CONSTITUTION
Canadian Shih Tzu Club

1. NAME

The organization shall be called the 'Canadian Shih Tzu Club', hereinafter referred to as 'the Club' or 'CSTC' and shall be proceded through all of Canada.

2. INSIGNIA

The use of the C.S.T.C. emblem or name in any form may be used by the club and it’s members solely for the purpose of promoting the club and advancing the interests of the breed.

3. AFFILIATION

The Club shall maintain recognition by the Canadian Kennel Club and shall operate in accordance with the By-Laws, Rules, Regulations and Policies of the CKC.

4. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The Club shall:
4.1 develop interest in, increase knowledge of, and otherwise advance and protect the Shih Tzu breed.

4.2 support the conscientious and careful breeding of the Shih Tzu breed according to the individual breed standard as recognized by the CKC;

4.3 make information available on the Shih Tzu and conduct educational programs for members and the general public;

4.4 guard against the commercial exploitation of the Shih Tzu;

4.5 support the training and exhibiting of the Shih Tzu and encourage sportsmanlike competition at dog shows, obedience trials and other events;

4.6 encourage the organization of local branches of the CSTC, in those areas where there are sufficient fanciers of Shih Tzu, consistent with the current CKC zones or combinations thereof, and to support the branches activities;

4.7 conduct Boosters and Specialty Shows and Trials for Shih Tzu under CKC rules;

4.8 encourage responsible dog ownership and forward the cause of Shih Tzu;

4.9 make available to all members a newsletter at whatever frequency is determined by the Board from time to time;

4.10 the Club shall not be conducted nor operated for profit, and no part of any monies or remainder or residue from dues or donations to the Club shall be to the benefit of any member or individual.

5. AREA OF OPERATION

The area of operation of the Club shall be the Dominion of Canada.

6. AMENDMENTS

The members of the Club may, from time to time, revise such Constitution and By-Laws as may be required to carry out these purposes and objectives and require a two thirds (2/3) affirmative vote of all eligible voting members. Voting may be by secure electronic ballot. Amendments to the breed standard must also have a two thirds 2/3 affirmative vote of the votes cast.

BY-LAWS

ARTICLE 1 - MEMBERSHIP

1.1 MEMBERSHIP YEAR

The membership year of the Club shall be from the first of January to the thirty-first of December.

1.2 MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

1.2.1 Membership shall be open to all persons with an interest in Shih Tzu who are in accord with the Purposes and Objectives of the Club and agree to abide by the Constitution, By-laws and Code Of Ethics.

1.2.2 Members of the CSTC must be in good standing with the CKC.

1.2.3 All applications for membership are to be sent to the Membership Director and must be on the appropriate form as approved by the Board and contain the following:
a) the completed and signed form;
b) the prescribed fee; and
c) the signatures of 2 sponsors who are existing Club members in good standing. In lieu of sponsors for members living in remote areas or foreign countries, applicants may provide a detailed resume of themselves and their involvement with dogs, past and present.
d) The application will contain a statement attesting that the applicant has read the Constitution and Code of Ethics and agrees to abide by same.

1.2.4 The applicants name and address shall be circulated to the membership for comment. Any objections may be sent to the membership director within 30 days.

1.2.5 After the above stated 30 days, the Board shall have the authority to reject the application of any applicant not meeting all requirements or if serious objections have been received and a written explanation will be given. Memberships are approved by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

1.2.6 No member shall have a vote or may hold office until they have been a continuous member for one full year. Only members residing in Canada may hold office or vote upon the Standard for the breed.

1.3 CLASSES OF MEMBERSHIPS

1.3.1 ORDINARY MEMBERSHIP, shall be granted to individuals who are 18 years of age and older who have met the requirements of Section 1.2.

1.3.3 ORDINARY HOUSEHOLD MEMBERSHIP, shall be granted to persons who are 18 years and older who have met the requirements of Section 1.2 and who cohabit in the same domicile. Each household member, will have a vote to a maximum of 3 votes per household.

1.3.2 JUNIOR MEMBERSHIP is open to those persons who have not reached the full age of 18 years. Junior members do not pay dues and shall not have voting rights in the Club. Junior members automatically become Ordinary members on reaching their 18th birthday and will begin to pay appropriate dues during the year following their 18th birth year.

1.3.3 LIFE MEMBERSHIP may be granted to those people who have made outstanding contributions to the Club and breed over a long period of time and who have been continuous members for at least twenty five years. Proposed names will be nominated by the Board of Directors and must be voted on by the general membership by a two-thirds majority vote. Life members do not pay dues, but do have voting privileges.

