Cleveland, SVCA National Specialty December 17, 2005: Cleveland Ohio Christmas Classic Show
sponsored by the February 10, 2006: DJAA seminars, New York February 28, 2006: local judge=s group, New York March 18, 2006: Louisville, KY March 25, 2006: Ft. Worth, TX 5. Matches B An AKC Sanctioned AB@ Match was held on December 16, 2005, Cleveland, Ohio, sponsored by the Medina Kennel Club. Judge: Nancy Brown B An AKC Sanctioned AB@ Match is to be held in May, 2006 outside of Austin, TX. Details to follow when available. SVCA Organizers: Cindy Kingsley, Mary Carter, Michelle Pfiel. IV. Data This section includes the Membership List, the Household List, and the USA map and numbers of members and dogs in states. As of January, 2006, we have 608 SVs registered with AKC/FSS . We have 129 USA members and 112 households. The USA Members are spread among 34 states. We have also approximated the number of SVs in the states using the Worldwide SV database and our current Membership Database. Currently, we have SVs in 43 states. V. Committee Reports and Minutes This section opens with a description of the committees. The SVCA has produced a description of each committee and a volunteer sign up form to help to involve more members in the operations of their Club. Of major significance in the area of Committees are: B the expansion of the role of the Regional Contact Committee as noted above; B
the organization of a Trophy Committee to track national trophies and arrange
for trophies B A Show Policy Committee to ensure that our show policy, upon our entrance into full AKC recognition, is in compliance with the requirements of the AKC (started 9/05) B Pictorial Committee, chaired by Deborah Harper, which has been working with Peter Gaeta, Director of Judging Operations for AKC. This committee has prepared and received SVCA Board approval for their pamphlet. They are in the process of finalization and conversion of their document into PDF format for posting on the AKC website. They continue to work in conjunction with their AKC contact person. A copy of the pamphlet produced by this committee is enclosed. B The SVCA Board has also re-instituted the Ambassador to Sweden Committee which shall maintain contact with the breed=s home country in order to allow our club stay up to date with information on our breed. Minutes from the SVCA Board Meetings and the one General Meeting from July 1, 2005 - December 31, 2005 are enclosed. Also included is a copy of the BoardWork for the year summarization. VI. National Specialties This section will provide information from our 2005 Specialty and the updated Major SVCA events form. Also included is the current flyer of information regarding the 2006 Specialty in Oklahoma in November. 1. Specialty 2005: enclosed is our premium catalogue, with results; our SVCA Event Report Form; and the Judges Catalogue. 2. Specialty 2006: enclosed is the initial flyer regarding the Specialty which is to be held in Tulsa, OK, November 1 - 6, 2006. There will be Herding trials at all levels at Dixies Animal Training , Collinsville, OK; agility, obedience; conformation. On November 3 - 5, 2006, we will attend the Tulsa Area Cluster Shows offering AKC conformation (Misc class); agility, and obedience. VII. Letters Letters sent to the members regarding nominations,
elections, and volunteer choices for VIII. Conclusions We hope that we have provided useful information to the AKC in the updating of our portfolio. Our Club has been very active in working to ensure that all of our documents are in agreement with the requirements of the AKC. We have initiated necessary committees which should contribute to our growth as a club. We have also worked to proactively involve more SVCA members in the operations and governance of our club. We appreciate the assistance of the AKC and its personnel in our goal of achieving full recognition for the Swedish Vallhund and its parent club, the Swedish Vallhund Club of America. If you find that there is something more that we need to do, we appreciate your informing us of any needed information. Respectfully submitted, Gail M. Smyka SVCA Contact Person to the AKC 36621 Weideman svcags@comcast.net
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