The Labrador Retriever Club of Greater Boston and the Colonial Shetland Sheepdog Club are dedicating their trial to their dear friend Gretchen Rich who sadly passed away this month. Gretchen and her husband Dan Fenno have been supporters of this trial since 2001. She was always present from set-up until the last piece of equipment is put away. Her cheery disposition and can do it attitude are deeply missed by all who knew her.

 New York, NY – The American Kennel Club^® (AKC), the nation’s largest and only not-for-profit all-breed dog registry, is pleased to announce that in honor of its 125^th anniversary, the United States Senate passed S. Res. 393 yesterday in recognition of AKC’s many years of contributions to responsible dog owners and breeders across America.

 “We feel incredibly privileged to be recognized by the United States Congress for the work we’ve been doing for more than a century,” said AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung. “The AKC plans to continue its good works, most recently donating $25,000 from the AKC CAR Canine Support and Relief Fund – which has given out more than $3 million to date – to the United States Police Canine Association in support of the search and rescue K-9s that saved lives in Haiti.”

U.S. Senate Resolution 393:  Recognizing the contributions of the American Kennel Club.

Whereas the AKC, headquartered in New York City, with an operations center in Raleigh, North Carolina, was founded in 1884, operates the world's largest registry of purebred dogs and is the Nation's leading not-for-profit organization devoted to the advancement, study, responsible breeding, care, and ownership of dogs;

Whereas in 2008, the AKC sanctioned or regulated 22,630 sporting events that included breed conformation, agility, obedience, earthdog, herding, field trial, retrieving, pointing, tracking, and coonhound events;

Whereas the AKC trains and employs kennel inspectors and conducts over 5,200 kennel inspections each year;

Whereas the AKC promotes responsible dog ownership, care, and handling of dogs to over 21,000 youths ages 9 to 18 years old enrolled in its National Junior Organization;

Whereas the AKC is the largest purebred dog registry in the world and the only registry that incorporates health screening results into its permanent dog records;

Whereas the AKC created and supports the Canine Health Foundation (CHF), which funds research projects focusing on the genetics of disease, the canine genome map, and clinical studies, and has donated over $22,000,000 to the CHF since 1995;

Whereas the AKC annually awards $170,000 in scholarships to veterinary and veterinary technical students;

Whereas the AKC has reunited more than 340,000 lost pets and their owners through the AKC Companion Animal Recovery (CAR) program;

Whereas the AKC celebrates its 125th anniversary this year: Now, therefore, be it