This Site Chosen By Microsoft As THE Afghan Web Link for Encarta Afghan Hound Database and Breed Information Exchange (Afghan Hound Denmark World Congress Report)

DENMARK 1997
3rd World Afghan Congress Report #6
David Frei (USA) Page1

Acknowledgement: We wish to thank the author, David Frei, of Stormhill Afghan Hounds USA, and also "Dog News", the USA canine publication, for permission to re-print this report which was written for, and published in, "Dog News". Copyright remains the property of David Frei and "Dog News".

Note; Please note that this report was written for Dog News and its all-breed, mostly-American audience, so it's a little different perhaps from one that might have been written for an Afghan Hound publication. David Frei is contactable via the Internet (zoosdad@usa.net).

ELSINORE, Denmark -- The third Afghan Hound World Congress -- equal parts educational event, family reunion, and show-and-tell -- took place last month in this beautiful seaside village north of Copenhagen. Bringing together more than 200 Afghan Hound fanciers from 23 different countries, the Congress featured two days of interesting and provocative (we hope) presentations. But it has come to be just as important for the introductions, discussions later in social settings, and the opportunity to put faces and names together in this world of magazine articles, ads, web pages and e-mail. Once again, it succeeded on all counts.

Thursday began with a welcome from Congress Chairman Ulf Jorgensen, and a showing of the fabulous Afghan Hound video produced by Chris Terrell and George Bell for the second World Congress which was held in San Diego two years before. Next, representatives of the three Afghan Hound clubs in Scandinavia greeted us with quick reports, and Uwe Fischer of Germany, president of the German Kennel Club and an Afghan Hound breeder, welcomed everyone on behalf of FCI. Two cases in the mythical "Afghan Hound Court," Ulf's way of getting everyone in the mood to participate, provided the highlight for the first afternoon. Mark Cocozza of England and I served as the prosecuting and defense attorneys, complete with robes, and a mannequin was the defendant in each case. In the first, the mannequin/defendant was charged with not allowing his stud dog to be bred to a bitch that he deemed to be only pet quality. In the second case, the charge was taping puppy tails to achieve the famous Afghan ring. I think that we got everyone laughing and into the participatory mode. Birgitha Runmarker of Sweden, Espen Engh of Norway and Paul Lepiane of the U.S. served on a panel that opening afternoon dealing with several subjects which came from audience questions.

Friday morning began with reports from Sue Virgo about the first World Congress held in Yorkshire, England, in 1993, and from me about the second World Congress held in San Diego in 1995, which I had chaired.

David Frei/Dog News USA July 97
Copyright(c) 1997

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