FEBRUARY 2022 CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW -
Foreword by the Secretary:
The 16th February 2022 marks the 30th Anniversary since I was appointed Secretary of the Malta Canine Society. The February 2022 show is the 151st Championship Show I am organizing. This year also marks the 39th anniversary since I joined the MCS Committee, in which I grew up, from a young teenager to a married man, a father and now also a very proud grand father! How time flies! 30 years in the Secretary’s chair has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. 39 years in the Committee is not an easy feat, I do not recall any official in any local dog club who has had such a life sentence! During these years I have seen our Club evolve to great heights. Together with the rest of the Committee members that served with me during the years, we have made huge steps to enhance the local dog scene. We were instrumental, along with other local clubs, to form the Maltese National Canine Federation, of which I am Chairman of, and also managed to gain a historical agreement with the Kennel Club (U.K), thus ensuring the presence of British judges at our shows in Malta, the British show system and ultimately a close relationship with the Kennel Club (U.K). God knows the price I had to pay for this, but I do not regret it, my principles were never for sale. This has only strengthen my principles and made me a staunch Kennel Club ambassador and supporter, since the support we received from their side was unparalleled. During the past 30 years as Secretary, I have served along 7 different Presidents, some of which managing to leave their mark on the Society. I have had the honour to serve the Committee shoulder to shoulder with some very remarkable people, great friends, who gave their best to the Club during the years. Serving for such a long time in the Committee gave me the pleasure to get to know so many people, make so many friends, locally and abroad. I remember some of today’s exhibitors being born, even attending to their parent’s weddings since their parents were members at the time. Along these years I have made so many friends, sadly losing some along the way, so sad, especially for those who departed to a better life during the years, and I salute them, missing some of them very dearly.
I have seen the Club grow through the years, from organizing shows at the Floriana Scout’s headquarters on hot concrete floors, to having indoor shows on carpeted rings. We introduced the carpeted ring, and also the artificial lights way back when we were still holding our shows at the Argotti Gardens in Floriana. Remembering the time I used to type circulars and show catalogues on the club’s old “Oliver” typewriter and duplicating them on to the hand operated copy machine (both on display at the Club’s show case), through to the introduction of the computer and the digitizing process along the years.... . These 30 years gave me the pleasure to get to know so many renowned judges, Kennel Clubs administrators, from whom I gained so much knowledge and experience.
Our Club gave me so much happy memories, so much thrills, great experiences and not so great ones, from having the pleasure to see the organisation of great shows such as the 25th Anniversary Show and other Open Air double shows to having to cancel a show on the day of the show due to the judge suffering an injury on the day.... From being invited to member’s weddings to attending members’ funerals..... such contrasting occasions.
Serving in a Committee comes with a cost. It is time consuming, and one has to sacrifice many things along the way to be able to give his most, if one has to be a responsible committee member and not just there for the number. It is important for all, especially those who have never served on a committee in their life, to keep in mind, that whilst they are watching T.V at home, dining out or grooming or exercising their dogs, there are some committee members out there working hard for their sake, offering their free time so that they can help in the running of the club and the organizing of dog shows. Some people do take such things for granted, and without the voluntary work of such people, there would be no dog shows to attend. Times do change, there were times when we had 14 to 16 people contesting for a chair on the committee, nowadays we hardly find enough to fill the chairs despite shrinking the size of the committee to half of what it used to be. This problem is universal, not just on our club, or dog clubs, but in every genre, and across the world too. Many clubs in U.K closed their doors because of this, and many more are on the brink of in existence when their present ageing committee members decide to call it a day.
Achievements and disappointments? I had my share of both. Some of my greatest moments in dogdom were when, way back in 2002, the Kennel Club (U.K) recognized my contribution to the local dog scene and elected me as a member, in a time when it was so difficult to become a member, with overseas members then being restricted to only 50. It was indeed an honour to become the first Maltese ever to become a member of the most prestigious Kennel Club in the World. I still recall the great moment when I was presented with the Kennel Club badge by Mr. Keith Young, then a member of the Kennel Club Executive Committee, during our show in April 2002, a badge I still wear with immense pride today. The other fabulous moments were when the Kennel Club invited me to present the Gundog Group Trophy at Crufts 2015, The World’s greatest dog show, and when I attended and addressed the Conference for Commonwealth Kennel Clubs in London in 2000 and 2004, and also the International Political Canine Forum in 2009 in London, all of these hosted by the Kennel Club (U.K).
