They managed it! Who would have dared put their money on the FCI European Section's
2012 Show in Bucharest being such a resounding success? Victim of a smear campaign
on the social networks (what power, what strength, often positive but at times also
very harmful), the Asociatia Chinologica Romana (AchR) was able to keep a cool head,
rising to the challenge and attracting more than 6,000 dogs to the Romanian capital.
The AChR was able to leverage the smear campaign against it to promote the show,
and the least we can say is that it was very successful in doing so. Congratulations
to the whole Romanian team, brilliantly led by Mr C. Stefanescu and Mr P. Muntean.
Unfortunately, three of the canine world’s top personalities have recently left
us and the FCI would like to pay tribute to them here...
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Yves De Clercq
FCI Executive Director
In memoriam
Decease of Mr Manuel Martín Rodríguez
Mr Manuel Martín Rodríguez
Mr Manuel Martín Rodríguez passed away in Madrid on 19th October.
Mr Martín suffered a fall at his home last May, as a result of which he broke both
his hip and his left wrist. This meant that, to his great sorrow, he was unable
to attend either the Exposición Internacional Canina de Primavera in Madrid or the
Annual Meeting of Members of the R.S.C.E.
After undergoing a tough process of rehabilitation throughout the summer, he started
going to his R.S.C.E. office again in September. He was there every Thursday without
fail and for the last time on the 11th of this month. That day his closest colleagues
noticed that he did not seem to be very well, he was tired and suffering from some
difficulties in breathing. As his health grew worse, Mr Manuel Martín was admitted
to the Hospital Puerta de Hierro de Majadahonda in Madrid on the 18th, where he
died at around ten a.m. the following day.
Mr Manuel Martín Rodríguez was born on 30th April 1928. He began practising as a
lawyer in 1963 and both chaired and sat on the boards of various trading companies.
He became a member of the Real Sociedad Canina de España in 1964 and Chairman in
1992. He joined the Real Club Español del Pastor Alemán (Spanish Royal German Shepherd
Club) in 1978 and was a Founding Member, an Honorary Member and Chairman of the
Club for more than twenty-five years. He was an international judge for the RSCE,
the FCI, the Real CEPPA and the SV, specialist of the morphology and structure of
German Shepherds, a dog he bread for more than three decades with the "Los Porches"
kennel name (including Canto, Gilda, Hassie and a long list of other outstanding
specimens). He began attending the annual conferences of the World Union of German
Shepherd Dog Clubs (W.U.S.V.) in 1979 and became a leading member of its Board of
Directors, serving various terms of office, and was commissioner for the Latin-European
and Latin-American areas. He judged at many leading shows (FCI World and European
Section Shows, Siegerschaus Show, both in Spain and in many other countries) and
spoke about German Shepherd dogs - a breed for which he had a very special affection
- at countless conferences.
He represented the Real Sociedad Canina de España at many of the FCI’s General Meetings.
We would like to offer his family, friends and colleagues our sincerest condolences
on such a sad loss.
Rest in peace.
Real Sociedad Canina de España