Those tuned in to Radio 4 this morning, will have heard presenter Quentin Letts examining the role of the Kennel Club in today's society. After recognising the range of functions the organisation serves, the programme acknowledged their broad remit of protecting and promoting the wellbeing of dogs, and in response the Kennel Club is inviting those interested in their work to a tour.

The Kennel Club Tour

Tours of the Kennel Club are scheduled to take place on 22^nd September and 15^th October 2010 and have been set up to educate those interested in the work of the organisation.

Aside from running the world’s greatest dog show, dfs Crufts (which the BBC dropped from schedules last year), the Kennel Club has many other functions which people are invited to hear more about on the tour. This includes running the Kennel Club Charitable Trust, which invests money into health research and dog welfare charities, committing breeders to high levels of care through its Accredited Breeder Scheme as well as influencing the government on dog welfare issues.

Radio 4 acknowledges difficult task

The programme explored the important – and sometimes difficult - place that the Kennel Club occupies in guiding and influencing breed clubs in order to create the best outcome for dogs.

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “As the programme recognised, at the Kennel Club’s heart are programmes and investments in education, training and health initiatives which help to ensure that dogs live healthy, happy lives with responsible owners.

“We have achieved many things over the years for the benefit of dogs, from influencing legislation and conducting vital research into dog health all the way through to encouraging people to be responsible dog owners and breeders to breed responsibly.

“Recent years have quite rightly seen a public spotlight shone on health issues surrounding pedigree dogs and the Kennel Club works closely with other organisations and individuals to ensure that these issues are addressed.

“We would like to invite people to come along to the Kennel Club and to talk to us about the exciting initiatives and projects that we are working on that will help to give dogs the healthy, happy lives that they deserve.”

Although not a statutory body, the Kennel Club can achieve its purpose of improving the health and welfare of dogs in a number of ways - through influencing, helping and working with breed clubs, breeders, dog buyers, the government and other organisations.

For more information on the Kennel Club tour, visit their website.