Page 174 - ShowSight - September 2019
P. 174
One Person’s Look at the Current and Future... BY WALTER J. SOMMERFELT continued
of thousands of dollars were raised for the hospital. As the chairman and of course a volunteer receiving no compensation I would on occasion receive calls from pub- lic officials about possible canine legislation coming up in the community. Because of our positive perception in the commu- nity we were always able to have an influ- ence in preventing it. Within two years of the events stoppage legislation was passed. Now living here in Knoxville and currently serving as President my club, The Tennes- see Valley Kennel Club has donated to the local Children’s Hospital, The Methodist Hospital Senior Care unit, The University of Tennessee Veterinary School Scholarship fund as well as holding a Stuffed toy col- lection drive at our show for the children’s hospital patients. We have also made dona- tions to Take the Lead, The Canine Health Foundation, and Make-a Wish, as well as other local charities. However, when our four-day cluster broke up our donations were greatly reduced. Being able to provide special events during and after the shows allowed us opportunities to support chari- ties in our community. With only two days these efforts are more difficult.
More and more clubs are starting to fail for a variety of reasons and that may not be a bad thing in the long run. Some of these clubs were only formed to create cluster partners for sister clubs in the area. Some clubs have an aging membership and very few people willing to do the work.
Volunteerism seems to be on the decline everywhere as the new trend is all about what can you do for me not what can I do to help? There are also clubs that have bur- ied their heads in the sand with regards to working with and developing more inter- est in the performance side of our sport. We all need to look deeply into the many issues that face our future. At the Tennes- see Valley Kennel Club, we have taken a pro-active approach to being open to all dog people and not just conformation driven individuals. This approach has allowed us to not only grow slightly but increase our monthly meeting attendance to 25-40 individuals per month while just ten short years ago having a regular quorum was difficult.
It was not all that long ago the AKC made an allowance for the “All-American Dog” (Mixed breed) to start competing in AKC performance events. I do not think this was a bad policy if the intent was to encourage the people to eventually get a pure-bred dog. However, in my opinion the AKC needs to review the current policy on the “All-American dog”. I think it’s great that it gets an individual to participate in our events, but it does not enhance the mission of promoting the pure-bred dog. Those individuals that participate with the all-American dog should have some type of limit on the number of all-American dogs they can exhibit. For example, they can complete with up to two dogs but if they
had the honor of judging on four different continents.
Mr. Sommerfelt has judged many of the most prestigious shows in the United States including the herding group at the 2014 Westminster Dog Show in New York
City where he has judged on three
separate occasions.
Mr. Sommerfelt was the founder and chairman for the St. Jude Showcase of Dogs from 1993 until 2009, a unique
event showcasing the world of purebred dogs. This special event was the largest collection of various dog events in one location, featuring an AKC all Breed Dog Show, AKC Obedience and Rally Trials, AKC Agility trials, (prior to AKC adding agility NADAC trials ) One of the largest
Fly ball tournaments in the U.S.A., Herding and go to ground demonstrations, A main stage featuring performances by Canines from Television and the Movies, Freestyle, Demos by drug and various therapy dogs, A full room of booths for meet the breeds, over 50 AKC judges seminars annually, Lure coursing, A fun Zone for Children, and other dog related fun activities for the general
wish to continue in AKC events dog num- ber three and going forward must be an AKC registered pure bred dog. After all our mission is pure-bred dogs.
AKC was proud to announce that they will again have a meet the breeds weekend at the Javits center in New York City. This is great for the exposure of our sport in that great city. But what about the rest of the country? Maybe the AKC could commis- sion the creation of one or two travelling exhibits on a tractor trailer rig that would go to the various shows throughout the coun- try with an interactive exhibit designed for the general public showcasing all we have to offer in the purebred world. They could work with the local clubs for meet the breeds, some demonstrations, maybe have a small museum of the dog exhibit and a variety of different interests included for the public to visit. It could also be used between shows in Parking lots at large malls or pet supply stores to promote our sport.
As someone that has been involved in our sport for nearly a half of century as an exhibitor, breeder, handler, judge, show and cluster chair, Club President and officer these are just my opinions of the current state of our sport. As I mentioned at the start my hope is that we are still here as a sport long after I am gone for in my opinion there are very few things in life as special as the bond between man and his best friend our dogs. Lets all work together to promote the wonderful sport of the pure-bred dog.
public and their dogs. Over the years the event not only raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the world-renowned St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, but also raised awareness of the many activities for people with their dogs as well establishing a voice for dog people in the Memphis area with regard to legislation. Many aspects of today’s AKC Royal Canin show can be traced back to the
St. Jude event.
Along with Carol his wife of 34 years they have bred well over 90 AKC Champions including Group, Best in Show and Specialty Winners, dual Champions and multiple performance titled dogs.
During the past 40 years Mr. Sommerfelt has been active in a number of dog clubs and
is currently the President of the Tennessee Valley Kennel Club. He is recipient of the AKC outstanding Sportsmanship Award and is also a career agent and financial planning specialist with Nationwide Insurance. The Sommerfelts’ have two grown children, both former Junior Handlers and they are still active breeders and exhibitors of the
Vizsla breed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Walter Sommerfelt of Lenoir City, Tennessee has been involved in the sport of purebred dogs since acquiring his
first Old English Sheepdog in 1972. He
is a former professional handler as well as a breeder, and exhibitor of breeds in all seven groups, most notably Vizslas, OES, Pointers, Bearded Collies and Weimaraners. Judging since 1985 he
is approved for All Sporting, Working, and Herding breeds and groups, Junior Showmanship and Best in Show and has
172 • ShowSight Magazine, SepteMber 2019