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 Entertaining, Educational Stories about dogs and the families who love them. Purebred or mutt, showdog or showoff, puppy or veteran, dogs love and protect their human pack. No pet has more loyalty than a dog. A pet dog will stay with its family no matter what, even if abused or starved! What other animal will do that? |
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BAD APPLES DON’T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE My daughter is six years old now and for her recent birthday, asked me for “a white puppy I can take to the dog show”. My little girl isn’t anywhere near ready for the juniors ring yet, but has shown an interest based on what she is learning at my side. Case in point- suspended individual Karen Hallum/Piazza/Tripp/Santina/Dunston (among other known aliases) has continued for years to participate in the breeding, sale and registration of supposedly purebred dogs. Once suspended, she transferred ownership of her animals to her daughter, then a minor, and proceeded to conduct business as usual. Ms. Hallum, daughter in tow, has been a frequent disruption at shows, causing problems from unsportsmanslike conduct, to intimidation and threats of violence, to battery on other exhibitors. The number of complaints is not accurately reported as many show committees (like AKC itself) have been reluctant to make waves and enforce their own rules. This unwritten “ignore it and it will go away” attitude just enforces the negative message being learned by a talented but immature novice- and results in setting the stage for their own behavior in later endeavors. Everyone deserves to be treated as an individual, but at what point do we determine that the lessons learned at the right hand of an unethical mentor, even when it is a close relative, have permanently corrupted the ethics of the individual? Legal responsibility for our actions begins at the age of 18, though many juniors from the age of 10 and up can quote AKC regulations chapter and verse. Every person who actively promotes themselves as a show exhibitor and breeder, while willingly assisting in the circumvention of a suspension for another, can and should be held liable for their actions. Hallum’s well documented history includes a criminal conviction for felony fraud in the presentation and sale of purebred dogs (City of Modesto, CA). Can any dog bred by a person who has knowingly altered health registry certificates and AKC registrations in the past, no matter in whose name it has been later bred, exhibited and sold, be accurately presented as a purebred dog without genetic proof of parentage? Ms. Hallum’s daughter, Santina Pizza, claims to have moved beyond her mother’s activities. This is hard to believe when she has never moved beyond the same residence. Searches of public records list Ms. Hallum and Ms. Piazza in the same locations, with the same phone numbers, in at least three different states. An advertised change of kennel name was made, though in looking through AKC’s own free research web site, dozens of dogs are registered in the name of “Masa Mune” (Ms. Hallum’s kennel name), many well beyond the date of her suspension, while only three dogs are registered under the name “Atlanta” (Ms. Piazza’s advertised kennel name since 2001). Coincidence? Hardly, when owners of these dogs have admitted publicly that they were sold to them by Ms. Hallum, yet surreptitiously listed under Ms. Piazza’s name to avoid the suspension. Ms. Hallum was assessed an additional five years’ suspension for activities in circumvention of her suspension. She did not accomplish this alone. One cannot blame a child for following a beloved parent’s leadership, but when that child becomes an adult, responsible for themselves, they must accept the consequences of their actions. When an educated choice is made to continue in the footsteps of such disgraceful activity, fanciers must stand up for what is right and bring the problems to the attention of all relevant agencies, such as the registry and the national parent breed club. Contrary to Ms. Piazza’s assertions she is not involved in activities that caused her mother’s suspension, the evidence shows that bad apples don’t fall far from the tree. No matter what breed an exhibitor is in, the sense of community in the sport makes for excellent channels of communication. Through comparing fraudulent statements made to other fanciers, we can see where stories change and integrity is called into question. Any individual who must go about acquiring purebred dogs under false pretenses is not a person working towards an ethical character. Ms. Piazza was recently investigated by the AKC events department and found to have entered and exhibited an ineligible dog. After a lifetime’s involvement in the sport, such an entry cannot be reasonably attributed to a mistake. Adding depth to the situation, Ms. Piazza herself has promoted the same dog as being the result of two different litters, with separate dams and birth dates for each promotion on breed databases and public website. She is also promoting a planned breeding from this animal, a clear compromise of the stud book when she herself can’t seem to decide which litter the dog is from. These examples are just the tip of an unethical iceberg, and it would take hours to address all the issues of this one situation. Innumerable stories like it exist all across the sport, but the question is why so little action is taken to stop it.
I have decided that I am going to lead by example, and show my daughter that in all things in life, fair play and honesty are their own reward. That it is our responsibility to our breed to notify the right people when others are not acting in accordance with the rules and regulations protecting the standard. When we see activities that compromise or harm others, it is our duty to help protect them. Ignore it, and it won’t go away. These bad apples will continue to corrupt future generations unless we assertively and consistently prune those activities out of the sport. I hope she learns this lesson, and chooses her path wisely. |
Looking at the activities of some family units in the sport, I have to decide now what I intend to teach her.
Unethical activity can begin small- altering a pedigree, changing the appearance of a dog, surgically correcting a disqualifying fault, double handling. Justifications are easily made as to why, just this once, that’s the way the game is going to be played. And when the result is a win, a prominent placement or personal prestige, there is little incentive to follow the right path.