A word on judging and honour

In the few minutes spent in the ring, the judge weighs years of work, of selection and of hope. Beneath his hand pass not only dogs, but the fate of breeders who have invested in those dogs skill, time and soul. That is why judging is not a position, but a responsibility — and the power to decide is not a privilege, but a burden that only people of integrity can carry with dignity.

A true judge knows, in the ring, neither friends nor interests. He knows only the standard, the dog before him and his own conscience. His qualification is renewed through ceaseless study; his verdict is not negotiated, not arranged and not sold. He has the courage to reward the dog, not the name on the lead, and the humility to acknowledge his own limits. He respects the dogs, respects the exhibitors, respects his colleagues — and, above all, respects the truth.

We do not set out on clean ground. For far too long, Romanian cynology has borne the wounds of practices that have eroded its trust: results decided before anyone entered the ring, complaisances tolerated in silence, conflicts of interest regarded with indifference, verdicts that had nothing to do with the worth of the dogs. We know them. Many of us come from that world and know exactly how much harm they have done. That is precisely why we have chosen a different path.

At the Royal Federal Canine Club, the Panel of Judges will not tolerate unethical conduct. We have clear rules, transparent judging procedures and mechanisms of accountability. A judge who sells his signature, who favours or allows himself to be favoured, who mistakes the ring for a place of bargaining, has no place among us. Integrity is not, for us, a fine phrase in a regulation, but the very condition without which judging does not exist.

A judge’s signature is, in the end, his honour set down on paper. We have chosen to keep it clean. I call on all my colleagues — judges and candidates alike — to understand that here we do not build careers on compromise, but a profession that Romanian cynology may, at last, be able to respect.

This is our commitment. And we will keep it.

Flavian-Sergiu Savescu President of the Panel of Judges, Royal Federal Canine Club