Information: My Experience With Filas Lions Den and Granada Kennel
The Lions Den website in the past has issued a “Formal Complaint” against myself and the F.B.A.. There still remains inacurate information regarding the results of the F.B.A. 2010 Spring Fling on his website. The initial purpose for this page was remedied, and as such I removed all empirical documentation, which was required for a “Formal Complaint”, pursuant to club procedure, against myself and the F.B.A. I am no longer on the board or a member.
Since then, Louis of Lions Den and Carlos of Granada Kennel saw fit to expand yet again to despise me and my kennel on Facebook concerning and ARBA hosted, F.B.A. sponsored ‘Specialty Match’ in L.A. CA. February 10, 2013. Of the four shows we entered, we won BOB, BOOS, BO Winners over Louis’ progeny in two of the shows. Both times found Louis and/or Carlos of Granada Kennel arguing with the judges on their decisions.
As such I am displaying for proof the testimonials presented on Louis’ behavior.
By joining and exploring Fila Brasileiro forums, you should be able to contact individuals with research information other than my personal experience. Research before you buy, speak to past buyers personally before buying from any kennel.
If you would like additional information from my personal experience, please call 916-879-2277.
Wed, June 30, 2010 3:39:30 PM
Spring Fling 2010 Complaint
From: Dianna Segelke
To: PRIVATE
An e-mail was sent by Louis Yanez, a competitor at the above mentioned event, this afternoon with the subject of “Formal Complaint” to F.B.A. Board of Directors’ members and various other addresses. The complaintant has been informed of the proper procedure for submission to the F.B.A.. The formal complaint admission paperwork and fees have not been received.
Inflamitory accusations have been made.
In order to best serve all involved, I have been asked to procure statements from competitors, judges, committee members, volunteers and spectators in preperation for a formal inquiry.
I thank you for your patience in this matter.
Dianna G. Segelke
F.B.A. California State Delegate
F.B.A. Delegates’ Coordinator
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DATE: Wed, June 30, 2010 9:29:20 PM
About the complaint against you
From: Don Gray
To: Diana Sagelka
Please let me know what statement I need to make on your behalf. If this is coming from the man that caused the ONLY trouble that happened at a otherwise wonderful show and weekend, then you will have my full support. It needs to be pointed out that this man was drinking alcohol during the show and while he was being belligerent with the officials and Trevor. He lied about the age of the pups that he was trying to show. He acted very unprofessional during the entire show. He also didn’t appear to have given his handlers any training as they had no idea how to present and show a dog in the conformation ring. I think he was under the misconception that the loudest and most obnoxious guy should always win. I don’t believe he should win in this case, as from my personal viewpoint he was completely in the wrong. He did not pay attention and was unprepared to go into the ring on several occasions. The ring steward had to call his number over and over just about every time one of his dogs was supposed to show, which delayed the rest of us and was very disrespectful to the judge. In my humble opinion if this is the way this man has acted at other shows that he has been to, then he should be banned. There was no excuse for his behavior.
Thank you again for an otherwise fantastic weekend.
Donald and Jill Gray
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Thu, July 1, 2010 4:10:21 PM
Luis Yanez
From: Dianna Segelke
To: PRIVATE
Luis arrived and had their trailer opened to reveal their transportation arrangements for the dogs. One adult dog was in a crate by itself. The remaining 11 puppies, varying in ages, were distributed in 5 crates. It was stated that they had not been walked or cleaned up in the 10 hour trip from Los Angeles to Sacramento. We obliged by helping loan a hose when they wanted to clean out the crate and trailers of the excessive fouling.
Luis did not come prepared to care for the dogs accomodations so Trevor and I obliged by loaning a jumbo tarp and helping set up the dogs and crates. The tarp was returned uncleaned Sunday with urine and feces over it.
