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A Brief History of the American Kennel Club

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>> Man’s best friend, or as people simple call them, the dog has been a part of family life thousands of years. Ever since the beginning man and dog have lived side by side. Whether as guard dogs, hunting buddies, or simply a member of the family it’s impossible to have never seen or heard of a dog. Organizations have developed means of determining which dogs are the best of the best. Today the most recognizable and known organization for dogs is the American Kennel club, or AKC.
>> The AKC was founded by a group of men on September 17, 1884 after twelve of them received a summons in the mail by Messrs. J. M. Taylor and Elliot Smith. The men that Taylor and Smith gathered each had held a significant place in different dog clubs. These men were highly skilled in their individual styles of dog shows and it was on this expertise that the American Kennel Club was born. Being composed of men from all different types of kennel clubs and shows, this was the first kennel club to cover a whole variety of breeds instead of one specific class. At their second meeting in Madison Square Garden a few months later Major James M. Taylor became the AKC’s first president, having written and delivered many of the founding laws the AKC still follow today. During its first years the AKC developed a type of organization still used today, the National American Kennel Club Stud Book which listed all the studs, unneutered male dogs, that the AKC deemed best in their breed.
>> During the early

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