Canine Hotline - Sept/Oct 2025
Board Meetings: 1st Tuesday of each month, 7:00 p.m.
General Meeting: 2nd Tuesday of every month, 7:00 p.m.
Location: Church of the Nazarene, 913 E New York Ave, DeLand, FL 32724
President Terry Wagner
Vice President Dee Pounds
Secretary Ginny Merchant
Treasurer Maria Avellino
AKC Delegate Cathy Driggers
FAKC Delegate Cathy Driggers
Show Chair Mark Driggers
Board of Directors
Kati Boswell • Susan Graves • Bain Foster • Dee Pounds • Windie Rhodes • Bill Herr
📩 Meeting Minutes from the General Meeting are now available as a PDF download.
🎉 Celebrating Our Membership Anniversaries 🎉
This month, we’re proud to recognize and celebrate the commitment of our WVKC members whose dedication to the club has stood the test of time.
Judith Poteat (joined 1998)
Bain Foster (joined 2013)
Eric Jakob (joined 2015)
Patrick Mazepink (joined 2015)
Milene Melvin (joined 2022)
Arina Stevenson (joined 2020)
Thank you all for being an important part of WVKC’s ongoing journey!
🎂 Happiest of Birthdays! 🎂
WVKC sends warm birthday wishes to our members celebrating another trip around the sun:
🎉 Mark Avellino - Oct 08
🎉 Milene Melvin - Oct 08
🎉 Sue Zeiher - Oct 09
🎉 Cathy Driggers - Oct 20
🎉 Pam Jarosz - Oct 31
🎉 Heather Olszewski - Nov 10
We hope your special day is filled with joy, puppy kisses, and a few extra treats! 🐾🎈
No New Applicants
Another show is in the books and was a huge success. Thank you to all the volunteers, it truly takes a village.
The Board Nomination Committee’s slate for 2026 was announced at the last club meeting. With Susan’s resignation, there was an open Board position to be filled. The Board of Directors recommended Cathy Driggers to step into that role, and Cathy has accepted the nomination.
Terry then opened the floor for any additional nominations. None were offered, so Ginny was directed to cast a unanimous vote on behalf of the membership. She will submit the updated Board information to the AKC.
We appreciate everyone’s service and willingness to support the club’s continued work!
Board Nominees for 2026
President - Terry Wagner
VP - Ginny Merchant
Secretary - Dee Pounds
Treasurer - Maria Avellino
Susan Graves - Director
Cathy Driggers - Director
Windie Rhodes - Director
Education Program Recap 🐾📚
As part of our ongoing education series, Lynn introduced Julia Grandt, breeder of champion Leonbergers and Spinoni Italiani, who joined our October club meeting to present the Spinone Italiano. Julia walked us through the breed’s history and purpose, and gave insight into correct conformation and working structure.
She also brought along her Champion Spinone, Fiero, who was reunited with his daughter Mochi (owned by club member Audria). The reunion included precisely the level of joyful chaos one expects when a dignified show dog sees his equally dignified—but still very much 8-month-old—offspring. Mochi provided live demonstration footage of “enthusiasm” as an inherited trait.
It was both informative and genuinely fun—thank you to Julia for such an engaging presentation.
Next Month: We will feature Canine CPR as our education topic. January: Julia will return to present on the Leonberger, giving us another chance to learn about a breed built like a warm, stoic mythological creature.
We hope to see many members there—education is always more lively with a full room (and the occasional well-behaved dog).
Upcoming Events & Ways to Get Involved 🎪🐾
Meet the Breed – Artisan Alley (DeLand)
We’ll be hosting Meet the Breed events at Artisan Alley in DeLand on Saturday, November 8th and Friday, December 20th, from 11 AM to 4 PM.
Meet the Breed – DeBary Splash Pad
We’ll also be at the DeBary Puppy Party on Saturday, November 16th at the Splash Pad.
These events are a great opportunity to share our breeds with the public, answer questions, and help promote responsible dog ownership.
We need members to bring their dogs! You do not have to stay the entire time—come for an hour, come for three, whatever your schedule allows. We need friendly dogs and friendly humans.
To participate, please contact Cathy or Mark so we know who to expect.
