Well it seems to have happened AGAIN!!!!! And note that this incident is AFTER the CCA's memo to the judges!!!! Still gathering the facts but apparently a sable merle male was excused from the ring at the Santa Clara KC in San Jose, CA. Judge Shelley Roos excused a sable merle dog from the open class
this last weekend claiming the dog shouldn't have been entered in that
class.
The last incident that came to light was with Pat Hastings and Tom Coen spoke with her and then the CCA memo came out. It will be interesting what comes of this.
Exactly what class is the sable merle supposed to be entered in???? Maybe CCA should send a memo to its members and let us know...... so as not to put our dogs in the wrong classes and waste the money.
There has not been one thing mentioned as of today on this by CCA pesident Bob Futh or Standard Review Comittee Chair Tommy Coen. I will post updates on this as I get them. I just don't get it. What the CCA gave it's membership as a bandaid fix of this problem is NOT WORKING!!!!! Do we need to take copies of the written CCA memo, highlight the part that says "the Sable Merle should be penalized (not excused or disqualified) to the degree that the expression is affected." and give it to the judges when we get excused with our sable merles??????
UPDATE: 2/17/09 Tom Coen has tried to call Shelley Roos about this but she is still in CA.
Judging the sable merle Collie
The Collie Standard recognizes four colors: "Sable and White," "Tri-Color," "Blue Merle" and "White." Sable Merles appear sable but may exhibit varying degrees of the merling pattern.
Quality, rather than color or pattern, is of foremost importance in judging the Collie. The Standard's emphasis on overall balance, head properties and expression is clear and should always take precedence over color.
Ideally, the Sable Merle should have dark eyes, matched in color. If the eyes are not dark and matched in color, the Sable Merle should be penalized (not excused or disqualified) to the degree that the expression is affected.
The Standard states, "Expression is one of the most important points in considering the relative value of Collies" and "The Collie cannot be judged properly until its expression has been carefully evaluated." It further states "Eye faults are heavily penalized."
