After the May,
1994 CKCSC, USA vote on AKC recognition was defeated, the breed was left
in a precarious position. The American Kennel Club had made its intentions
very clear - Cavaliers would be recognized. The CKCSC, USA
had also made its position very clear - they did not want
to become the parent club for the breed.
It is up to a breed's parent
club not only to protect the breed, but to also write the breed standard,
write the illustrated guide to the breed, film the breed video, hold educational
seminars for judges to teach them about the breed, hold specialty shows,
help local clubs form, etc.
Who would now become the
Cavaliers Parent Club? There was great concern, since the Border Collie
had just been recognized without a parent club and the AKC was doing
all the things a parent club normally does. Many Cavalier owners were very
concerned about this, and rightly so. The welfare of the breed was far
more important than any social club. How could we abandon this wonderful
breed that we all loved, and allow it to be turned over to strangers, who
would in turn make all the important decisions for the breed?
After much discussion, about
150 Cavalier breeders, owners and exhibitors, many of long standing and
most being members of the CKCSC, USA, including the top breeders and owners
of the top stud dogs, as well as two sitting board members, decided that
the only way to protect the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was to form a
new club, the American Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club, Inc. The first
Officers and Board of Directors were John D. Gammon, Meredith Johnson-Snyder,
Martha Guimond, Hazel Arnold, Douglas Clevenger, Stephanie Abraham, Susan
Adams, Patricia Kanan, Joanne Nash, Robert A. Schroll and Julie Sturman.
The goal was to protect the
Cavalier and represent its interests in the AKC. It was further decided
that after all the trouble caused by the recognition issue, that this new
club’s Regular membership must be active breeders and exhibitors.
Therefore, a separate type of membership was established, called Associate,
which had all the privileges of Regular membership with the exception of
voting, being counted in a quorum and holding office. A Breed Standard,
Constitution and Bylaws were written and members soon began to join.
When the CKCSC, USA learned
of this club, the founding members (which have been referred to as a splinter
group)
were told that they must resign from the newly formed club or they would
be brought up on charges. When they refused, a hearing was held in Chicago
in September, 1994 and all were suspended for a period of two years
and each fined $2,000.
In December of 1994, the
ACKCSC, Inc. went to the AKC and asked to be the Parent Club for the Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel, and this request was granted. In March of 1995, the
AKC opened its Stud Book, and Cavalier owners began to register Foundation
Stock. The rest of that year was very busy as the Club continued to organize,
began to publish a magazine, hold match shows and fly from one end of the
country to the other holding judges' education seminars.
On January 1, 1996, the Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel became AKC’s 140th recognized breed - over
40 years after Trudy Brown Albrecht and Sally Brown had first made
their request - and for the first time the Cavalier was eligible to
compete as a recognized breed at AKC events, with the American Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel Club, Inc. as its Parent Club. The American Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel Club, Inc. held its first National Specialty in May
of 1997.
