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History of US-COPS In 1997, I asked Stacey Kubyn, Biologist and Attorney, founder of the Caucasian Ovcharka Club of America (COCA), and owner of Esquire Caucasian Mountain Dogs in Chardon Township, OH. to open her club to membership, with an elected President and Board of Directors. In other words, I wanted a "real" club, and not a "vanity" club. Stacey flatly refused. The club was Stacey's sandbox, and she didn't want anyone else in it. This was not the first time I had asked her for this, but it was the last time. In the spring of 2000, I learned that the Russian Native Breeds Association (RNBA) had announced that it was planning to apply to the American Kennel Club to be the recognized breed club for the Caucasian Ovcharka in the United States. I was horrified. RNBA was organized and run by MKY Kennel, which was closed down in January 2000 after an inspection by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), State Dog Wardens and State Game Commission officials. An article printed on 1/27/2000 by The Express-Times newspaper out of Easton, PA, stated: "Officials said they found at least three dead dogs and other animal carcasses, including deer carcasses, in garbage bags in a large trash receptacle ... garbage and debris cluttered the outside and inside of the home... the basement contained dog feces and urine-soaked dog bedding." To restate the obvious, RNBA/MKY was not who you'd want to see as the recognized parent club of any breed! But the A.K.C. did not know this, and therefore, would consider RNBA over COCA, because RNBA was a "real" club and not a "vanity" club. It was at this time that I realized that if I didn't take action, the door would be left open for a disreputable group to step into the void. I decided to organize a club and call it the "Caucasian Owners and Breeders Association", (COBRA). I then contacted Deborah O'Brien, one of my caucasian ovcharka puppy owners, to see if she would be President. I didn't have the time to do it, and Deb did. She agreed, but didn't care for the club acronym, feeling it was too "macho". So we tossed about a few other ideas until Deb proposed the "Caucasian Ovcharka Preservation Society", (COPS), which was immediately adopted. (The "United States" designation would be added later, to differentiate between future international COPS branches, such as UK-COPS, and Euro-COPS.) I invited two other Caucasian Ovcharka-owning families, Bob & Paulette Weible, and Paul & MaryAnn Bolognese, to serve on the Board of Directors. Deb invited Kathleen Thomason to serve. As soon as the President and Board of Directors had been formally elected, US-COPS was incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation. My objective had been met. We now had a "real" club for our beloved breed -- a club with an elected President and Board of Directors, a club BY Caucasian Ovcharka owners, FOR Caucasian Ovcharka owners! Join us, and see what a difference a Great Breed Club can make!!! |
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Club History |