“What are the ages?” Trevor
“AAAaah three months and a day.” Luis
“Is your puppy three months?” Trevor
“Yes.” Luis
“I’m just going to pack up and leave.” Luis
“What about show number one, you participated and it’s already completed, you need to pay.” Trevor
“I’m not paying for anything!” Luis
“If thats how you feel at least return the trophy the club had to pay for those.” Trevor
“Are you fucking crazy!” Luis
“At least pay for what you participated in.” Trevor
“Why are you insulting me like this?” Luis
“I’m just trying to give you options.” Trevor
“Why would I enter a show if I’m not going to win?”
Luis stood ring side with beer continuously after show 1. Each time a class was called he would just stand there not reacting. He was reminded a few times, “Do you have dogs in this class?” He would then hurry over to his trailer ordering his son and companion to get dogs in the ring. Consequently the ring times started late.
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From: PRIVATE
To: Dianna Segelke
Sent: Thu, July 1, 2010 1:17:12 PM
Subject: RE: Spring Fling 2010 Complaint
Dianna – What kind of a statement would you like? I am happy to state that I was PRIVATE and that the class he was concerned about had already been judged and placings awarded when he approached the superintendent that his dog should have been in the class. The superintendent was apologetic to him but there was nothing she could do as it had already been judged.
Sincerely,
PRIVATE
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From: Louise Gray
To: Dianna Segelke
Sent: Thu, July 1, 2010 1:43:44 PM
Subject: Re: Spring Fling 2010 Complaint
Hey Dianna what is the procedure to file a formal complaint against Mr Yanez and what is the cost?
Your Mother said she was frightened by Mr Yanez; I saw him drinking alcohol during the show, and definitely was being threatening and combative, he disrupted the show, he disrupted the dinner and made it impossible to ask the Judges questions, he was up sunday morning at 6 am making so much noise it was impossible to sleep and allowing his dogs to run off leash, I did not dare take Buddy out potty until after he left. I am sure I can think of more and make it sound as if I was very frightened. (I seldom get “very frightened” by that time I would be reacting) All of this while lying about dogs ages and papers, which he never produced.
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From: PRIVATE
To: Dianna Segelke
Sent: Mon, July 5, 2010 11:00:51 PM
Subject: Re: Spring Fling 2010 Complaint
Dianna:
Can you tell me exactly what you need from me. I don’t remember any inflamatory remarks. I do remmber asking him to keep his remarks general as this was to be a learning experience.
I thought the discussion was excellent, the questions except his were general and well presented.
You ran an excellent event and I was glad to be part of the PRIVATE.
PRIVATE
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From: Connie Wood
To: Dianna Segelke
Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 4:18:13 PM
Subject: Re: The Spring Fling
The event was, for the most part, a very enjoyable experience, and Dianna and Trevor were excellent hosts for the event. The only hitch in the whole experience was when Luis from Lions Den Filas showed up late on Saturday morning, with a lot of dogs that had not been pre-registered. So, needless to say, the show got off to a late start (by hours, not minutes) while his dogs were all entered. He lied about the ages of some of his puppies, which should not have been shown as they were too young. They were nice puppies though.
During show one, his handler had to be called repeatedly to the ring, and Luis seemed to be surprized every time one of his dogs was called to the ring. A lot of time was spent waiting for them to get their dogs to the ring (in each show) because the drinking of alcohol seemed to be the greater focus. Luis’s dog Marley took first place in show one, and went on to get Best in Show in show one. Marley was entered in the same class as my Oden. When show 2 came up, Luis and his handler were ringside for the whole show. When our class again was called to the ring, Marley’s number was not called. Luis said nothing. I have not been showing for long, but I know that when there is more than one show during a day, it is a pretty safe bet that I will be competing with the same dogs in each show. Luis did not seem to understand this, and waited until the end of the show to ask why Marley wasn’t called to the ring. Then he had to argue with EVERYONE, beer in hand and very unprofessional and loud, about the situation. Show 3, everyone made sure Marley was called to the ring for our class. Marley took 4th place in that show, which just made Luis’ more angry and unprofessional.
