Giancotti's Warning..

In referrence to Giancotti's paradigm post, if there is one beneficial outcome of the current global economic crises, it's that we are in a time of a social "paradigm shift". A broad shift in the social arena, which brings changes in the way an individual perceives reality. And one of the major changes is the calling out of hypocrisy, greed, cowardice, injustice and all things old world things. Why not here in our microcosm? I'll go right to the point..

Instead of intellectually debating our ideological differences about the future of the breed, Giancotti  resorted to making a warning, in the fashion of a politician on a bully pulpit..

It wasn't clear which charlatans he directed his "warning" to. But not for the threats, it was vague and broad. Since he could't be forthcoming, here are my guesses:

A-Raimundo Cruz the owner and breeder of Gameleira Vagalume (which you used as a reproducer and were 'frenemies' with for over a decade). 

B- The NON-FOR-PROFIT organization called Cabecudo Boiadeiro Conservation Club.  

C- Pure-bred animal breeders 

However predictable for Giancotti's  political agenda, A+B appear to be the main object of his rant. Needless to say, Raimundo Cruz is not bothered by his warning. He's too busy moving forward with his life. However, I will speak for myself about how his statements might relate to me and my involvement with the NON-FOR-PROFIT, my friendship with the Cruz couple and my position in regards to the "pure-bred" animal. (Plus I have a lot of time on my hands, another result of economic crises)..

I believe a thoughtful response is warranted here and I have a hunch the underlying reason that brought on all Giancotti's self-righteous indignation disguised in form of a discourse on social historian Thomas Kuhn was that I put up the pictures of an obviously atypical exemplar (no pun on Kuhns preferred term intended) in my site album called "curiosities". The dog is a full sister to one of his reproducers, and which I used as an example of a bad out-cross.. (Wow 20+ visits made to the page recorded on the browser!). If thats not an example of out-crossing gone bad, what is?

Not surprisingly,  the owner of that dog in the pictures NEVER mated her because he was fully aware she had no potential. But Giancotti used her full sister in his breeding program! To affirm that he's never had an atypical exemplar up until he used GAMELEIRA VAGALUME is, as I see it, misleading at best and dishonest at its worst. To me this is a pernicious manner to deflect attention from that fact and the possible atypical exemplars related to that dog. Blowing the VAGALUME smoke up in the air - giving it as the reason for "atypical" dogs showing up in his kennel now. It's really lowering the bar to its lowest..

I point out that I never mentioned the word "mixed breed" in any of my postings about  the dog in the picture. Actually, the words "mix-breed" came loosely out of Giancotti's mouth as a qualifier about any other Fila but his own or the ones living at his kennel when I met him years ago. The quasi-nazi pure-breed philosophy was his whole spiel! He had very little positive things to say about any bloodline, including those which were represented in the dogs he used as reproducers.

It's perplexing that Giancotti now writes that he doesn't "believe in the existence of pure-bred dogs" yet he affirms there are atypical dogs in Vagalume's pedigee (and he can prove it)? How does that work out?

When I got Gameleira Gitana (Vagalume's daughter) he never mentioned that she was bred from atypical parent[s], nor that she was atypical herself. And he was very involved in the process. In fact, she was approved (on paper) by him and it was stated in writing she had a "minor" cow-hock. That was about 5 years ago.. Could Giancotti have written an observation about possible mixed breed her on her evaluation document that he signed along with JEdmar and Raimundo. Or could he have told me in private not to get her, if there were an issue. If he knew she had "atypical" dogs in her pedigree and never told me (or anybody else before now). What exactly does that make him? Is the "pot calling the kettle black"? 

Also, knowing what you he knew about GAMELEIRA Vagalume's pedigree, he used him as a reproducer anyway. Afterwards, his offspring (Oirã and Obá) are being touted on the internets as the "near perfect" examples of the breed. How is that possible, if not for genetic probability? 

In addition, I've been told of dogs that are on the pedigree of my dogs are not the ones that were really used, by different dog "experts" that have been around just as long as Giancotti.  He was the person responsible for "putting papers on" at least 4 generations of this bloodline.  Forgive me if I don't trust the superior knowledge and information of any person involved with the breed and more specifically those yelling-out-inflated-chested-men that they "lived it" and own the truth. Which most of it is not but rather anecdotal testemony, phony documents and pedigrees. 

The current 'social paradigm' has made me have a very distinct understanding of honesty and ethics. As a result of all the lying and "exposing" of persons that were supposedly friends in the fila world for many years, I have no other recourse than to rely on some form of confirmation of truth which lays in the results of scientific/medical/DNA exams done on my dogs and the help of my vet friends. This is part of what I believe in and I have the RIGHT to advocate about it - tests in hand.

As for the NON-FOR-PROFIT Club that I am a founder and member of is not a political party, neither a sales outlet. That is not its purpose. As the the greatest selective pressures in the dog-world right now are gradually shifting from advertising and gossip, here are still those that use gossip as the great leveler and source of information on bred conformation and incidence of genetic disorders. My participation in the club is very proactive for the use of DNA as a tool in trying to eliminate genetic diseases, and establishing frequency information. I'm also one of the proponents of revealing all the "phantom" sires and Dams not included in official pedigrees, although anecdotal, can be useful information. I'm working on establishing a working stock-dog evaluation and training including possibly structured training in other sports.

There has to be a starting point to fix the moral and physical damage that has been done to this breed, which was done by people that came before me and who have contributed just as much as people they malign.  They propose nothing new, no change and specially - no honesty.  

After all, what will all the accusations, anecdotal evidence and false documents [pedigrees] matter "when the results are in"? Most importantly, pure-bred dogs stand a chance of considerable health improvement, which isn't what went on under Giancotti's expert and extremely ethical watch. 

So, personally I'm also not concerned about Giancotti's warning. And I welcome the notion of a paradigm shift. But his obsession for going after R. Cruz is not a shift, its the same old personal vendetta that it's always been. With a lot of smoke..