Summer 2017  Saber Tails 29    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

By Susannah Cooper

In July, the 

presidency 

passed from 

Tiffany Cannon 

to me, Susan-

nah Cooper.  It 

is an honor to 

serve in this 

role and, al-

though I’ve 

been on the 

Board of Di-

rectors and 

have been an 

Officer in the 

past, I don’t 

take the role 

of President lightly and will work hard to ensure this 

club continues to grow and thrive in a rather tumul-

tuous environment.  Tiffany will continue to be very 

involved, taking over full-time as the editor of Saber 

Tails while Katherine Howell continues to serve on 

the editorial committee and concentrates on her ju-

nior year in college.  Without the role of editor being 

divided in two, the issues should be out on a more 

timely basis in the future.

This issue of Saber Tails focuses largely on the re-

cent national specialty in Charlotte, North Carolina.  

What a wonderful time we all had.  It was wonderful 

to meet some new people and spend time with old 

friends.  Bev Childs put on an incredible show with 

fun events for everyone who attended.  Clearly, our 

club is becoming more diversified in its interests and 

we will continue to work toward offering something 

for everyone at the specialty shows.  Please do try to 

join us at a future event.  2018 will be in Reno, Ne-

vada and 2019 will be in the Texas Hill Country.

In addition to write ups and photos related to the 

specialty, this issue features several articles written 

by club members on a variety of topics.  It also fea-

tures two articles offering opposing viewponts re-

lated to the topic of the club withdrawing from CHIC.  

This decision continues to be controversial despite 

the fact that the controvery is being brought up well 

after the decisions were all made and finalized.  That 

is perhaps the most disturbing part of the current 

position being taken by the Heath Committee and I 

can assure you as President, we will be working with 

the Health Committee to determine how we can get 

the feedback we need before we reach the point of 

voting on topics.  Late feedback is frequently worse 

than none at all.

None of us wants the communication difficulties be-

tween a comittee and the club leadership to affect 

membership.  We hope you will take these articles 

for what they are.  A disagreement that the club will 

work through and be stronger for in the long run.  

None of us in any leadership roles want our actions 

and decisions to alienate club members or divide the 

club.  Please understand that we all want what’s best 

for the dogs we love and hold dear to our hearts.

Our members come from a wide variety of back-

grounds, belief systems and cultures.  For several of 

us, we only have one thing in common...but it’s a re-

ally good thing!  Our scruffy PBGVs bring smiles to all 

our faces, give us stories to share that we can all re-

late to and bring us together despite our differences 

- powerful stuff from our fuzzy-faced friends.  On to 

better topics in the future.

Like most things in life, the best way to make an im-

pact is to get involved.  We really need volunteers for 

all sorts of open positions, including some as big as a 

rescue representative and future show chair.  Please 

volunteer, even if you aren’t sure what you’re doing!  

We’ve all been there and everyone starts somewhere.

Stay happy and healthy and keep your dogs close.  

Feel free to reach out to any one of the Officers or 

Directors if you have something you think needs to 

be discussed.

Susannah Cooper