Good afternoon. The holiday season is now upon us and yet very little about our lives today is as it once was. This is indeed a time of reflection about the things that we are thankful for; peace, goodwill toward one another, and hopes for what the future may bring. Yet the challenges of the pandemic are still bearing down upon us. In these times, we in the sport of dogs can say with certainty, to paraphrase Roger Caras, dogs are our whole lives and they make our lives whole. Nothing has stopped us from living our “dog lives” to the fullest under the circumstances, even when so many AKC events had to be canceled.
In just a few days, we will achieve something truly incredible, the twentieth anniversary of the AKC National Championship presented by Royal Canin. I am indebted to our amazing Staff and everyone who will be joining us in Orlando. Mounting an event of that scale and importance is never easy and the challenges of doing so under the current conditions are significant. Thank you, Dennis, for explaining shortly how we will execute this monumental event safely and successfully.
Certainly, for many of us, the annual trip to Orlando or even the option to set foot inside a local show ring or handling class does not figure into our reality. The American Kennel Club knows this well. We know how much our dog sports mean to us. We, like you, know that dogs are adaptable and so are dog people. After all, as has been said – “Nothing in life is constant except change.” In response to the crisis the pandemic has wrought, multiple departments in both offices have worked collaboratively to help our constituents continue to engage in our sports in new ways. After all, an old proverb tells us, “A wise person adapts himself to circumstances as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it.” And in a more modern sense, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
I want to tell you about all the different flavors of lemonade we have brewed, some we’ve built as a taste test and others are so good, we’re making them a permanent part of the menu.
We launched the AKC Trick Dog program and thousands of dogs are earning titles at three levels by training at home and submitting videos to AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluators. This year, we hosted the second annual AKC Trick Dog competition, a fully virtual event that showcases incredible skills that dogs and people master together. In October, we launched the Virtual Home Manners titling program to help people begin their dog training journey by building a foundation for AKC STAR Puppy, Canine Good Citizen, and AKC Companion events. In less than one month, more than 400 titles have been issued and a full marketing plan set to roll out to teach more people at home how to achieve great things with their dogs.
We have held three virtual competitions in conformation over the summer which have been a fun and unique experiment in hands-off breed presentation and judging. Certainly, no replacement for the real thing, these programs have helped us donate more than $17,000 to not-for-profit organizations including Take The Lead, AKC Reunite, Adopt-A-K9-Cop (to which AKC Reunite has also made a matching gift) and to the California Fire Foundation.
Companion events went deeper to bring virtual opportunities to our constituents. Virtual Rally Novice, Rally Intermediate, Agility ACT 1, and Agility ACT 2 classes replicate the traditional exercises and courses but allow participants to enact them in their home environments through video. These classes have achieved more than 14,000 entries since launching in late spring and early summer. Importantly, more than half of the entries represent dogs who have never earned an AKC title of any kind. Therefore, the introduction of virtual titles has proven to be an effective customer acquisition tool and hopefully a launching pad for further participation in more AKC sports. Feedback from exhibitors has been so encouraging we are adding these virtual opportunities as permanent options. One constituent wrote to thank AKC for their innovations and said that she sees virtual classes as gateways to more AKC activities. Another wrote that virtual titles have given her a reason to continue to train and keep a positive attitude during these “extremely challenging times.” Introducing AKC training programs to online exhibitors brought about a powerful example of how our sports can change lives. A story about a vulnerable foster child earning Intermediate Trick titles and working towards her Agility ACT 1, became the focus of a powerful and emotion story in AKC Family Dog Magazine. During this difficult time, virtual programs have earned a place in AKC’s toolkit as a bridge to things we know will come.
We have certainly used this time to harness the power of technology for another valuable purpose: educating our fancy and the public. It has been said that “education is our passport to the future” and that “tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.” Surely 2020 has been that time of preparation, digging deeper and honing our skills. It’s been truly inspiring to see how so many departments within AKC – including Sports and Events, Government Relations, Club Development, Breeder Development, Public Education – and many others have partnered to deliver high quality programing for our constituents who are eager to enhance and expand their knowledge. In the earliest days of the pandemic, staff began presenting breed webinars virtually. More than 82 breeds have been studied in this fashion to a cumulative audience of more than 24,000 live attendees. Expanding the scope to include Judges Institutes, canine legislation, stewarding tips, and training during COVID (to name a few topics), we can count on more than 31,000 of our family who have joined us in broadening our horizons through virtual education. These programs will continue into 2021. I urge everyone to take advantage of these opportunities by visiting AKC.org’s educational web page – located at AKC.org/public-education.
How gratifying it is to know that we, as an organization, are enacting and achieving our mission to advance the sport and serve the interest of purebred dog owners even in the most difficult of circumstances. Whether it’s to sharpen or diversify one’s skills, try a new sport, or simply connect with fanciers one might never otherwise meet. Thousands of people are finding joy and value in AKC’s new virtual programs. I urge you to you join them, spread the word, share your ideas and feedback.
May the new year bring us changes for a better tomorrow, a return to our show sites, the club events we so desperately miss, and days of chasing dreams with our dogs at our sides. Happy holidays and thank you.
-Tom