A Vision for the Future

SCOA Board

• Do you wonder what are the most important activities of SCOA?

• What do you think is key to preserving our lovely breed?

• How can breeders help continue the breed type and purpose that make a Spinone a Spinone?

• What Part can you as a Spinone owner play in the future welfare of the breed?

The SCOA board has begun asking these questions with a special monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of every month. It is a time for us to step away from the day-to-day operational activities and to focus on trying to determine what our goals and objectives should be for this year and beyond.

These informal meetings allow the board to discuss the club’s role as steward of the Spinone breed and to focus on our long‐range goals. We started our discussions by reviewing the club’s objectives, as laid out in section 2 of the SCOA constitution:

SECTION 2. The objectives of the Club shall be:

(a) Encourage and promote quality in the breeding of purebred Spinone and to do all that is possible to bring their natural qualities to perfection.

(b) Encourage the organization of independent local Spinone Specialty Clubs in those localities where there are sufficient fanciers of the breed to meet the requirements of The American Kennel Club.

(c) Urge members and breeders to accept the standard of the breed as approved by The American Kennel Club as the only standard of excellence by which Spinone shall be judged.

(d) Do all in its power to protect and advance the interest of the breed and to encourage sportsmanlike competition at dog shows, obedience trials, agility trials, tracking tests, hunting tests, and field trials.

(e) Conduct sanctioned matches, specialty shows, obedience trials, agility trials, tracking tests, hunting tests, and field trials under the Rules and Regulations of The American Kennel Club.

The board will be reaching out to members, breeders, committees, and regional Spinone clubs, to evaluate what the club is doing, how well it is doing it, and what it should be doing to support the preservation of the breed. We are seeking ways to improve communication and engagement with members and hoping to use technology more creatively to share more information on training, health, and many other educational materials. As specific programs are implemented, they will be announced on SCOA’s website, on its Facebook page, and by email.

We invite you to comment, make suggestions, or tell us your complaints… Seriously, we invite your response, your thoughts, your views on the four questions we asked here, or your interest in being part of this process. We hope to hear from you [email protected].