Without any doubt, one of the biggest sacrifices and hardest decision I had to take was when in December 2011 I decided to hang my dog show leads, so that I can give my best to the Club. It is not easy, if not to say impossible, for someone administering and running a show and participate in it at the same time. It gives way to unnecessary rumours, misconceptions, which doesn’t do our dog shows any justice. It was a decision that not only affected me, but also my wife, who was also a very keen dog exhibitor and breeder at the time. That meant the end for our dog showing days, which we both thoroughly enjoyed and looked forward to. We both still miss the thrills, the joy and also the disappointments related to dog showing, disappointments that made us look forward with great excitement to the next show to get a better result. We started showing dogs at a young age, way back before we got married. We grew up in our Club, eventually got married, having many exhibitors and committee members of both clubs of that time invited to our wedding. Our two sons were born a couple of years later, and they both grew up attending every show, playing with other member’s children at that time. Some of those children later took part in our Junior Handler Competitions, some represented our Country at Crufts, and some of them are now our exhibitors, our members. Unfortunately, my two sons could not follow those steps because of the persecution my family had to endure because we supported this Club. They were banned from taking part in other Club’s shows so could never stand a chance to participate in our Junior Handler Competitions. That was the ultimate sacrifice my family, and some other committee members as well, had to endure, and this is solely because we loved and worked for our Club. Most members today do not have any idea about this. We (our club) went to great lengths to save the Junior Handling Competition here when others said Junior Handling in Malta is history, done with, when Pedigree Chum stopped sponsoring the IJH Competition in 1999. It was our Club that managed to find the sponsorship, from the U.K, and save our Junior Handler’s participation at Crufts.
Today, our hobby is facing a new danger, coming from the anti-pedigree dog lobbyist, now also in Malta, campaigning for the end of the importation and breeding of pedigree dogs. These activists are campaigning viciously for “the adopt not shop concept”, and they are blaming breeders for the present overcrowded situation in most dog sanctuaries. Unfortunately, we now have people in important and influential positions in our sector, who doesn’t have the experience nor the knowledge, and are using their positions to campaign against pedigree dogs, on social media and t.v, pushing hard for a new legislation to regularize breeders, suggesting regulations which doesn’t make any sense at all, showing their immense lack of knowledge regarding the welfare of dogs. We, as a Club, are giving our all to neutralize such attacks on our breeders, and we already had numerous meetings with government officials and also the Animal Welfare Department about this unfair attack on our hobby. We have to be very careful as to not let these people endanger our hobby with their persistent silly campaign.
On the brighter side, I am grateful to those members who supported and trusted me during these years. I am grateful to my fellow Committee members, who are my extended family, for enduring me and my sometimes-annoying demands. They are special people, special friends, whom I respect and love dearly. I am forever grateful to my wife, for putting up with me and my “ghostly” presence at home working in my study, my long hours away from home doing the Club duties, she literally almost raised my two boys alone since I dedicated almost all of my free time to the Club when they were young, something which I admit I am ashamed of as I could not bring that precious time back. I treasure the friendship I’ve built with many of our members along the years, the great times we shared, and the many successful shows we enjoyed together. God willing, if I continue to get the trust and support, I will certainly be looking forward to many more years of sharing and enjoying our wonderful hobby together, because I love this sport, I love our Club, and I still have the same enthusiasm I had 39 years ago to see it move forward.
Frank Borg
Secretary.
12th February 2022.