1.3.4 HONORARY MEMBERSHIP may be granted to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Club and the Shih Tzu breed over a long period of time. Proposed names will be nominated by the Board of Directors and must be voted on by the general membership by a two-thirds majority vote. Honorary members neither pay dues nor may they hold office or have voting privileges.

1.4 DISCIPLINE

1.4.1 Any member of the CSTC who is suspended, debarred, deprived, expelled or whose membership has been terminated by the Canadian Kennel Club’s Discipline Committee, shall be suspended from the privileges of the club for a like period.

1.4.2 Any member may lay a complaint against a member for alleged misconduct prejudicial to the best interests of the Club or the Shih Tzu breed or a violation of the Club’s Code Of Ethics as outlined in Article 8. Written complaints containing details of the alleged misconduct must be filed with the Secretary and can be submitted electronically. Upon receipt of an official complaint the Board of Directors shall appoint a disciplinary committee, consisting of 2 members of the Board plus one other member in good standing, who has been a member of the CSTC for a minimum of 12 months. The duties of the committee will be to notify the member and set a date for a hearing. The committee shall then hear the complaint (oral and/or written), and if substantiated, the report and recommendation will be sent to the Board for final action. The Board may apply a suitable action such as letter of reprimand, request for apology, suspension, or expulsion.

1.5 TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

Termination of membership may occur as a result of:

1.5.1 Resignation - Any member in good standing may resign from the Club upon written notice, and payment of any financial indebtedness to the Club.

1.5.2 Lapsing - A membership will be considered lapsed, if such member’s dues remain unpaid 30 days after the first day of each fiscal year. In no case may a member be entitled to vote on any issue until such time as his/hers dues are paid. Lapsed members will be automatically terminated if their dues are not paid within 180 days of the first day of each fiscal year.
1.5.3 Expulsion - Expulsion of a member may be effected only by recommendation from the Board, following action under Article 1.4 Discipline. A motion to this effect will be circulated amongst all members and a two-thirds vote, of those responding , in favor of expulsion will be necessary.

ARTICLE 2 - ORGANIZATION

2.1 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS

2.1.1 The Board Of Directors of the Club shall be members in good standing of the Club, all of whom shall also be Regular members in good standing of the CKC and shall be residents of Canada.

2.1.2 The Board of Directors shall be comprised of the President, Past-President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Membership Chair, Newsletter Editor, Webmaster and one regional Director elected per branch. Regional Directors must reside in the region they represent and be elected by the members residing in the region they represent.

2.1.3 The property and business of the Club shall be managed by the Board without limitations.

2.1.4 The Board will assume office January first and hold office for a period of two (2) years.

2.1.5 Any vacancies occurring on the Executive during the term of office shall be filled by election of a majority vote of the Board, except that of a vacancy in the office of President, which is automatically filled by the Vice-President.

2.2 DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

2.2.1 The President shall:

a) shall be the Chief Executive Officer;
b) automatically be a member of all committees;
c) with the aid of the Secretary, have charge of all external correspondence;
d) chair all Executive and General meetings; and
e) give a deciding vote when equality is reached in any voting.

2.2.2 The Past - President shall:
a) shall act as an advisor to the President

2.2.3 The Vice President shall:

a) perform all the duties and exercise the powers of the President, for the remainder of the term, in case of the President's death, absence, or incapacity.

2.2.4 The Secretary shall:
a) keep records of all activities, decisions and voting of the Club;
b) produce regular reports of Board's decisions, activities, and results of all motions;
c) have charge of internal correspondence, and shall have charge of external correspondence as directed by the board through the President;
d) be responsible for the record centre and produce subsequent lists and documents.

2.2.5 The Treasurer shall:
a) collect and receive all monies due or belonging to the Club;
b) deposit same with a Chartered Bank or Credit Union in an account in the name of the Club;
c) keep the financial books opened, at all times, for inspection by the Executive;
d) provide quarterly detailed financial reports to the Board and an annual detailed report to all members;
e) co-sign, with the Secretary or President all cheques;
f) be bondable; and
g) have the financial records audited annually, if requested by the Board, by a member other than those with signing authority.

2.2.6 The Membership Director shall:
a) make available and distribute a membership application package;
b) receive membership applications and renewals and forward all dues received to the Treasurer;
c) shall supply all new members with a membership card and make available a membership list and a copy of the Constitution, Bylaws and Code Of Ethics.
d) keep a roll of the members;

2.2.7 The Newsletter Editor shall:
a) make available the Oriental Express as outlined in 3.2 of the bylaws; and
b) have responsibility of the Club newsletter's editorship team.

