Most people envision a huge building full of offices, computers, and employees. This may be so with the AKC, UK, FCI or UKC, but in actuality most ‘registries’ operate out of someone’s home. This brings us to our next question.
What good is a registry?
The answer is very simple; ONLY AS GOOD AS THE PERSON/PERSONS THAT RUN IT! If at any time someone decides to turn the computer off, your papers become worthless.
What can be done if that happens?
You can start printing off your own registration certificates, find someone to do it for you, or locate another ‘registry’ that will do it for a fee. After all, all you are getting is a piece of paper; does it really matter who prints it for you?
Isn’t the registry supposed to do something else?
Yes, they are expected to sponsor shows and maintain records of all wins, etc. They are also responsible for compiling accurate ‘Stud Books’ (the ABBA has the most extensive in the breed because we started it all) that should be available to the general public. Most small Rare Breed registries do not make their records available to the public in order to avoid potential misuse from other individuals that may want to use those records to start ‘their own’ registry. Yes, such things have happened many, many times, to a lot of different breeds. Even our ABBA stud books have been used by others (more than once) to produce ‘papers’. The ABBA spent hundreds of dollars running ads, for several years, trying to warn the public to beware!
These questions have been dealt with dozens of times these past few months, so we felt it was time to share the answers with the entire membership. Many people do not really understand any of this, and don’t care. Some people that just want a good healthy dog, that ‘looks’ like a ‘Alapaha’ for companionship and they don’t even bother sending in their ABBA registration papers.
In 1986 when Lana Lou Lane first joined the Animal Research Foundation (ARF) she took the Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldog into the mainstream ‘rare-breed’ world, she also refused to give credit to the ABBA for founding the breed. Whenever the Alapaha was seen by the general public her name was always associated with founding or creating the breed. This misconception later gave the ARF it’s stance to state that it was the mother registry because no one but a small group of ‘unknown’ rural breeders knew the truth. It took several years before the ABBA could get enough support from its membership to reveal the true history of the breed and change the course of this misguided public opinion.
Over the past decade, we have seen way too many breeders with Create-A-Breed registry papers come and go! In most cases, after they realize there’s no money to be made they pack their bags and find something else to scam on! Just take some time to do your own investigating. It won’t take long, just go to the some of the ‘Create-A-Breed’ websites and you’ll see for yourself that registering any kind of dog as an Alapaha is possible, except with the ABBA. Call them and ask them their procedures for registering a dog and you’ll be very surprised to find out that at the least you can create a pedigree for what ever you’d like! Yes, during the conversation they’ll start their rumors and politics but in the end you’ll get papers for a dog that doesn’t have any Alapaha heritage!
Is AKC the only solution?
For most breeds there is no other alternative. It provides them with a lot of credibility and other advantages. No more member turmoil, stud book entry errors, ‘takeovers’, etc. An ‘independent’ corporation now handles all of their registrations! They have a lot more shows they can go to, with better qualified judges, and no need for collecting win sheets. For the Alapaha, we feel that such a move would devastate the limited gene pool we now have. The AKC does not set any guidelines in areas of inbreeding or even Hip X-raying breeding stock. Anything goes! All dogs (both good ‘breed-able’ and bad ‘pet quality’ specimens) would be allowed to (in) breed at will, encouraging puppy mills to spring up everywhere! Most of the popularity the Alapaha enjoyed was due to the strict breeding guidelines established, through the ABBA. Without these strict controls the future of this ‘breed’ could be devastating!
The integrity of the ABBA records is of utmost importance. Since of April 1979 we have 2,700 (with more being added monthly!) ABBA registered ‘Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldogs’, along with the immediate ancestors used in their development, recorded in our database. This simply means that if we so desire, we can run a 10 generation Relation Coefficient Report on any of the dogs in our registry.
In order to maintain the integrity expected by future owners/breeders, since 1986 it has been a standing ABBA policy not to allow dual registration except for (individual) show records only. All such organizations (FORB, WWKC, ARBA, IABCA, etc.) have long ago agreed to provide the ABBA with written contracts to that effect. Any dogs appearing in a show publication, or magazine, etc. that have been registered through another organization have had their ABBA papers REVOKED. This information has been publicly announced on numerous occasions.
Please take a moment to read this information carefully, and especially note the last line. Even the AKC would not tolerate such a policy! The ARF will now only allow ‘Merit’ registration from ‘certified breeders’ (those who pay $100 to do so). In other words, litters of puppies can be registered from dogs from breeders who pay a fee and this ‘title’ entitles them to cross breed dogs and then sell them to unsuspecting buyers as authentic Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldogs. If you’re not a ‘certified breeder’ and you do the same thing your dogs’ offspring are considered a MUTT. THIS IS A JOKE; IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE M-O-N-E-Y! This gets even more confusing when such puppies later attend shows or competitions. Since they are not ABBA registered ‘Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldogs’, and only a small group of people (scam artist) know anything about their lineage, how are the real Alapaha owners supposed to deal with such a situation? For this reason many prefer just to stay home, allowing for poorer quality dogs to earn undeserved championships. Meanwhile some Alapaha owners are trying to go ‘both’ ways; by sending points sheets to multiple registries, in hopes of doing better in one place or the other.
The ABBA Advisory Board was adamant about resolving this conflict as quickly as possible. Since the ARBA policy is to allow ONLY DOGS THAT ARE REGISTERED WITH THE ABBA to earn championship points. Without a doubt, this means that ONLY those dogs that have been registered with the ABBA qualify for the ‘points’ system. Therefore we have no alternative other then to suspend the breeding privileges of any ABBA dog that has transferred over to any other registry. This has been the ABBA policy since 1986, and enforcement of this decision has been under advisement for many months and approved at the ‘86 Annual Meeting. Any dogs whose names are listed with another registry must provide the ABBA with a statement from that organization validating that this listing was done in error, and in effect the said dog has never been registered with that organization. Without this documentation on file, we have no alternative other than to suspend that dog’s ABBA privileges. If you are in doubt about your dog’s status, please request a letter from the ARF, ACA, IOEBA, OREBA, CKC, URBA, NKC, DRA, FIC and WWKC validating that you are not listed in their records.
In conclusion, please be sure to use great caution when selecting an Alapaha puppy and ‘registry’ especially if you have any plans for breeding or showing your dog(s). As we have tried to show you; a ‘registry’ is only as good as the organization that operates it! Before you invest a lot of time & money in such a breed, you should carefully investigate the possible consequences that you will most certainly encounter. Most ‘rare breed’ (especially Create-A-Breed) registries have their ‘own’ priorities and that’s usually M-O-N-E-Y not the Alapaha Blue-Blood Bulldog!