Foreword by the Secretary:
The 16th February 2022 marks the 30th Anniversary since I was appointed Secretary of the Malta Canine Society. The February 2022 show is the 151st Championship Show I am organizing. This year also marks the 39th anniversary since I joined the MCS Committee, in which I grew up, from a young teenager to a married man, a father and now also a very proud grand father! How time flies! 30 years in the Secretary’s chair has been one hell of a roller coaster ride. 39 years in the Committee is not an easy feat, I do not recall any official in any local dog club who has had such a life sentence! During these years I have seen our Club evolve to great heights. Together with the rest of the Committee members that served with me during the years, we have made huge steps to enhance the local dog scene. We were instrumental, along with other local clubs, to form the Maltese National Canine Federation, of which I am Chairman of, and also managed to gain a historical agreement with the Kennel Club (U.K), thus ensuring the presence of British judges at our shows in Malta, the British show system and ultimately a close relationship with the Kennel Club (U.K). God knows the price I had to pay for this, but I do not regret it, my principles were never for sale. This has only strengthen my principles and made me a staunch Kennel Club ambassador and supporter, since the support we received from their side was unparalleled. During the past 30 years as Secretary, I have served along 7 different Presidents, some of which managing to leave their mark on the Society. I have had the honour to serve the Committee shoulder to shoulder with some very remarkable people, great friends, who gave their best to the Club during the years. Serving for such a long time in the Committee gave me the pleasure to get to know so many people, make so many friends, locally and abroad. I remember some of today’s exhibitors being born, even attending to their parent’s weddings since their parents were members at the time. Along these years I have made so many friends, sadly losing some along the way, so sad, especially for those who departed to a better life during the years, and I salute them, missing some of them very dearly.
I have seen the Club grow through the years, from organizing shows at the Floriana Scout’s headquarters on hot concrete floors, to having indoor shows on carpeted rings. We introduced the carpeted ring, and also the artificial lights way back when we were still holding our shows at the Argotti Gardens in Floriana. Remembering the time I used to type circulars and show catalogues on the club’s old “Oliver” typewriter and duplicating them on to the hand operated copy machine (both on display at the Club’s show case), through to the introduction of the computer and the digitizing process along the years.... . These 30 years gave me the pleasure to get to know so many renowned judges, Kennel Clubs administrators, from whom I gained so much knowledge and experience.
Our Club gave me so much happy memories, so much thrills, great experiences and not so great ones, from having the pleasure to see the organisation of great shows such as the 25th Anniversary Show and other Open Air double shows to having to cancel a show on the day of the show due to the judge suffering an injury on the day.... From being invited to member’s weddings to attending members’ funerals..... such contrasting occasions.
Serving in a Committee comes with a cost. It is time consuming, and one has to sacrifice many things along the way to be able to give his most, if one has to be a responsible committee member and not just there for the number. It is important for all, especially those who have never served on a committee in their life, to keep in mind, that whilst they are watching T.V at home, dining out or grooming or exercising their dogs, there are some committee members out there working hard for their sake, offering their free time so that they can help in the running of the club and the organizing of dog shows. Some people do take such things for granted, and without the voluntary work of such people, there would be no dog shows to attend. Times do change, there were times when we had 14 to 16 people contesting for a chair on the committee, nowadays we hardly find enough to fill the chairs despite shrinking the size of the committee to half of what it used to be. This problem is universal, not just on our club, or dog clubs, but in every genre, and across the world too. Many clubs in U.K closed their doors because of this, and many more are on the brink of in existence when their present ageing committee members decide to call it a day.
Achievements and disappointments? I had my share of both. Some of my greatest moments in dogdom were when, way back in 2002, the Kennel Club (U.K) recognized my contribution to the local dog scene and elected me as a member, in a time when it was so difficult to become a member, with overseas members then being restricted to only 50. It was indeed an honour to become the first Maltese ever to become a member of the most prestigious Kennel Club in the World. I still recall the great moment when I was presented with the Kennel Club badge by Mr. Keith Young, then a member of the Kennel Club Executive Committee, during our show in April 2002, a badge I still wear with immense pride today. The other fabulous moments were when the Kennel Club invited me to present the Gundog Group Trophy at Crufts 2015, The World’s greatest dog show, and when I attended and addressed the Conference for Commonwealth Kennel Clubs in London in 2000 and 2004, and also the International Political Canine Forum in 2009 in London, all of these hosted by the Kennel Club (U.K).
