Dear Delegate,

The following is an update of the actions that the AKC staff has taken in reaction to the tragic events that took place in Oklahoma this week.

The AKC and AKC CAR are working around the clock to provide assistance, supplies and financial aid to those affected by the devastating tornados.

We felt it important to keep you up-to-date with the specific actions that have been taken so that you can communicate these actions with any outside parties who may ask you about our efforts.

Supplies
AKC CAR has been able to personally deliver two rounds of supplies to the Animal Resource Center in Moore, OK. These included bowls, crates, leashes and other necessities. Along with the AKC, Mid-Del-Tinker KC, Oklahoma City KC and Lawton DFA members have been on site helping people at the shelter and our people stayed through the night Tuesday. Supplies have also been delivered to the Home Depot Emergency Shelter. These have included 200 micro-chips and 6 scanners as well as regular supplies.

Donations
AKC CAR donated $10,000 to Oklahoma State University (OSU) Animal Relief Fund, which is helping the OSU Center for Veterinary Sciences to provide free veterinary medical care to animals injured during Oklahoma’s recent tornadoes. OSU has been able to put this donation to good work and is also managing to house many of the displaced animals.

Communications
The AKC team has provided real-time updates to our constituents via social media. These updates have included places to find missing pets, images of pets that have been found, a list of pet friendly shelters, how to help the people involved and also how to donate to AKC CAR to help aid the effort. To date we have raised over $48,000 to help assist the people and dogs of Oklahoma.

A major positive for us is that both our AKC Dog Lovers Blog and the AKC Facebook page have become major destinations for people looking to get information on the situation. This is showcased in the 1.2M people that have visited these pages in the last 72 hours. Our images of owners being reunited with their pets have been particularly well received.

We have seen major pick-up on our efforts all across the country, with a few examples shown here:
Oklahoman 5/23/13:http://images.burrellesluce.com/image/20092BX/20092BX_1649
Healthday on Philly.com:http://www.philly.com/philly/health/topics/HealthDay676662_20130522_Simple_Steps_Can_Protect_Pets_in_Weather_Disasters.html
Oklahoman 5/22/13:http://images.burrellesluce.com/image/20092BX/20092BX_1646
Pet Age: http://www.petage.com/helping-pets-impacted-by-oklahoma-tornado/
TMCnet:http://callcenterinfo.tmcnet.com/news/2013/05/22/7152233.htm

In addition to these efforts, a full press release will go to regional and national media this afternoon showing all our efforts and works by our people. We are hoping major media will pick-up on the good work we have done in OK this week. We will also be speaking on KTOA Radio – Oklahoma’s largest talk radio station.

On Tuesday, as a follow-up, we will also circulate to all media outlets a press release regarding AKC CAR SAR Grants, which again highlights the good works of AKC CAR.

One other success we have had is the communication between the AKC and other major charitable organizations with our team having reached out to the following national organizations to offer our assistance in their efforts:
Red Cross
Salvation Army
Americares
Samaritan’s Purse
Team Rubicon

Additionally, we are also on stand-by and have offered direct assistance to the following local clubs:
Mel-Del-Tinker KC
Northeast OK KC
Oklahoma City KC
Town & Country KC
Central OK Toy Dog Club
Oklahoma City OTC
Boomer Boxer
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club of Central OK . Central OK Collie Club . Central OK Gold Retriever Club . Cocker Spaniel Club of Central OK . German Shepherd Dog Club of OK . Great Dane Club of OK . Indian Nations Brittany Club . Irish Setter Club of Central OK . Oklahoma City Boston Terrier Club . Oklahoma City Bulldog Club . Poodle Club of Oklahoma City . Siberian Husky Club of Greater Oklahoma City . Sooner Dachshund Club . Sooner Pomeranian of Oklahoma City . Yorkshire Terrier Club of Oklahoma City

Sincerely,

Alan Kalter
Chairman of the Board
American Kennel Club
AKC Companion Animal Recovery

Dennis Sprung
President & CEO
American Kennel Club