The Chalk Got In Their Eyes

Sorry qualzucht apologists, that's ectropion, not chalk in those dogs' eyes. (Note: Simulated chalk, professional driver over a closed course, all similarity to dogs living or dead is purely educational).

The "Champion of 30 Countries" is still an ectropion mess, regardless of the owner's claims. (Note: this is the actual dog, with ectropion, clear as day)

The backlash against even the most basic of health demands on Best of Breed winners at Crufts began almost as soon as the independent Veterinarians found visible impediments to the dogs’ health which prompted the KC to withhold the BOB titles and prevent the affected dogs from advancing to Group and Best in Show. A Pekingese named Palacegarden Bianca, an English Bulldog named Mellowmood One In A Million, and most recently a Clumber Spaniel named Chervood Snowsun have failed these Vet exams and been barred from advancing further in the show.

The specific reasons for the first two dogs’ failure have not been made public, so rumors are rampant among the fancy as to what specific condition triggered the nuclear option. The most popular counter argument being made by those in the fancy is that one or both dogs were thrown out for the eye check and that the condition was not genetic, but rather an old injury that had healed or perhaps some inflammation due to chalk (which is actually a banned cosmetic) getting in the eye.

Chalk is both illegal and incapable of producing ectropion.

That’s right, this isn’t about health, it’s a wardrobe malfunction! In the case of the Clumber Spaniel, however, a clever photographer managed to snap a photo of the Vet’s diagnosis which documents that the Clumber was failed due to congenic ectropion of the eyes.  The Vet also noted that the dog had both inflammation of the conjunctiva and an ear infection although this alone was not significant enough to be actionable against the title alone.

In a funny quirk of fate, the Clumber Spaniel actually has a great grandmother named “SalleBacks Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.”  I guess it’s a lot easier to get smoke and chalk in your eyes when your eyelids hang down like a rapper’s baggy pants.  And if anyone has poor vision, it’s the fancy breeders who support these dogs winning their ribbons over the clear dysfunction in the dogs.

The admin of the Facebook page “Team Jenny Forever” which sprung up to support the outsted Bulldog even claims that it was an unfair exam because the Vet used a flashlight to look in the dog’s eyes.

Apparently the fancy is afraid of a little light being shown on the issue of dog health.  If the best they can claim is that actually looking at the dogs is unfair, they discredit the entire show system.  Look how beautiful our dogs are, just don’t look too closely.

A facebook group called “The League Against Pedigree Breed Bashing!” is campaigning against the vet checks on the theory that Fancy Judges are more qualified to speak to dog health than a Veterinary Surgeon:

Veterinary Surgeons apparently have no business giving show dogs even a basic once-over.

It’s amusing to watch the fancy true believers act like jihadists inflamed by a Koran burning, even demanding that the Veterinarian be injured. Is there any better test of which side of history is the right one on this issue?  On one side we have people who are demanding healthy dogs, on the other we have people demanding ribbons.

Ribbons or health?  The answer is clear. The right side of history is to stand with healthy dogs, not ribbon chasing fad loving breeders and judges.

One such breeder posted the following image on Facebook in protest of these Vet checks. I find it immensely amusing that anyone could think that demanding the lowest possible level of health, a simple vet check, is somehow inappropriate and warranted, if only someone weren’t “ignorant” and “truly cared.” This is what the Koolaid drinkers really think: if you were only indoctrinated in this culture like they were, you’d agree that genetic defects, horrible structure, and piss-poor health and truncated longevity are acceptable casualties in the game for ribbons.

How twisted do you have to be to think that these vet checks are being pushed by the ignorant and heartless? It’s the exact opposite. Those of us who really DO care about these dogs as more than vehicles for ribbons, those of us who are not ignorant or intentionally denying the real harm that closed registries, inbreeding, and breeding for fads has caused dogs, we support health and any tools that can be used to bring it about.

We stand with the dogs, on the right side of ethics and history.

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About Christopher

Christopher Landauer is a fifth generation Colorado native and second generation Border Collie enthusiast. Border Collies have been the Landauer family dogs since the 1960s and Christopher got his first one as a toddler. He began his own modest breeding program with the purchase of Dublin and Celeste in 2006 and currently shares his home with their children Mercury and Gemma as well. His interest in genetics began in AP Chemistry and AP Biology and was honed at Stanford University.