That night, at the potluck, we had a question and answer session with the judges. I personally learned a lot from the judges, and came away with ideas for better handling in the future. Luis kept trying to bring up the incident that happened earlier in the day. Nobody wanted the debate to go there, so he was very unsatisfied that he couldn’t get anyone to debate that issue with him.
In luis’s complaint, he mentioned how the Judge said ” This is your future!” meaning the CAFIB style fila. I was in that class with a young bitch that I purchased this year. Whereas the Judge did make that comment, my understanding was that she was talking of the young bitches in the ring at the time, regardless of bloodlines, type, etc. She also followed the comment with “I understand that you also need a good stud, but a good bitch is priceless”. To my understanding, it had nothing to do with pedigree, style or anything else. There were just some very nice young bitches in that class. I was proud to have one of them.
This is my recollection of the events that occured during that day. I came away from the event with more knowledge than I arrived with, and had a really good time, except for being embarrassed by Luis’s unprofessional and unethical behavior. All throughout show 3 he sat ringside, beer in hand, arguing with whoever would listen. At one point, he was asked to take the argument away from the ringside, because some of the dogs were being stressed (handlers too). Trevor was trying to be very diplomatic in a very awkward situation, and I think the Segelke’s deserve a round of applause for the way they handled the situation.
Connie Wood
Briarwood Filas
FBA – Oregon Delegate
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From: “Segelke, Trevor”
To: Dianna Segelke
Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 8:49:44 AM
Subject: RE: Required Documentation
As the person who tried to sign him up for the show:
Louis was asking to register 5 minutes prior to the ring call of his puppies. I announced that the show was going to start and we would like to have the puppies ready to go first.
When he asked where to sign up I informed him that I can take information from him now to allow him to be in the ring. When asked for the entry form and the pedigree information he said it was in his trailer somewhere and could not find it in time for the first call. I informed it we would make an exception, but would have to give us the paperwork and fees as soon as he could.
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From: cassandra lucchesi
To: delalunakennel@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 11:08:37 AM
Subject: FBA Spring Fling 2010
On the first day of the event for the 2010 FBA Spring Fling, I observed numerous things from the perception of being ring steward.
The only things that stood out most to me was the obvious enjoyment that the handlers were displaying and a few disgruntled exhibitors. Of these disgruntled exhibitors, I came to find out, they were all together, a breeder and buyers of current litters and past litters, all being from his lines.
From the beginning of the day, this exhibitor/breeder had not entered into the first show, of the first day, nor had he entered in any thereafter. The show was delayed momentarily to enter this exhibitor/breeder into the first show, and then instructed that payment would need to be made after the first show for any shows the dogs had been in and were expected to be in.
This exhibitor’s/breeder’s dogs were entered into all classes of the first show. Soon after, the second show approached and then began. First was the puppy class. The exhibitor/breeder had a black puppy entered, judges had remarked on how small the puppy seemed, and I informed them that the puppy needed to be at least 3 months old. During the puppy class, this black puppy was pulled from the class, in the middle of judging. The judge was informed that this puppy was too young to be competing. The exhibitor/breeder exclaimed that he had notified the superintendants of the puppy’s young age and they had told him that it was acceptable. The puppy was pulled from that show as well as disqualified to enter into the third show. The exhibitor/breeder was very obnoxious about being pulled from the second show and being disqualified to enter into the third. He was informed that if he so chose, he could return any ribbons that puppy had won in the first show. He declined.
The next incident came when the adult dog class ended in the second show. This exhibitor/breeder began to yell at the ring side, exclaiming that his dog was not given the chance to show, that he wanted the dogs back in the ring. When the show superintendant questioned the exhibitor/breeder what the issue was, he notified her that his dog had not been called into the ring. This was the case because this exhibitor/breeder had not paid for his entries on the dogs like he was informed to, so his dogs had not been added to the rosters. He then pointed to me and stated that he had asked me why his dog wasn’t in the ring when they were being called in. I promptly stated that he had not questioned me once, until now. I pointed out that had he spoken up, knowing that this was the class that his dog was supposed to be entered in, when the class was beginning, something could have been done. Since he had not properly entered his dogs, and completed registration, his dogs were not able to enter the rings. The show superintendant also stated that the rules of the show was that the dogs that would be showing in any shows would have to have entry fees paid prior to the shows.
