Letters! I get letters! And phone calls. The subjects run the gamut, from ear taping to ear mites. However, recently I've had several communications that I think deserve an airing in this column.
Most of us reading this column belong to a Boxer club on the local level. Or, if we don't, we'd like to join. Remember back to the time when you knew no one and less than nothing about the breed? Maybe you were thinking about a Boxer and wondering if you should buy one; or perhaps a Doberman would be nice? Or maybe you were interested in obedience and wondered if there were other enthusiasts in your area. So you finally contacted the local club, sometimes after considerable difficulty in finding out the right names and telephone numbers.
What happened? Were you welcomed into the "inner circle"? Were you told about the next meeting date and urged to attend? Or were you given the Third Degree and deemed uninteresting or unworthy by whatever powers there were, and did you retreat, discouraged and not a little hurt?
Apparently, this sort of thing is happening here and now around the country in more than a few places. From this soapbox, I'd like to advance a few theories and observations.
Dog clubs, certainly not just Boxer clubs, have always been this way. People in power like to keep it, whether the forum be dogs or politics (and sometimes the demarcation blurs). Why rock the boat with unknown new blood? After all, Mr. and Mrs. X might not vote to elect Judge Y for next year's specialty, and we know that Judge Y is likely to give Rover that finishing major. Mr. and Mrs. X are rumored to be friends with Mr. Z, and we don't like Mr. Z. He was an unworthy club member before we dismissed him. Besides, the X couple has a bitch from that bloodline, and you know that they're likely to breed her to Studmacho, that throws nothing but wry mouths.
Sound familiar? I hope not, but several of your fellow Boxer lovers have written or called lately to complain that the Old Guard, very jealous of its power and influence, is doing a very effective grassroots job of keeping would be members out. "Don't you have bylaws?" I asked in all innocence. "Yes, but they ignore them," came the reply.
Please. Boxer clubs all around this nation should be encouraging new members who have a sincere regard for the breed, whether they know anything by your standards or not. We were all novices once. In fact, the Middlesex Boxer Club, one of the oldest clubs in America, has as its motto "Encourage the Novice." The American Boxer Club soundly endorses this concept. If you're unhappy with the way a local club is being run now, it's your privilege to vote the powermongers out of office, according to your own bylaws. If we don't stop to educate the novices, we'll have nothing but a bunch of dying off so-called experts who will leave a slim legacy behind. Please stop the nonsense. The Boxer deserves better.
On an entirely different subject, people have written to ask how they might donate to Boxer health research projects around the country. I suggest you write to the American Boxer Club education chairman, Mrs. Billie McFadden, RFD 2, Flemington, NJ 08822. Billie can put you in touch with the appropriate organizations.
In regard to the cardiomyopathy issue, many of you have written to express concern about the widespread incidence of the disease (see the December 1990 GAZETTE Boxer column). By all means, send your information to Dr. Nell Harpster at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130. He will be most grateful.
Stephanie Abraham
P.0. Box 346
Scotland, CT 06264
