The Cane Corso’s road to full AKC recognition was not always a smooth one; it was wrought with lots of bumps, sharp turns and at times seemingly insurmountable hills to climb. Initially in 1999 when the subject was first broached it was met with staunch opposition. The prevailing mentality of the day was (and these are direct quotes) “if we go AKC puppy prices will fall”, “we’ll lose control of the breed” or “the AKC ruin’s breeds”. Of Course, all of these arguments were/are untrue and self serving. The fact of the matter was that the breed was already being exploited and over bred. Unbelievably, at that time we had an over-taxed rescue coupled with the fact that the “Dogs USA” annual had more Cane Corso breeders advertising in it than any other breed! All this from a supposed rare breed (how does a rare breed have more advertising than any established AKC breed?). These factors served to contribute to the premature commercial exploitation of the breed. I was of the mindset that whatever negative impact that might come from AKC recognition, we were already doing, so why not get the many advantages of recognition? For example, here are a few of ways the AKC can and will help our club: funding for research and studies on genetic diseases, help from the vast AKC legal team to combat BSL legislation, reciprocal paperwork and selfishly in my case, judges would have learn the breed before they could judge them.
During a vote in 2001 the ICCF general membership voted down the first AKC initiative. I found this particularly ironic since, when the ICCF was reorganized in 1994 it was done so and modeled after a typical AKC breed club, complete with regional VP’s and a brand new constitution. The AKC question was then a dead issue. In 2003 a new club appeared on the horizon; the now defunct Cane Corso Preservation Society. Whether or not this new organizations agenda was AKC recognition, the idea that another club could pursue and receive AKC status seemed to change the perspective of more than a few of the old guard. This was particularly alarming when faced with the prospect of being force fed the FCI standard, of which this new club was a proponent. Eventually in 2003/04 another vote was taken and the general membership overwhelmingly ratified the AKC initiative. Then President Keith Letourneau appointed a delegate to spearhead the push toward recognition. The push seemed to slow to a crawl, however, in fairness there was a substantial amount of ground work to be done during this time, perhaps just not done as expeditiously as possible. The first hurdles to be overcome where the name of the club, the constitution and the standard. The AKC does not want any breed club name to include the words “International” but is must have America or United States in it. The International Cane Corso Association (club) became the Cane Corso Association of America (CCAA), which was actually a positive step because it helped alleviate the confusion between the club and the registry which had been separate entities since the clubs reorganization in 1994. The standard and constitution however were much more complicated undertakings. In the case of the standard, initially the club submitted the Cane Corso standard 2003, as that was what the club was using at the time. CCS 2003 was/is a very valid document. However, it is modeled after the ENCI standard with modifications based on the historical, functional and iconographical realities of the breed. The problem is that it was still a typically Italian standard, meaning it is fault orientated. The AKC prefers positive standards not predicated on faults. Back to the drawing board!
AKC working judges were enlisted to help draft a new more AKC friendly standard; needless to say it was a long and arduous undertaking. Eventually with the help of AKC directors/coordinators various incarnations went back and forth until after over a year a draft was finally settled on and approved by the AKC and the club’s membership. A similar journey was necessary for the constitution. Shauna DeMoss was charged with drafting the new AKC version of the constitution. Specific guidelines were laid out and after much deliberation between Shauna and AKC club relations, an acceptable version was sent to the clubs general membership and ratified. Since that time there have been additional amendments. Once employed this new constitution reassigned responsibilities and created new board positions. Additionally, it mandated sweeping elections. To say the first year or so that the CCAA experienced growing pains coming to terms with and learning this new constitution would be an understatement to say the least. In April of 2007 not being happy with the seemingly stalled progress and the direction the AKC “push” had taken, I decided to make a change and appoint DR Byron Osing to jumpstart the AKC initiative. DR Osing provided just the breath of fresh air necessary to take the breed over the top. Byron formed the AKC committee to help in this endeavor; the committee consisted of Shauna DeMoss, Tony Scandy, Anthony Carfagna and Kathi Wisdom. While being in constant contact with AKC director Mary Beth O’Neill he spearheaded the FSS registration drive. The Osings generously offered to make a personal donation to the rescue for every Corso FSS registered. This helped get us to the prerequisite number of 300 FSS registered dogs to have the breed put on docket for the AKC Board meetings where our petition for recognition would be heard. In the fall of 2007, the Cane Corso was accepted into the AKC’s miscellaneous class and the CCAA was deemed official parent breed club effective July of 2008. DR Osing’s tenacious efforts had gotten our foot in the door within 6 months! Some preconceive (incorrect) notions about the breeds temperament had to be overcome, DR Osing describes how that was accomplished “the AKC was VERY concerned about the temperamental stability of the breed. So, we had to go out and get a large number of written testimonials as to the breed’s stability in the show ring from a large number of recognized AKC judges who had presided over the breed at major shows, or had judged them for many years as guests on the rare breed circuit” Additionally, total number of registered dogs was essential to get us over the top. To that end the AKC stepped up to the plate and helped out, they offered a one time bulk registration-free of charge! This was valid up to the 2009 CCAA National Specialty in Matamoras. Members and non members alike were encouraged to bring their pedigree’s, pictures and completely filled out FSS applications to the Nationals and the club would mail a bulk package to the AKC. To quote DR Osing “We knew we had to get the total number of registered dogs over the 1000 mark, as that would put the breed into a “fast track” status for full recognition. If that number had not been eclipsed, we might well still be in Miscellaneous Class for a few more years”. Later that year DR Osing resigned his commission having gotten the breed to the doorstep. An interim liaison was assigned to the project but eventually it was decided that we needed yet another Osing to get us through the preverbal door. Betty Osing was charged with the final push to full recognition. After the mandatory 1 year in the miscellaneous class, Betty sent the clubs request letter petitioning the AKC for full recognition. The breed was once again put on the docket for a Board meeting, this time for full recognition. Mary Beth O’Neill and Mike Liosis brought our case to the August 2009, AKC BOD’s meeting. At this meeting it was decided that there needed to be some clarifications in the Standard and Constitution, and to resubmit these documents at the October meeting. Having made these changes and on the strength of a very positive Meet the Breeds, which was well attended by some of these same directors who would be voting in the next days, the Cane Corso was admitted into the American Kennel Club’s Working Group and a recognized breed effective July 1, 2010!
Finally!