The British Chihuahua Club Rules

Name and Objects
The Club shall be called "THE BRITISH CHIHUAHUA CLUB". Its objects shall be:

• To promote interest in, and to encourage the breeding and exhibiting of, Chihuahuas;
• To maintain a high standard in the breed by following the description as laid down in the official standard adopted by the Kennel Club; and
• To assist members to co-operate in the best interests of the breed.

Constitution and Management
The Club shall consist of a President, an unlimited number of Vice-Presidents, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, a Committee of eight (excluding ex-officio) and an unlimited number of members, whose names and addresses shall be entered in a book and kept up to date by the Honorary Secretary. The list of members and their addresses shall be available for inspection if so requested by the members of the Club or by the Kennel Club.

In the event of the services of an Honorary Secretary not being available, the Committee shall have the power to appoint a paid Secretary, should this be deemed necessary. This appointment to be confirmed as acceptable by the membership at the following Annual General Meeting.

The President shall be appointed by the Committee and shall hold office for a period of three years, after which period he/she shall not be eligible for reappointment until another member has served the required three years. The Vice Presidents shall be invited by the Committee.

The Officers and Committee shall be elected annually by means of a postal ballot.

The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary and the Honorary Treasurer shall be ex-officio members of the Committee and together with the Committee shall retire annually, all being eligible for re-election. All shall be required to pay the annual subscription and all shall be entitled to vote. In the event of a tie the Chairman shall also have an additional casting vote.

There shall be a Committee which shall be the managing body of the Club, composed of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, the Honorary Secretary, the Honorary Treasurer and the Committee of eight members.

The Committee shall have the power to co-opt any other member or members to fill any vacancy which may arise on the Committee; also to co-opt any non-members, up to a maximum of three, to assist the Committee in any special matter, if deemed necessary, at any time.

Meetings of the Committee shall be called by the Honorary Secretary as and when may be deemed necessary. Six shall form a quorum, one of which shall be an officer of the Club.

Candidates for membership of the Club shall be nominated and seconded by two fully paid-up members who shall sign the nomination form, and after the approval of the Committee, shall be admitted upon payment of the annual subscription or the Compounded subscription.

The Rules of this Club shall not be altered except at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting. Any alterations to the Rules passed at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting shall, in accordance with Kennel Club Rules, not be brought into force until the Kennel Club has been advised and given its approval.

(Mandatory rule changes required by the KC will automatically be deemed as routine/urgent for the purposes of the above)

Subscription
The annual subscription shall be £4.00 payable to the Honorary Treasurer on the 1st January each year. No member whose subscription is unpaid shall be entitled to any of the privileges of membership. If any member fails to pay the annual subscription by 1st March, the Committee shall have the power to erase his/her name from the list of members. Subscription rates for overseas members shall be £5.00 annual subscription.

Members may pay a Compounded Subscription. Payment of a sum equivalent to ten times the relevant current annual subscription shall entitle the member to twelve years membership. Members paying the Compounded Subscription shall be sent a reminder to renew their membership by the Treasurer in the final year of their twelve-year term. Current Life Members as at 21 November 1992 shall retain Life Membership status.

Judges
A list of names of judges of the breed approved by the Club shall be kept by the Honorary Secretary. Appointments to be made by the Committee and to be submitted to the members at the Annual General Meeting. Names of those proposed to be sent in writing to the Club Secretary together with the signatures of the proposer and the candidate.

Officers and Members of the Committee of the BCC will not be appointed to judge at Club Shows other than in an emergency where the appointed judge has to withdraw within 48 hours of the show.

Officers and Committee Members who have either proposed or seconded a judge for a BCC Open Show or Championship Show will not enter their dogs under that judge at that particular show, Dogs entered as 'not for competition' being the only exception to this rule.

Club Accounts
The Honorary Treasurer shall make all payments into the Club's Bank account and all payments from the account shall be made by the Honorary Treasurer, whose signature together with that of the Chairman or the Honorary Secretary shall be accepted as authority for payment when drawing cheques. A qualified auditor shall be appointed annually by the Committee and shall prepare a statement of accounts, a copy of which shall be supplied to all members at the Annual General Meeting. The Honorary Treasurer shall be authorised to pay the auditor's fee from the Club funds.

Club Property
The property of the Club shall be vested in the Committee and in the event of the Club ceasing to exist, a General Meeting shall be called to decide the disposal of any assets.