DeLand Christmas Parade 🎄✨
The DeLand Nighttime Christmas Parade will take place on Friday, December 6th, and this year we’ll have a float! Theme is still in the works, but we promise it will be festive, dog-friendly, and properly sparkly.
We’ll be decorating the float at the Driggers’ home on Thursday, December 5th (time TBA).Come help, come supervise, come hold zip ties—we welcome all skill levels.
More details will be announced soon. Mark your calendars now!
Show Chair Transition & Training Opportunity
As many of you know, Susan Shepard has stepped down from her role as Show Chair. We are grateful for the hard work and dedication she brought to our events. We are equally grateful to welcome back Mark Driggers, who has generously agreed to serve as Show Chair for the upcoming show year.
Mark’s goal during this term is not only to help guide the show planning process, but also to train and mentor club members who are interested in learning how to host and manage an AKC conformation show. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone who would like to become more involved in the inner workings of our annual events—whether you’d like to take on a leadership role in the future or simply want to understand the process behind the scenes.
If you have even a little curiosity about show planning, hospitality, stewarding, logistics, vendor coordination, or what it really takes to put on a successful weekend of shows, we invite you to reach out to Mark. He will be developing training guidelines and working directly with volunteers so the knowledge can be shared and carried forward.
No previous experience is required—just interest and willingness to learn and commit to the process.
To get involved or ask questions, please contact: Mark Driggers
🎄Annual Club Christmas Party – Save the (Tentative) Date! 🎁
We’re looking forward to celebrating the season together! Our annual Christmas Party is tentatively scheduled for Monday, December 2nd, pending final confirmation of the church’s availability. Choosing this date should also help us avoid overlapping with the AKC National Championship week of shows—so we hope to see plenty of familiar faces (and fewer timing conflicts!).
This gathering will also serve as our December club meeting.
We’ll share a meal together, so please plan to bring a dish to contribute. More details on the potluck sign-up will be provided once the date is confirmed.
We will also be holding our White Elephant Gift Exchange—always a highlight. 🎁😄 Gifts should be fun, light-hearted, and around a modest value (nothing extravagant required—laughter and comfort is the currency here). Bring an item that’s amusing, useful, or delightfully odd… the kind of thing that inspires some friendly thievery from across the table.
Once the date is confirmed, we’ll send out a final notice and sign-up information. Looking forward to celebrating with everyone and closing out the year together in good company.
Our next FASTCAT – Night Run! 🌙🏁
WVKC will be hosting our final FASTCAT event of 2025 in partnership with Dog Sports Unlimited on Saturday, November 8th — and this one will be a nighttime event! If you haven’t seen your dog light up under the track lights, it’s a great chance to come out and enjoy something a little different.
As always, we welcome club member volunteers to help the evening run smoothly. No experience is required — we’ll show you what to do. Volunteering is a fun way to learn more about performance events and support the club.
Event is November 8 6pm-10pm. Save the date and get your tickets for a great night of fast dogs and good company! 🌟🐾
Upcoming Conformation Shows
Show | City | Date | Closes |
Central Florida KC | Ocala | Oct 31-Nov 2 | Oct 15 |
Treasure Coast | Ocala | Nov 6-9 | Oct 22 |
Seminole Dog Fanciers Assoc | Ocala | Nov 13-16 | Oct 29 |
Fort Lauderdale Dog Club | Ocala | Nov 21-23 | Nov 05 |
Winter Wonderland Cluster | Perry, GA | Nov 25 - Dec 1 | Nov 5 |
Suwannee Valley Kennel Club | Newberry, FL | Dec 5-7 | Nov 19 |
Space Coast KC | Orlando | Dec 09 | Nov 12 |
Brevard KC | Orlando | Dec 10 | Nov 12 |
Central FL KC | Orlando | Dec 11 | Nov 12 |
AKC Puppy Stakes | Orlando | Dec 12 | Nov 05 |
AKC NOHS Finals | Orlando | Dec 13 | Nov 05 |
Hernando KC | Brooksville | Jan 08 | Dec 24 |
It's show season, get those BRAGS in!
Jim Danhauer and his Irish Setter, Codee (GCH Kinloch’s All Things Considered FDC, DCAT, CGC, TKN — also UKC & INTL Ch., FCAT — truly a dog who collects letters like some of us collect coffee mugs)
This team has had a terrific run lately, both in AKC and UKC events.
