AT THE INAUGURAL BOARD MEETING of the Association, on the 26th of February 2005, the I.S.A. policy for acceptance of Seppala Siberian Sleddog stock for entry into its ancestry records data base was set forth in Resolution #014 - 2005. That resolution contained a schedule of guidelines, given below in its current version. These guidelines are similar to those in use by the Working Canine Association of Canada. (A Microsoft Word file of these eligibility rules is available for downloading on the I. S. A. Documents page of this website!)
International Seppala Association
Rules for Seppala Siberian Sleddog Eligibility
Rules for Seppala Siberian Sleddog Eligibility
1. Animals from AKC, CKC and other registries whose pedigrees are traceable to members of the ten MARKOVO/SEPPINEAU Second Foundation group in all pedigree lines (see Note A) are eligible subject to inspection and DNA test in questionable cases.
2. Animals from the Sergei Solovyev Russian bloodline and their descendants, regardless of prior registry status, are eligible subject to inspection and DNA test in questionable cases; documentation may be required to be produced by the owner proving the origin of candidate animals.
3. Animals from cross-strain matings between Category 1. and Category 2. stock are eligible subject to inspection and DNA test in questionable cases; documentation may be required to be produced by the owner proving the origin of candidate animals.
4. Animals not conforming to any of the above categories (as for example, stock directly imported from Siberia) will be considered by the Board for approval on the merits of the individual case. Documentation of origin, DNA testing, inspection, and/or progeny testing may be required by the Board.
5. Animals from AKC, CKC and other registries not wholly descended from the ten MARKOVO/SEPPINEAU Second Foundation dogs but tracing otherwise wholly to stock from historic Seppala Strain kennels (see Note B), should any such be discovered, would be eligible contingent upon satisfactory inspection and tracing/authentication of pedigree; certified pedigrees or such other documentation as might be deemed necessary for authentication may be required.
6. Guidelines for occasional acceptance of animals of high McFaul/Shearer ("Markovo-Seppala") ancestry whose pedigrees also contain other non-Seppala Siberian Husky bloodlines will be as follows:(1) Registered Siberian Huskies from AKC, CKC, or other registries, whose pedigrees contain up to five percent of non-Seppala lineage as determined and calculated by the I. S. A. ancestry database may be accepted.
(2) Acceptance of such "percentage Seppalas" is exceptional, not automatic, and decisions of the Board are final. Criteria governing acceptance are an internal matter and will not be subject to discussion or negotiation with owners of candidate animals.
(3) Analysis of pedigree will play a major part in determining acceptability, as will overall conformity to the breed Standard. Origins, nature and quantity of non-Seppala lineage in the pedigree, its distribution within the pedigree, level of performance proving of the animal in question, and inspection of the candidate animal may all play a part in the final decision. In general, candidates with one side of the pedigree pure Markovo-Seppala will be preferred to those in which non-Seppala lineage (particularly the same ancestors) are found on both the sire's and the dam's side of the pedigree.
(4) As acceptance of such animals is an exception to the norms set forth in the previous five sections, there is no guarantee that any particular "percentage Seppala" animal will necessarily be accepted regardless of its origin or relative degree of bloodline purity. Neither the Board nor the Custodian of Records are under any obligation to justify decisions. The Board and Custodian of Records will ensure that animals accepted under this section remain a minority such that there is no possibility of undue genetic influence upon the breed as a whole.
(5) Accepted "percentage Seppalas" and their progeny may be subject to breeding restrictions as directed by the Board, in order to ensure their assimilation to mainstream Seppala Siberian Sleddog lineage. Acceptance may be made subject to progeny testing.
7. On request the Custodian of Records may acceptas "grade Seppalas" "percentage Seppalas" containing more than five percent of non-Seppala lineage as determined by the I. S. A. database. Animals thus accepted will not be recognised as Seppala Siberian Sleddogs. This category is provided as a service to those who wish to upgrade promising sleddog stock to full Seppala Siberian Sleddog status, allowing the Association to keep reliable ancestral records of stock proposed for upgrading. Grade Seppalas will be subject to stringent breeding restrictions and may not be interbred with one another.