2.2.8 The Webmaster:
a) be responsible for maintaining the official CSTC web site and make timely changes as required.

2.2.8 9 Each officer may delegate tasks that are part of their duties to another officer but the responsibilities for their effective completion can not be transferred or delegated.

2.3 ELECTIONS

2.3.1 A nomination ballot shall be made available to all members in the month of June of an election year. All nominations for office must be received by the Secretary, in writing or by electronic means, prior to the deadline established. The Secretary will notify all persons nominated and determine their willingness to stand.

2.3.2 All elections must be conducted by secret ballot. Voting shall be by secure electronic ballot or paper ballot if requested by any member prior to October 15. The ballots returned by a deadline, will be counted by an election officer appointed by the Board. This will usually be the CKC Director of the CKC zone where the Secretary resides. Branch Directors will be voted on by members residing in that regional branch only.

2.3.3 A majority of voting members shall prevail.

2.4 COMMITTEES

The Executive shall appoint and/or terminate such committees it deems necessary to further the aims of the Club.

ARTICLE 3 - CONDUCT OF THE CLUB

3.1 MEETINGS

3.1.1 Board Meetings

The CSTC day to day business is conducted by resolutions and/or motions of the elected Board of Directors through the Secretary. The Board does not convene in person, due to the vast geographic area of our country, but conducts business through motions and discussions held electronically or by mail. Items that require a polling of the entire membership, such as - election of officers, constitutional amendments, National specialty location and judge are voted on by all voting members with a secure electronic ballot. This allows for the most democratic running of the club.

3.1.2 Annual General Meeting

This meeting should be held in conjunction with the Annual or Regional Specialty show. Its purpose will be to give reports of the Treasurer, all committees and the Board of Directors, and to encourage dialogue amongst all members of the Club. No motions affecting club policy will be entertained at the AGM.

3.1.3 Branch Meetings

Branches should hold regular meetings, open to all members of the Club, with only branch members having a vote on Branch matters.

3.2 OFFICIAL PUBLICATION

3.2.1 The newsletter shall be the official publication.

3.2.3 The Editor may receive the help of the Editorship Team.

3.3.4 Deadlines and advertising rates for all editions shall be made available to all members.

3.3.5 The following statement is to be included in each issue of the Newsletter." The Oriental Express is the official publication of the Canadian Shih Tzu Club (CSTC). The opinions expressed herein are those of the respective author and not necessarily those of the Editor(s) or the Board of the CSTC. The Editor(s) reserve the right to reasonably edit all material submitted for publication. Permission to reprint is granted, provided proper credit is given to the author, the CSTC and the newsletter."

3.2.6 The Board's reports and motions shall be published in an administrative section of the newsletter (including authors' names).

3.2.7 The editor shall forward copies of controversial letters/articles submitted for publication to the President, who will be allowed to respond in the same issue to same if he/she deems necessary to do so.

3.3 VOTING - NATIONAL ISSUES

3.3.1 The Board will make motions from time to time and circulate them to the members for voting by a secure electronic ballot. Matters of significance to all members should be democratically voted on by all voting members. They must include such things as location and names of judges for National Specialties and Standing Resolutions. Any member may petition the Board to entertain a motion but the Board will reserve the right to circulate such motions.

3.3.2 The Board will also form committees, if required from time to time, to discuss and formulate propositions concerning any topic or any needed changes to the Constitution and Bylaws. These committees will be comprised of members from all branches and will have any proposals made available, in rough draft, for comments by individual members. Brief written comments will be made available and matters will be thoroughly discussed before any final drafts are sent to the membership for voting as per Chapter 6.Amendments.

ARTICLE 4 - BRANCHES OF THE CLUB

4.1 The Board may approve regional branches of the CSTC from time to time. These branches should be consistent with the geographic area of operation of the CKC zones or combinations of zones.

.2 Individuals wishing to form a branch of the CSTC must make a written request to the Secretary for Board consideration.

4.3 The branches will further the aims of the CSTC and be governed by an executive elected by branch members. The branch will also elect a representative Director to the National Board.

4.4 The Branch may have their own bank account but must give a financial report to the National Treasurer each year.

4.5 Branches may hold boosters, regional specialties or host the Annual Specialty with the approval of the Board of Directors of the CSTC.

ARTICLE 5 - FINANCE

5.1 The financial year of the Club shall commence on the first day of January and shall conclude on the 31st day of December.