The Committee shall be responsible for ensuring that all Cups, Trophies and similar articles owned by the Club, be insured, the premiums to be paid out of Club funds. All cups and trophies donated shall be the Club's property unreservedly.

General Business
The financial year of the Club shall be from 1st January to 31st December.

The Annual General Meeting shall be held within 3 months of the end of the financial year, for the following purposes:

• To receive the report of the retiring Committee and statement of accounts;
• To announce the results of the Postal Ballot electing Officers and Committee; and
• To discuss any motion duly placed on the Agenda of which prior notice has been given to the Honorary Secretary.

Fourteen days notice must be given to members, in writing, of the Annual General Meeting which shall be held at such time and place as the Committee may appoint.

Sixteen shall form a quorum at any General Meeting, the Chairman shall have a casting vote.

Nominations for the offices of Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, and the Committee of eight for the ensuing year, together with any items for the Agenda, must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary not later than the 15th December. The nominee's written consent to take office, if elected, must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary not later than 15th December. The proposer, seconder and nominee must all be fully-paid up members of the British Chihuahua Club.

That no British Chihuahua Club Officer or Committee Member shall serve on any other Chihuahua Breed Club as a Committee Member or Official.

No member shall be entitled to vote who has not been a paid up member for one year.

No member can stand for any office or the committee who has not been a member for three consecutive years.

Husband and wife, or partners residing at the same address, cannot become officers of the Committee at the same time as each other. They can still however serve as members on the same committee.

Candidates for the Office of Chairman must be selected from the serving Officers and Committee.

A ballot paper containing the names of those retiring Officers and Committee members who seek re-election, and the names of any other candidates who have been duly nominated in accordance with the foregoing provisions, will be dispatched by the Honorary Secretary to each member together with the formal notice of the Annual General Meeting. The ballot papers must be marked with a number allocated to each member, and the member must return it signed where indicated, by post in the enclosed envelope which will be marked "Ballot" not later than the date stated on the ballot paper.

The Committee shall appoint non-members to act as tellers, who shall deliver the result of the ballot to the Chairman, in a sealed envelope, immediately prior to the Meeting.

A ballot paper will be invalidated if, for any reason in the opinion of the tellers, it fails to clearly indicate the member's selections.

The Chairman shall announce the result of the ballot by reading out only the names of the successful candidates.

No person whilst an undischarged bankrupt may serve on the Committee of or hold any other office or appointment within a Kennel Club Registered Society.

Special General Meetings
A Special General Meeting shall be summoned by the Committee or by the Honorary Secretary on receiving a requisition signed by not less than 20 members stating the business to be discussed. No business other than the matter on the Agenda may be discussed at a Special General Meeting.

Fourteen days' notice shall be given to members of a Special General Meeting which shall be held at such time and place as the Committee shall appoint.

In the event of the Committee deciding that a postal Ballot should take place on a motion to come before a Special General Meeting, a ballot paper stating the motion shall be sent by the Honorary Secretary to each member together with the formal notice of such Special General Meeting. The ballot paper must be marked with a number allocated to each member and the member must return it signed where indicated, by post, in the enclosed envelope marked "Ballot" in order to reach the Honorary Secretary not later than the date (postmark) stated on the ballot paper. A Special General Meeting postal ballot shall be supervised by the Chairman and tellers appointed at the Meeting to assist him.

A ballot paper will be invalidated if, for any reason in the opinion of the Chairman and the tellers, it does not clearly indicate how the member's vote is cast.

A ballot taking place at any General Meeting shall be supervised by the Chairman presiding at the Meeting, and tellers appointed to assist him.

No motion may be discussed or voted upon at any Committee or General Meeting unless the proposer and seconder are present to formally move and second the motion, except in special circumstances if the Chairman so advises.

Overseas Members
No member domiciled outside the British Isles shall be entitled to vote on any issue.

