Welcome to the AKC Specialty Club Florida PON Fanciers!
2010 Specialty News:
I want thank all the Florida Club members for their success in holding the first ever independent AKC PON Specialty in the US. It is now in the record books and could not have been possible without a lot of hard work by all. Give yourselves a big pat on the back and realize you are part of PON history. Win, lose or draw - all had a good time and there were tons of laughs and PON stories created for future PON functions. I am proud of each and every one of you. The Judge's comment - "This is how all shows should be" says it all. We are now in the planning stages now of our next Specialty which - subject to AKC approval - will be held at the Brooksville, Florida show on November 12th, 2010. I look forward to seeing everyone there and we will be making a long week of it by holding a PON Party and picnic at Panther Bend and ending up with the Ocala show and the White Star weekend there. All PONs are invited. Mark your calendars and get prepared for a ton of fun and laughs. Your PONs can even bring you along also - to supply the treats of course.
All the best.
Bill
Letter from the President:
5.10.10
Our parent club (APONC) is at a crossroads at present and I believe we can help with their situation. The situation is explained somewhat in the letter from Steve Willson and I can only say that there is more but I have to give him credit as he is trying to change the parent club for the better. They have an election coming up this summer that can save the national club if they can get enough members interested in changing the past history and move on in a positive manner. This is where we can help - they need new members and by May 18th in order to be able to vote in the upcoming election. I have sent in a form to rejoin the club and am asking as many of you to do the same if possible. You can find the membership form and the Code of Ethics on their club site (www.aponc.org) - download both and print them out, fill them in, sign and send it to Steve at : Steve Willson, President APONC 7654 S. Allison Street Littleton, CO 80128 Do not send the form to the address given on the form and do not worry about the two needed sponsors - Steve will have sponsors for new and returning members coming from our club. This is a gamble and I realize many of you have very good reasons for resigning from APONC in the past as I did also - but this is a chance to make a change and we can have a national club that we can work with in the future if enough of you will trust me and sign up. Believe me I would not ask anyone to do this under the old behavior exhibited by APONC.
All the best. Bill
4.5.10
The creature perched on her bird feeder looked like a squirrel, but it was covered with tumors.
'It was strange because I noticed the one and it kept getting worse,' Bass said.
3.24.10
Special Environmental Problems for PONs in Florida.... From the experience of some of some of the rescues I have had lately I have found some special problems for PONs in Florida that are not as much so in the other states. Florida is over run with golf courses and some PON owners live on a fairway and let their PONs play on the course or walk them on the course at times. Regardless of what the clubhouse staff tells you - there is no such thing as a "pet safe" spray that is used on the golf courses - think about it - the sprays are designed to kill everything that walks or crawls in the grass - the PONs walk there then lick their feet or it could even be absorbed through their foot pads and bingo - you have a serious health problem. I had two rescues with severe liver and pancreas damage from these toxins and the blood work showed that they were so toxic that they could glow in the dark. The pancreas damage led to their becoming diabetic but since it was environmental there is a chance it can over come it and one is showing great progress today. He may never beat the problem totally but is down to a very low level of insulin as of today. (from 26 units twice daily to now only 6 units twice daily) and the liver is coming back and almost normal since he is out of the toxic environment. (The other one was overdosed by his vet and did not make it.) So some Florida vets are a local danger also! Now, closer to home - Boris ate a dead tropical lizard after the cold spell we had here in South Florida killed them by the thousands. He became quite sick and it took about two weeks to get back to normal but now tests show that he had liver and pancreas damage from the toxic dead lizard - bacteria from the decay. He is not diabetic but is on lots of meds to cure the damage from his after dinner snack in the yard and believe me - dinner in Paris would be cheaper. (we won't talk about the cost of his eating his toy he got for his 10th birthday present.) My vet just got a new M. Benz.... The moral of this story is that there are many things out there that are a danger to our guys and need to be put on the top of your list for the best of your PONs. PONs will be PONs and we have to be their watchdog for a change. Our next activity will be our Florida Specialty Show in Orlando in June - details will be posted here as time nears - see you there. All the best. Bill