Infighting erupts between American Kennel Club, Miniature Shepherd fans
A legal dogfight has broken out between the American Miniature Shepherd Club of America and the famed American Kennel Club.
In a case right out of the 2002 comedy “Best in Show,” the canine court confrontation was sparked after a contentious 2022 battle for board positions for MASCUSA — the organization which advocates for breeders and fans of the tiny herding dogs that stand roughly 18 inches high.
Gary Hoskins was elected president and Carol Brinson his vice-president — but both were suspended after complaints were filed against them.
Brinson allegedly “knowingly lied about herself and her opponent,” shared “board matters publicly without permission,” and engaged in “insistent and public lies on Facebook,” her competitor for the MASCUSA board vice president, Sue Ritter, apparently claimed, according to court papers.
The gripe was an “attempt to throw the elections,” Hoskins and Brinson contended.
Hoskins was then accused of wrongly reinstating Brinson and using “inappropriate, abusive and foul language” during meetings, prompting more complaints.
Eventually, the American Kennel Club, which runs the annual Westminster Dog Show and acts as an umbrella organization for groups like MASCUSA, stepped in and unfairly barred Hoskins’ ability to sell AKC registered puppies, he claimed in the $1 million lawsuit. Hoskins contends his suspension prohibited him from transferring the purebred pups he contracted out to buyers.
Hoskins had a contract to sell a litter of six puppies for $3,500 apiece, with breeding rights which could be worth much more, said his lawyer Nancy Ferguson-Guttenberg.
“There’s no recording of him using inappropriate foul or abusive language,” said Ferguson-Guttenberg, who also reps Brinson and claims the AKC didn’t investigate the complaints against her clients.
The allegations are false, the AKC said.
“To state we are preventing him from selling dogs is not accurate in the least bit,” said AKC spokeswoman Brandi Munden, who insisted nothing prevents Hoskins from selling or registering his puppies with AKC. She also denied the AKC failed to conduct a probe. “We don’t just suspend someone because someone made a complaint.”
Ritter denied trying to overturn the MASCUSA elections. “I filed before the results of the election were known. There was no election interference on my part whatsoever,” she told The Post.