This exhibitor/breeder began announcing that his dog had been excluded for a biased reason, that his dog would have won, had the show attendants noticed his dog was not in the ring. This behavior made many in attendance of the show uncomfortable, since his voice began to incline.
Even after the third show, the exhibitor/breeder ‘s dog was in the class that he had intended for it to be in before, and it did not win best of. This exhibitor/breeder proceeded to stop the judge after the class was done, to get a reason why his dog was not selected. He then began telling the judge why his dog should have been selected, and why others should not have been.
After the third and final show, the exhibitor/breeder once again approached the last judge, asking why she hadn’t chosen his dog, and why his dogs were a better representation of the breed. The conversation lasted duration of around 20 minutes, all contents being the same.
Finally, during the potluck dinner that was held on the grounds that night after the show, the judges were present, the breeders were present, as well as exhibitors and spectators. After everyone had eaten, one of the exhibitors requested a learning Q & A session so that all of the exhibitors present could pick up on some tips straight from judges. This exhibitor requested that the critiques from the judges stay unbiased, leaving out specific exhibitors as examples. Soon after the judges began giving pointers and tips, the same exhibitor/breeder that had been interrupting the shows, spoke up. He began by stating that he wanted to know why the judges chose other dogs that, in his opinion, were not to the standards, and why his dogs did not win, when in his opinion, were perfectly fitting to the standard. There was an unsteady mumble from guests at the table, since everyone could feel hostility and targeting of certain exhibitors. Soon enough, the dinner was over, and everyone was able to go their separate ways, not having to deal with this exhibitor/breeder.
My opinion, for the show overall, was that the staff involved were very helping and knowledgeable about the breed as well as the event. It was fun to compete in the obedience and the canine good citizen testing. My only wish is that in the future, when exhibitors are showing, they keep any biased opinions to themselves, because it makes other uncomfortable to be around, speaking from personal feelings. All dogs look different. All breeders/owners have an idea of what they think fits the standard. The standard has many different interpretations and I wish that all breeder, owners, and exhibitors could be open minded enough to accept that not all dogs look the same, and not all judges interpret one type to be the only “correct” fit to the breed.
Cassandra Lucchesi
2010 FBA Spring Fling Volunteer (Ring Steward)
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From: Brandon Coppin
To: delalunakennel@sbcglobal.net
Sent: Tue, July 13, 2010 11:15:47 AM
Subject: FBA Spring Fling2010
Recently I was a volunteer at FBA Spring Fling in Rio Linda, CA. This was my first time being “involved” in a dog show. From my perspective, all exhibitors, judges, and volunteers seemed very well mannered and business oriented. It seemed everyone had a set agenda in mind and knew what to do to accomplish what he/she wanted to accomplish, minus one group of exhibitors/breeders. This “one group” seemed to have an attitude that the show should revolve around them and their dogs, that, their dogs were automatically winners before even entering the ring. Granted, exhibitors/breeders might be biased in regards to their animals or their breeding lines but that doesn’t seem fair. Is that not the point of having judges?
There were several incidents involving this group. From entering a puppy that was not old enough to be entered, not paying fees, not paying attention to the happenings of the show, all the way to saying the judges were not paying close enough attention to the dogs of that particular bloodline. From my point of view, the people involved in this group were not professional, ill-mannered and out of touch with reality. People like this give events, organizations, clubs, etc…, bad names.
Thank you for the opportunity to help out at this event.
Brandon Coppin
2010 FBA Spring Fling Volunteer