• At the Brandon Florida Kennel Club shows, Codee went Best of Breed under judge Karen Wilson and topped it off with an Owner-Handler Group 3. The Southern Kinloch crew was definitely on a roll! 🏆
• In UKC, Codee and Jim continued their momentum, earning three Group wins, a Reserve Best in Show, and a Best in Show. That’s a weekend to remember! ⭐
• Codee has also been invited to compete at the 2025 AKC National Owner Handler Series Finals — a well-deserved honor and recognition of the hard work and consistent success this team has shown.
• And at our very own West Volusia KC shows, Codee added to his resume with three Best of Breeds, three OH Best of Breeds, and an Owner-Handler Group 4.
We are incredibly proud of Jim and Codee’s accomplishments and their dedication to representing both the breed and our club with skill, sportsmanship, and style. 🎩🐾
Here’s to many more miles and many more ribbons!
Mochi (Starfire's Amore Mio Mochi at FCS) and owner Audria Ross) had a standout weekend in Wilmington, NC, earning both of her first and second majors despite some very “character-building” weather conditions.
On the first day, Mochi went Best of Winners for a 4-point major over a competitive entry of six other Spinoni Italiani. The next day, she repeated the win in an entry of 15 Spinoni, securing her second major, again as Best of Winners.
Rain, wind, mud, and general sogginess did their best—but the camaraderie ringside made the weekend a memorable one. Mochi continues to be equal parts determined athlete, soggy dog, and promising young show pup—and we look forward to seeing what she does next. 🐾
Brags from the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the U.S. National Specialty 🦁✨
Club members Ginny Merchant (Breeder) and Co-owner Caleb Tolley with the Kengali team had an outstanding showing at the 2025 Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States National Specialty.
GCh. Kengali’s A Legend Will Rise (“Finlay”) earned Best of Opposite Sex under Breeder-Judge Stewart Dankner, selected from a highly competitive entry of more than 100+ bitches. Even after a long day in the ring, Finlay and her handler moved with confidence and presence—this girl shined with every go-around.
To add to an already memorable week, Finlay also completed her Grand Championship title (pending AKC confirmation).
The success didn’t stop there:
• Duma earned 2nd Place in 9–11 Veteran Bitches—a lovely nod to enduring structure, temperament, and grace.
• Norman placed 2nd in 9–12 Puppy, showing great promise for the future.
• Levi earned 2nd in 6–9 Puppy, another exciting youngster to watch.
Congratulations to Ginny, Caleb, and the entire Kengali family for representing the breed beautifully—both in and out of the ring. Their dedication to correct structure, movement, and temperament continues to shine through. 🐾
❤️AKC’s “Declare Your Love” Registration Campaign
The AKC has launched a new initiative encouraging breeders, clubs, and owners to help promote AKC registration among new puppy homes. The campaign is called Declare Your Love, and it emphasizes something many of us already know:AKC registration is more than paperwork. It supports programs and resources that help dogs live happier, healthier, and longer lives.
Registration fees directly support the work behind the scenes—canine health research, DNA and genetic tracking to preserve breed integrity, disaster relief support, lost dog recovery programs, training and behavior education, public outreach, and community events that bring breeders, exhibitors, and pet homes together.
In short, when someone registers their dog, they’re not just getting a certificate for the drawer.They’re helping protect the future of purebred dogs and supporting resources for all dogs and dog owners.
The campaign is especially aimed at newer generations of dog owners who may not realize what registration funds or supports. The message is simple and heartfelt:
“Everything we do, we do for dogs.”
Breeders are encouraged to:
• Share the campaign with puppy buyers and prospective owners.
• Post the campaign video and materials on social media.
• Talk to new owners about how registration supports preservation and canine well-being.
The AKC has made sharing easy: The Declare Your Love campaign video and social media posts can be shared directly from the AKC Facebook page or YouTube channel.
This is a good moment for all of us in the purebred community to help strengthen awareness of why maintaining pedigrees, supporting health research, and keeping breed standards intact truly matters. And it’s a reminder that we’re all part of something larger than one litter or one kennel name—we’re part of a continuum of care, stewardship, and history.
The future of our breeds is shaped by those who choose to preserve them today.
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