8. In any of the above categories the Board may require approved DNA profiling of candidate animals to be performed at the owner's expense, if it deems such action necessary for safeguarding of the stud book.
(Owners of "percentage-seppala" stock are advised that I.S.A. is not currently approving applications for exceptional acceptance of percentage stock no matter how high the claimed percentage. There are basically three reasons for this position:
(1) Claimed percentages have been found to be consistently much higher than the actual McFaul/Shearer bloodline content, causing arguments about the actual percentage when analysis is carried out.
(2) Serious questions have arisen concerning pedigree reliability in more than one widely-distributed bloodline, cases in which DNA analysis has disproved the claimed pedigree. Thus we are reluctant to accept stock whose pedigrees are unsupported by WCAC/ISA photographic proof of matings.
(3) Pure-strain Markovo-Seppala stock has become extremely scarce, while "percentage" strains linebred on individual animals unacceptable to the Project has become widely prevalent. It is feared that if percentage applications are allowed at this time, under these circumstances, core Project bloodlines might be swamped by exception and grade applications.
For these reasons it is felt by the Board that in order to safeguard core bloodlines and to avoid arguments with applicants, it is prudent not to allow such applications for the time being.)
Notes:
A. The ten MARKOVO/SEPPINEAU Second Foundation dogs are as follows:
DITKO OF SEPPALA (CKC male), breeder McFaul, owner Bragg
SHANGO OF SEPPALA (CKC male), breeder McFaul, owner Bragg
VANKA OF SEPPALA (CKC male), breeder McFaul, owner Egelston
MIKIUK TUKTU TORNYAK (AKC male), breeder Simms, owner Olson
MALAMAK'S OKLEASIK (CKC male), breeder McDougall, owner Egelston
DUSKA OF SEPPALA (CKC female), breeder McFaul, owner Norris (leased to Bragg)
LYL OF SEPSEQUEL (CKC female), breeder Jacobs, owner Bragg
FROSTFIRE ANISETTE (CKC female), breeder Barber, owner Bragg
MOKA OF SEPSEQUEL (CKC female), breeder Jacobs, owner Egelston
WILLI-WAW'S GALE OF CUPID (AKC female), breeder Morton, owner Egelston
B. List of Historic Seppala Strain Kennels (list is indicative, not exclusive):
Leonhard Seppala/Elizabeth Ricker Poland Spring "Seppala Kennels" (no affix)
SEPPALA Kennels - Harry R. Wheeler 1930-1950
SEPPALA Kennels - C. S. MacLean & J. D. McFaul 1950-1963
FOXSTAND Kennels - William L. Shearer III
BELFORD Kennels - Dr. Charles Belford
MALAMAK Kennels (except "H" litter) - J. Malcolm MacDougall
SAPAWE Kennels - W. R. Commins
GATINEAU Kennels (some breedings) - C. S. MacLean & J. D. McFaul
NORDIC Kennels (some breedings) - Joel Nordholm
BRYAR Kennels (most breedings) - Keith Bryar & Jean Lane
GAGNON KennelsAllan Gagnon
SEPSEQUEL Kennels - J. H. Jacobs
FROSTFIRE Kennels (some breedings) - Alex Barber
VALECHO Kennels - Pierre Trempe
MARKOVO Kennels - J. Jeffrey Bragg
MANAHTOK/SEPPINEAU Kennels (most breedings) - Gary & Gwen Egelston
MONTE ALBAN Kennels (some breedings) - Lawrence L. Prado, Jr.
WILLI-WAW Kennels (most breedings) - Mildred Morton
VERHELYNN Kennels (some breedings) - Verner Zoschke
WINDIGO Kennels (most breedings) - Deborah & Steve Serbousek
SEPP-ALTA Kennels (some breedings) - Douglas W. Willett
RIVER VIEW Kennels - Carolyn R. Ritter
--By I. S. A. Board of Directors Resolution 024-2005, 27/2/2005
At present database software is being selected and tested; ancestry data entry has not yet begun. Hence it will be awhile yet before the Association will be able to accept applications for entry of SSSD stock into its records. Watch the "Announcements" page of this website where notice will be given when the Custodian of Records is ready to accept applications.
