Please share with rescues, adopters fosters, anyone that may be able to help.  THIS IS A URGENT SITUATION FOR THESE ANIMALS    contact:foranimals2002@aol.com  So if you or anyone can foster, help etc..
Speak now www.rmanimnal.petfinder.com Laura
Friends of Rocky Mount Animals

Warning to all show people and people traveling through the states of Georgia, North Carolina and S Carolina.
The above states will confiscate your dogs if traveling through them and they stop you and you can't show proof of vaccination for rabies.
They stopped people returning from the Perry shows and took their dogs, they called in their lawyer and the dogs were returned but they were fined $600. For not having paperwork with them.
Also, the state of Georgia can euthanize immediately.
Please make all of your friends, families and fellow show people aware of this more-than-likely PETA based problem

The NRTA Board of Directors has come to a decision on three complaints that were submitted against an NRTA Breeder
April 19, 2009. This information will appear in the next issue of the NRTA Newsletter on the Suspension List as per the NRTA Breeders Code of Ethics.
Actions that were taken went into effect May 10, 2009 and are as follows for Violation of NRTA Codes of Ethics:

1. Permanent removal as a member/breeder from the NRTA/NRTR
2. Strip out all of Brown’s Grit’s and any dog in questions litters
3. Disallow any further registrations of any dog bred by this person which includes puppies or dogs transferred. Anyone who that intentionally tries to bypass and sneak a dog in will be dismissed. (Which means: We will not accept for registration or transfer any dog that was bred by this person. So if you purchase a dog or puppy that was bred by this person it can not be registered or transferred to the NRTR as of May 10, 2009 ) Clarification: the Board of Directors will considered any claims of ownership made before May 10, 2009 cut off date. All claims must be received by June 1, 2009 accompanied by any documentation or proof of ownership and all decisions rendered by the Board of Directors will be final.

Approved Proposals for Decker Rat Terriers

These changes supercedes Item # 4 and #5 Approved April 27, 2009
1. Keep registered all dogs that contain 50% or more Decker blood. The percentage would be dropped from their pedigree and they would be known as Decker Rat Terriers. Percentage recording will still be done in the database for record keeping only and not shown on the pedigree. Very Important Notice: All existing dogs in the database that as of (Sunday, May 10, 2009) that are carrying 50% or more Decker Blood before any new percentage adjustments of the Browns Grit litter will still retain the status of Decker Rat Terrier. The Clarks Duke complaint issue will be adjusted down ( As approved by the Board of Directors) and affect many but few if any have dropped below the 50% mark with this change.

2. All dogs containing 25-49.99% percent blood would go into the Decker Outcross Program and be designated as such and be approved as having the desirable traits By the Decker Advisory Board. These dogs can be bred to a Decker containing at least 50% blood (Now known as Decker Rat Terriers) and their litter would be registered as Decker Rat Terriers. The reason for the approval stipulation is because there are toys and mini’s that carry percentage but would not be suitable for the outcross program. In addition this would be done to take the focus off of percentages and to put the focus on creating quality dogs.

3. All dogs containing 0-24.99% percent blood would have to be approved into the Decker Outcross Program as long as they contain desirable traits. For Clarification: They must be Rat Terriers and no other breed. They can be bred to a Decker containing at least 50% blood (once again the % would not be seen, just Decker Rat Terrier on pedigrees) and their litter would be registered as Decker Outcrosses.

4. To avoid future problems, all Decker litters will be DNA’d at a cost of $38 per dog (Sire & Dam) and a release form be signed to have the information sent to the NRTA for its records. You would only have to do each stud or dam once and only at the time they were bred so that you would not have to get them all done at once. Basically you would contact them and they would send you out the kit and the release form for the NRTA.

The DNA center that would be used is:
DDC Veterinary
One DDC Way
Fairfield, OH 45014
Toll-Free: 1-800-625-0874
Email: contact@vetdnacenter.com
http://www.vetdnacenter.com/index.html

Suggested Guidelines:
The following suggestions are being made as breeding Guidelines and to boost the outcross program (Possibilities: Could require that no dog could be bred to a direct relative (Father, Mother, Sister or Brother) or better yet if someone wants to inbreed to lock in factors you could require that all puppies that are sold be so labeled as inbred.
(Buyer must be told that the puppy comes from inbred parents and would be registered as such) You could make a requirement. that no dog appears more then twice in a 3 generation pedigree.
Set up a questionnaire that for example has 20 questions on it for the dog to meet the requirements of a Decker Outcross dog, the dog should “fit” at least 10 or any satisfactory number of the elements on the list. This can be a yes no questionnaire. Does this dog hunt, does it have a scissors bite, does this dog etc. In addition a Guideline with elements such as size, structure, color, temperament, what makes a good Decker etc? Submission of photos showing front, rear and side and the dogs bite. This is to be worked on by the Decker Advisory Board. Guidelines and questionnaires should never be set to automatically disqualify a dog.
Exceptions should be carefully looked at.

See this article: http://www.nrta.com/breedforfoundation/breedingfor.html

Awareness for Breeders and Puppy Buyers

It is very important for breeders and buyers of puppies or dogs to always have a written contract or agreement. Verbal agreements become a "he said she said" argument without anyway of resolving an issue. You don't know who you may be dealing with in many situations.  Even if you are dealing with friends it is still in the best interest of all parties to have all agreements in writing. It takes away any misunderstandings that may arise during a purchase or stud agreement. You should not feel embarassed or insulted if asked or are asking to have something put in writing. This is only good business practice. Don't forget the signitures of both parties either. These days it is easy to just email contracts and information but in some cases it is well worth the stamp to send it and have a hard copy of it.

Changes in Clarks Duke status:
There has been an issue that has come to our attention that Clarks Duke, a dog that appears in many pedigrees, that was listed as a 100% Decker is inaccurate in a pedigree that was submitted to the NRTA. We have spoken with the dogs’ owner Barry Clark and he informed us that the dam Melvin’s Cookie was purchased from a pet store and contains no Decker blood. The sire Dons Skibeaux came from Kenny’s Kennel and also contained no Decker blood. So the percentages on both dogs will be
adjusted to 0% to maintain the accuracy and the integrity of the Decker Dogs. Status Approved by the NRTA Board of Directors.