Without any doubt, one of the biggest sacrifices and hardest decision I had to take was when in December 2011 I decided to hang my dog show leads, so that I can give my best to the Club. It is not easy, if not to say impossible, for someone administering and running a show and participate in it at the same time. It gives way to unnecessary rumours, misconceptions, which doesn’t do our dog shows any justice. It was a decision that not only affected me, but also my wife, who was also a very keen dog exhibitor and breeder at the time. That meant the end for our dog showing days, which we both thoroughly enjoyed and looked forward to. We both still miss the thrills, the joy and also the disappointments related to dog showing, disappointments that made us look forward with great excitement to the next show to get a better result. We started showing dogs at a young age, way back before we got married. We grew up in our Club, eventually got married, having many exhibitors and committee members of both clubs of that time invited to our wedding. Our two sons were born a couple of years later, and they both grew up attending every show, playing with other member’s children at that time. Some of those children later took part in our Junior Handler Competitions, some represented our Country at Crufts, and some of them are now our exhibitors, our members. Unfortunately, my two sons could not follow those steps because of the persecution my family had to endure because we supported this Club. They were banned from taking part in other Club’s shows so could never stand a chance to participate in our Junior Handler Competitions. That was the ultimate sacrifice my family, and some other committee members as well, had to endure, and this is solely because we loved and worked for our Club. Most members today do not have any idea about this. We (our club) went to great lengths to save the Junior Handling Competition here when others said Junior Handling in Malta is history, done with, when Pedigree Chum stopped sponsoring the IJH Competition in 1999. It was our Club that managed to find the sponsorship, from the U.K, and save our Junior Handler’s participation at Crufts.
Today, our hobby is facing a new danger, coming from the anti-pedigree dog lobbyist, now also in Malta, campaigning for the end of the importation and breeding of pedigree dogs. These activists are campaigning viciously for “the adopt not shop concept”, and they are blaming breeders for the present overcrowded situation in most dog sanctuaries. Unfortunately, we now have people in important and influential positions in our sector, who doesn’t have the experience nor the knowledge, and are using their positions to campaign against pedigree dogs, on social media and t.v, pushing hard for a new legislation to regularize breeders, suggesting regulations which doesn’t make any sense at all, showing their immense lack of knowledge regarding the welfare of dogs. We, as a Club, are giving our all to neutralize such attacks on our breeders, and we already had numerous meetings with government officials and also the Animal Welfare Department about this unfair attack on our hobby. We have to be very careful as to not let these people endanger our hobby with their persistent silly campaign.
On the brighter side, I am grateful to those members who supported and trusted me during these years. I am grateful to my fellow Committee members, who are my extended family, for enduring me and my sometimes-annoying demands. They are special people, special friends, whom I respect and love dearly. I am forever grateful to my wife, for putting up with me and my “ghostly” presence at home working in my study, my long hours away from home doing the Club duties, she literally almost raised my two boys alone since I dedicated almost all of my free time to the Club when they were young, something which I admit I am ashamed of as I could not bring that precious time back. I treasure the friendship I’ve built with many of our members along the years, the great times we shared, and the many successful shows we enjoyed together. God willing, if I continue to get the trust and support, I will certainly be looking forward to many more years of sharing and enjoying our wonderful hobby together, because I love this sport, I love our Club, and I still have the same enthusiasm I had 39 years ago to see it move forward.
Frank Borg
Secretary.
12th February 2022.
Posted 11.02.2022
The Maltese Dog Show Community was saddened today with the news of the sudden death of Vincent "Censu" Calleja, a former Committee member, Treasurer and President of The Malta Canine Society.
Vincent served in the Committee for many years, and was a hard working, dedicated Committee member who held the Club very close to his heart till the very end. Vincent retired from the Committee in the year 2010 after 32 years of service to the Club various positions.
The Maltese Dog Show Community was saddened today with the news of the sudden death of Vincent "Censu" Calleja, a former Committee member, Treasurer and President of The Malta Canine Society.
Vincent served in the Committee for many years, and was a hard working, dedicated Committee member who held the Club very close to his heart till the very end. Vincent retired from the Committee in the year 2010 after 32 years of service to the Club various positions.
Posted 03.09.2014:
New President:
New President:
During the Malta Canine Society's 2014 Annual General Meeting, Frankie Borg was appointed as the new President of the Club. Mr.Borg joined the Committee of the Malta Canine Society in 2004 and has served as a Committee member, Assistant Treasurer, Treasurer and vice President.
