Description
AKC 's Objective: â ¢ Advance the study, breeding, exhibiting, running and maintenance of purebred dogs. AKC's Core Values: â ¢ The human/animal bond, which is perpetuated and supported by purpose-bred dogs for companionship, sport, work, service, etc., is valuable. Dogs bring joy and people who keep dogs as pets feel safer and live longer. All dogs are wonderful, but purpose bred or purebred dogs are more predictable in many important ways than random-bred dogs and therefore make better pets. Pet ownership is more widespread in the US today than in any other country of the world, at any time in history. More than 50% of all households have pets; 36% keep dogs, about a third of which are recognizable breeds. â ¢ Breeding for type and function to create, preserve and improve breeds ties modern urban populations with the 12,000 year tradition of animal husbandry, now vanishing from the rest of our culture. In the last 100 years, this country, along with the rest of the Western world, has undergone what many historians call the most dramatic transformation in human history. It is a shift from a rural, agricultural society to an urban technological one. When AKC was created, more than half of all Americans lived on farms. Even at the turn of the century, 85% of all jobs were agriculturally based. Today, less than one in fifty Americans lives on a farm but more than 50% of households maintains positive contact with animals by keeping pets. Very few people have hands-on experience in animal husbandry anymore-- and that make AKC's constituents unique subject matter experts in an area that touches and matters to half of all households. AKC breeders are the experts, the preservationist, the ones who tie society to its past and support society's present need to maintain the human/animal bond. The American Kennel Club: â ¢ Records the parentage of over one million dogs annually, but is not itself involved in the sale of dogs and cannot therefore guarantee the health and quality of dogs in its registry. â ¢ Sponsors more than 15,000 dog competitions each year held by licensed and member clubs. Only dog clubs may be AKC members. â ¢ Supports and promotes the sport of purebred dogs.