Expulsion of Members
Any Member who shall be suspended under the Kennel Club Rule A42j(4) and/or any member whose dog(s) is/are disqualified under Kennel Club Rule A42j(8) shall ipso facto cease to be a Member of the Club for the duration of the suspension and/or disqualification. If the conduct of any member shall, in the opinion of the Committee of the Club, be injurious or likely to be injurious to the character or interest of the Club, the Committee of the Club may, at a meeting (the notice convening which includes as an object the consideration of the conduct of the member) determine that a Special General Meeting of the Club shall be called for the purpose of passing a resolution to expel him/her. Notice of the Special General Meeting shall be sent to the accused member giving particulars of the complaint and advising him/her of the place, date and hour of the meeting that he/she may attend and offer an explanation. If, at that meeting, a resolution to expel is passed by a two thirds majority of the members present and voting his/her name shall be forthwith erased from the list of members of the Club and he/she shall thereupon cease for all purposes to be a member of the Club (except that he/she may within two calendar months from the date of such meeting appeal to the Kennel Club upon and subject to such conditions as the Kennel Club may impose).

Rescue
The Committee shall be empowered to establish a Rescue scheme and to appoint a responsible person or persons from their number to operate the scheme, (hereinafter referred to as Rescue Officer/s). A separate Rescue Fund Account shall be established for the Rescue schemes withdrawals from which shall only be made on the signature of the Treasurer and a Rescue Officer.

Code of Ethics
(As amended by direction of The Kennel Club)
Membership of the Club shall imply acceptance of the Club's Code of Ethics:

1. will properly house, feed, water and exercise all dogs under their care and arrange for appropriate veterinary attention if and when required;
   
2. will agree without reservation that any veterinary surgeon performing an operation on any of their dogs which alters the natural conformation of the animal, may report such oper­ation to the Kennel Club;
3. will agree that no healthy puppy will be culled.  Puppies which may not conform to the Breed Standard should be placed in suitable homes;
4. will abide by all aspects of the Animal Welfare Act;
5. will not create demand for, nor supply, puppies that have been docked illegally;
6. will agree not to breed from a dog or bitch which could be in any way harmful to the dog or to the breed;
7. will not allow any of their dogs to roam at large or to cause a nuisance to neighbours or those carrying out official duties;
8. will ensure that their dogs wear properly tagged collars and will be kept leashed or under effective control when away from home;
9. will clean up after their dogs in public places or anywhere their dogs are being exhibited;
10. will only sell dogs where there is a reasonable expectation of a happy and healthy life and will help with the re-homing of a dog if the initial circumstances change;
11. will supply written details of all dietary requirements and give guidance concerning re­sponsible ownership when placing dogs in a new home;
12. will ensure that all relevant Kennel Club documents are provided to the new owner when selling or transferring a dog, and will agree, in writing, to forward any relevant documents at the earliest opportunity, if not immediately available;
13. will not sell any dog to commercial dog wholesalers, retail pet dealers or directly or in­directly allow dogs to be given as a prize or donation in a competition of any kind.  Will not sell by sale or auction Kennel Club registration certificates as stand alone items (not accompanying a dog);
14. will not knowingly misrepresent the characteristics of the breed nor falsely advertise dogs nor mislead any person regarding the health or quality of a dog.
    
    In addition to the above Kennel Club provisions,
    
    
15. Members shall not mate any bitch that is less than 12 calendar months of age.
    
16. Members shall not mate a bitch aged more than 8 years of age.
    
17. Members shall not mate a bitch after it has had 6 litters.
    
18. Members shall not sell, or allow to leave their premises, puppies which are less than 12 weeks of age.
    
19. Members shall not have more than two cæsarian sections on any one bitch and these must not be on two consecutive seasons.
    
20. Members shall not mate any bitch for more than two consecutive seasons.
    
21. No member shall knowingly abandon any dog, bitch or puppy.

Publication in the Kennel Club Breed Records Supplement shall be required as proof of the facts.

Members who breach the code of ethics shall be sent a letter of warning by the Committee. Persistent breaches shall make the member liable to expulsion for conduct injurious to the interests of the Club in the manner detailed by these Rules under the heading "Expulsion of Members."

Kennel Club

Members shall recognise the Kennel Club as the final Court of Appeal in all matters of dispute and shall be willing to abide by all the Rules and Regulations laid down by the Kennel Club.

The Club shall not join any Federation of Societies or Clubs.

The Officers acknowledge that during the month of January each year Maintenance of Title fee will be forwarded to the Kennel Club by the Secretary for continuance of registration and that by 31st July each year, other returns, as stipulated in the Kennel Club Regulations for the Registration and Maintenance of Title of Societies & Breed Councils ... will be forwarded to the Kennel Club. The Officers also acknowledge their duty to inform the Kennel Club of any change of Secretary of the Club which may occur during the course of the year.