Well Beyond The Dollar-And-A-Half

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74 – March, 2025

By Wayne Cavanaugh

The AKC recently announced that the event service fee for conformation events will increase from $3.00 per entry to $4.50 beginning October 1, 2025–a 50% increase. Along with the recording fee of $.50 per entry, clubs will now pay $5.00 to AKC for every dog entered at their shows. Backlash from clubs and exhibitors was swift and furious.

Soon after the initial news made the rounds, questions grew larger in scope. It wasn’t just the buck-and-half, it was the point. Eventually, there was more discussion about the reasoning than the amount. Who should cover the new $1.50 increase? Why have we accepted, without question, that clubs should pay any fees at all? Should volunteer clubs be the ones that pay? Or should it be a cost of doing business for the AKC? Are clubs feeling less appreciated for all they do for AKC? As new questions arose, it seemed that this simple fee increase cracked open the lid on Pandora’s box–a box that had been sealed shut for far too long.

AKC is a not-for-profit organization. The AKC Mission Statement reads in part as follows: The American Kennel Club is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to upholding the integrity of its Registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogs, and breeding for type and function. Additionally, one of the AKC Core Values reads as follows: We are committed to advancing the sport of the purebred dog. But nowhere in the Mission Statement or Core Values does it say: and our volunteer clubs and customers should have to pay for it.

One explanation from AKC is that the fee is being adjusted to catch up with inflation. Apparently, many clubs, those that work long and hard hours for free to keep their clubs alive, don’t quite see it that way. Dog clubs are composed of dedicated, experienced, and often exhausted volunteers. If clubs are promoting the AKC Mission, should they receive more financial support from AKC? If so, how can those concerns be addressed with positive and creative thinking? Will this issue result in a standoff or an opportunity to open a long overdue discussion about the relationship between AKC and the clubs that put on AKC events.

Click here to read the complete article
74 – March, 2025

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