I was feeling discouraged this morning, but while I was at work you guys SHOWED UP and really made my day. The petition got over 50 new signatures, it was shared and promoted a bunch, and it reinvigorated me to keep trying. Thank you all so much for signing and for being supportive. I know it's kind of a silly thing, but it would be a meaningful thing to have a hand in changing. Both so more dogs and owners have the chance to enjoy training and competing in Rally together, and also to stick it to the old sticks in the mud who are playing dirty and being mean :p.

Please continue to share wherever you think would be useful, and please definitely email the AKC if you haven't. A full inbox is more annoying than a petition, and the more annoying we are the more they'll want to shut us up (ie give us what we want :p).

I'm hoping to get it up to 500 signatures and then email them again for an update.

Email address again is rally@akc.org, and here is the email text you can use. Thanks again, you guys rock �

Hi,
I am joining the email campaign to bring about an official rule change regarding dogs with artificial color in their hair competing in Rally. I enthusiastically support this change. Given that it is a companion event, just like Agility, and color does not impact the performance of the dog, it makes a lot of sense to allow this.
The AKC has shared excellent creative groom content before, and as an organization that vocally supports owners’ rights and pushes back against erroneous claims of cruelty across the dog fancy, it would be a great gesture if they made the allowance of creative grooming consistent across all companion/performance venues, in my opinion. With the impact COVID has had on dog sports in general, being more inclusive and fun could also be a big help in getting more pets and owners involved. As I'm sure has proven true in Agility and FastCAT, it's unlikely that anyone will leave the sport just because dogs with color can join, and there is definite potential there for increasing participation.
Please take this request for a rule change into serious consideration, and let me know if I can do anything else to help make it happen.
Thank you!
Best,
(your name)