'20/20' To Air Controversial Report On Akc Dog Registries

How "pure" are dogs registered with the American Kennel Club and how reliable are AKC papers?

Tonight, you may find out when Tom Jarriel reports on a controversial "20/20" (10 p.m. KOMO-TV) investigation of America's premier dog registry, based in New York City.

While many are willing to pay hundreds - sometime thousands of dollars - to buy a purebred dog, what does that $8 registry paper really mean?

One former AKC investigator, Sharon Reed, says she examined hundreds of cases of AKC records violations involving purebred dogs misidentified and unsupported by breeders' records, and tells "20/20" that she could rarely convince her superiors to cancel dogs from the registry. "They wanted the perception of an investigations department," she says. ". . . The focus of the AKC, as I saw it, became greater and greater on the bottom line . . . Cancellations became a very big issue."

According to Bob Hufford, another former AKC investigator, "The high priority is the registration of dogs to keep the money flowing in. I think it's a joke," he says, referring to the AKC's registry. "I'm sorry to say that, but it's a sad situation."

"20/20" also learned, according to a network press release, of inferior breeding conditions in some commercial kennels that contained AKC-registered dogs. When Jarriel made a surprise visit to one of these facilities, the owner chased him and the crew away with a baseball bat, breaking off part of a video camera in the process.