Minutes of the results reached by the annual meeting of the International Union for Leonberger Dogs ( IULH )

Location : Brewery restaurant "Kirchner" in Leonberg
Time : 29.September 2001, 10.00 a.m. 17.00 p.m.
Presence of : Delegates of IULH member clubs from the following countries
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA ( in alphabetical order )
Chair : President of the DCLH and chairman of the IULH, Mr. Gerhard Zerle
Minutes writer : Secretary of the DCLH, Mr. Mathias Ring
Items on the agenda : 1.) Welcoming address
2.) Reports by individual members on possible, current and fundamental problems
3.) Report of the Union´s Internet Representative, Mr. Hein Sibrijns
4.) Discussion and decision concerning the drawing up of an international list of special breed shows
5.) New statutes of the union
6.) International judges´conference
7.) Miscellaneous

The annual meeting of the IULH came to following results:

Item 1.) Welcoming address
Mr. Zerle welcomed the representatives of the member countries.
The conference remembered the victims of the terrorist attack in New York on 11 th September 2001. Linda Mullins Spirio thanked the Leonberger Friends for the many inquiries after her wellbeing.

Mr. Guido Perosino requested the delivery of the agenda in the English language for next year.

Item 2.) Reports by individual members on possible, current and fundamental problems
Mr. Zerle appealed to the delegates to submit written versions of their reports next year, so that they are available to all member countries, and that the conference can work effectively in terms of time.
Mrs. Castell commented on health problems concerning the Leonberger´s heart. In France,out of 32 dogs examined, 6 of them showed slight symptoms and 2 serious symptoms of illness. These health problems appear between the ages of 2 and 4 years old. The US-representatives confirmed the reports from France, and expressed the suspicion that it could be a genetically conditioned problem.
In Cluny, 80 Leonbergers are being examined regarding this matter, from which further results and clues are expected.
The first chairman asked the clubs to convey the above-mentioned facts and figures to the breeding committees, so that they are able to react.

Item 3.) Report of the Union´s Internet Representative, Mr. Hein Sibrijns
The web pages of the IULH are well used, a fact which is expressed in the written report which was made available to all delegates by Mr. Sibrijns.
The publication of articles by the individual member clubs is being planned. Therefore, Mr. Sibrijns requested club newspapers and articles from the IULH member states.
The conference decided by majority on a logo for the IULH a stylized Leonberger situated in a globe. Mrs. Spirio is carrying out this task. Anyone can submit suggestions for improving the logo if they wish.
Mr. Guido Perosino acknowledged the work of Hein Sibrijns.

Item 4.) Discussion and decision concerning the drawing up of an international list of special breed shows
The conference decided by majority on:
a)   the compilation of an international special breed show calendar
b)   the publication of the results and photos of the placed dogs of the most important special
breed shows of each IULH country
c)   the publication of an historical outline and of current change ( persons, aims etc ) of the member clubs
The matters decided in a), b) and c) are published on the IULH website.
The request of Mrs. Petra Junehall to publish all HD results on the IULH website was refused, on the grounds of their anticipated huge volume. Instead, the chairman addressed a request to the clubs to publish the HD results on their individual sites, so that they are accessible for other Leonberger clubs.

Item 5.) New statutes of the union
The draft of the statutes, which lies in front of the delegates, formed the basis of the discussion. Mr. Peter Cejnek requested the personal arrangement of particulars, and placed point 6 committee and point 8 finances in the focus of the discussion.

The following decisions were made:
a)   Each club has 2 votes ( decided in year 2000 )
b)   Finances
Each club in the IULH will pay an annual basic amount of 100 Euros and a per capita amount, according to membership numbers of 0 20 Euros. The members´ conference may respecify the size of the amount annually.
The majority of the conference agreed, with 2 votes against.

The French delegation applied for an alteration of point 10.2 of the draft, so that in the event of the disbanding of the IULH, the funds will be divided among the member clubs.
The conference rejected this proposal by majority, with 2 votes against. In case of the disbanding of the IULH, the available funds will be donated to a charitable cause.
c)   IULH Committee
The committee will consist of 6 members. Germany, as motherland of the breed, automatically has 1 member on the committee. The other 5 committee members are elected by the conference.
The conference agreed as a majority.

The 1 st and 2 nd chairpeople of the IULH are elected freely, from among the delegates, by the conference. The 1 st chairperson will then nominate candidates for the remaining positions on the committee from the amongst the delegates. The conference will accept or reject these nominations by individual vote.
The conference agreed as a majority.

The period of office will last 4 years.
The conference agreed as a majority.

Item 6.) International Judges´Conference
The delegates´conference decided unanimously on the organisation of an international judges´conference in November 2002 through the DCLH in Germany.

Item 7.) Miscellaneous
Mr. Glen Ferguson has led negotiations with both of the Canadian Leonberger clubs with regard to their merging. Unfortunately, an agreement between LCC and CNLC could not be reached. Mr. Zerle thanked Mr. Ferguson for his effort, and summarised that the IULH is awaiting the decision of the Canadian Kennel Club, as to whether one of the clubs or a common, unified Leonberger club will be recognised.

Mr. Guido Perosino announced the 15 th Italian club show for the 6 th / 7 th April 2002, during which the "Leonberger Awards 2002" will be awarded to Marisa Brivio Chellini
( Italy ), Nicole Desseigne ( France ), Teresa Estrada e Rafael Garcia Solinis ( Spain ) and Gerhard Knape ( Germany ).

In addition, Mr. Perosino suggested a discussion for next year. The subject will be the role of the Leonberger as a water rescue dog. In 2003 the first international comparison for Leonbergers in the water rescue service will take place in Italy.

According to the Spanish delegation, the establishment of a Leonberger club is being attempted in Portugal. Spain is supporting these efforts.

The LCA requested the recognition of the LCA pedigree by the IULH member clubs. Mr. Perosino is checking out the legal basis for recognition, on the basis of the FCI.

Mrs. Linda Spirio deplored the appearance of Leonbergers from Russia and Belgium in the USA, as a result of dog auctions, and asked the delegates to demand increased attentiveness during the sale of whelps by breeders of the IULH clubs.



Mathias Ring                     Gerhard Zerle
Minutes writer                   Chairman of the IULH
Secretary DCLH                  President DCLH


Leonberg, 02.10.2001