AKC Canine Partners Program Can Be Used by Pet Shops to Sell Puppy Mill Dogs as High Priced "AKC Registered" Dogs

What a shame. We believed in you, AKC!

The AKC Canine Partners Program can easily be co-opted by Pet Shops and their puppy mill cohorts to mislead puppy buyers that their mixed breed and randomly bred "purebred" puppies are "AKC registered" and thus worth asking prices of close to $1,000.

Here is a letter of complaint I sent to the AKC today on this poorly monitored program. Please share this information with your show contacts, public pet owners and AKC reps. Stop in pet stores yourself to check to see if puppies are being offered as "AKC registered" when in fact the seller merely submitted an online Canine Partnership enrollment. Report any misrepresentations to the AKC Investigations and Inspections Department. The AKC will not take action to tighten standards on this program unless they receive reports. 

Letter text:

A relative recently bought a second hand dog that was originally sold from a retail chain pet shop in St. Louis for $900. The seller led the buyers to believe it was an "AKC registered Morkie". On inspection of the certificate, this was found to be a Canine Partnership enrollment. 

I believe this program is seriously faulty in that it allows dogs to be "registered" with no spay or neutering or any other requirements other than a blind sign up through an online form with no proof of identity or enforcement of enrollment requirements. For example, there is no timeline stated for the neutering to be completed and no stated enforcement or penalties (such as revocation of the enrollment) if the dog is not neutered.

Pet stores can use this easy method to sell puppy mill mixed breed and randomly bred purebred dogs as "AKC registered" allowing pet shops to charge hundreds of dollars for dogs that would be worth much less without the implied "AKC Papers".

The AKC should seriously examine its motives in running such a program that is in effect aiding and abetting both profit earning potential of pet shops and puppy mills and also opening a channel for the easy confusion and scamming of puppy buyers who are easily led to believe they are buying an "AKC registered puppy."

It is too easy for an uninformed impulse driven puppy buyer to misconstrue the difference between and "enrollment" and a "registration."

I will be letting everyone in my dog training community and show circles know about this hugely ill considered program and its consequences for the dogs AKC organization supposedly supports.

I believe this program should be immediately brought up for serious review to prevent the misuse of Pet Partnerships as a vehicle that opens the door to potential fraud against uninformed pet shop puppy buyers.