5.2 All monies due or belonging to the club shall be governed as per 2.2.5 (Duties of Treasurer)

5.3 Dues
a) The membership shall be charged the prescribed fee(s) for ordinary or ordinary household membership.
b) Any new member having paid a membership fee after October 1 of any year shall be deemed to have paid the dues for the ensuing year.

c) No member whose dues have lapsed shall vote.

d) The Membership Director will officially advise all members of the necessity of renewing their membership for the following year. This shall be the only mandatory members' notice for their dues, which shall be payable on or before the 31st day of January of each year. Members who have not paid by January 31st will be considered lapsed. Members who remained lapsed after the first day of June shall be automatically terminated.

ARTICLE 6 - PROCEDURE

6.1 All meetings of the Club, and of its governing bodies, and all other matters of practice and procedure not otherwise herein specified shall be governed by the 'Common Law of Procedure of Canada, Roberts' Rules of Order', current edition.

ARTICLE 7- AWARDS

7.1 Awards shall be given annually.
7.2 The awards are as follows:
a) Top Winning Shih Tzu
b) Top Winning Best of Opposite Sex Shih Tzu
c) Top Winning Shih Tzu Puppy
d) Top Producing Shih Tzu Stud Dog
e) Top Producing Shih Tzu Brood Bitch
f) Top Producing Shih Tzu Kennel
g) Registry of Merit
i) ten champions for males
ii) six champions for bitches
h) Top Winning Shih in Obedience Trials
i) Open A, Novice A, Highest CD score
ii) Open B, Novice B, Highest CDX score.

7.3 All awards will be tabulated as of results published by the CKC.

7.4 All awards will be given to members in good standing in the CSTC including Top Winning Shih Tzu and Top Winning Best of Opposite Sex.

ARTICLE 8- CODE OF ETHICS

8.1 The Canadian Shih Tzu Club recognizes that its responsibility is to preserve and protect the breed.

8.2 Violation of the Code of Ethics shall be reported to the Secretary under section 1.4.2.

8.3 The Club membership has approved a Code of Ethics to be abided by all members. It further recognizes that membership in the CSTC automatically obligates individuals to following the Code of Ethics.

8.3.1. No member will knowingly sell any puppy to any pet shop, catalogue houses, or wholesale dealers or, in any way knowingly aid or abet the sale of any Shih Tzu through a pet shop or catalogue house.

8.3.2. A member-breeder will be familiar with the C.K.C. rules governing record keeping, registration and sale and transfer of dogs, and will abide by those rules. Any warranties or other agreements pertaining to the sale of a Shih Tzu will be put in writing with a copy provided to the buyer, seller and to The Canadian Kennel Club, if required by the C.KC.

8.3.3. A member selling a dog or puppy which he knows to have a physical condition or a serious deviation from the standard which indicates that the breeding of the animal would be detrimental to the welfare of the breed will make the sale subject to a Canadian Kennel Club non-breeding agreement, signed by both buyer and seller, that the dog is not to breed. Additional agreements pertaining to spaying, neutering and/or non-breeding of the animal are encouraged.

8.3.4. All breeding will be planned and aimed at improvement of the breed, The member-breeder will be familiar with the Standard and will do everything in his/her power to discourage breeding from clearly inferior specimens of the breed, or to any such specimen with his stud. No dog exhibiting a serious hereditary defect, unsound temperament or poor health will be bred.

8.3.5. If a dog or bitch produces off-spring with the same serious defect detrimental to the animals well being, such as blindness deafness, lameness or impairment of the vital functions, from litters of different mating partners, the member owning that bitch or dog will refrain from further use of the animal for breeding excepting test breeding when absolutely necessary.

8.3.6. No member will breed a bitch unless he/she has the time and facilities to provide proper care and attention to the physical and emotional development of puppies, No bitches should knowingly be bred before twelve (12) months of age.

8.3.7 Advertising by members will be as factual as possible. Misleading exaggerations or unfounded implications of superiority will not be used.

8.3.8. Members will refrain from knowingly making unfair or untrue statements about the dogs or practices of others,

8.3. 9. The purchaser of a puppy sold by a member shall be informed that the puppy is guaranteed to be free from disabling or congenital defects, Should a defect develop and it is confirmed by two (2) veterinarians that it is a congenital or inherited problem, the vendor guarantees to refund the purchase price and reclaim the puppy or replace it with another puppy.

8.3 10. As hereditary and transmissible conditions are discovered in the breed, members are encouraged to have all stock tested for same whenever possible.

8.3.11. No member of the CSTC shall provide stud services to unregistered bitches.

ARTICLE 9 - DISSOLUTION

9.1 The club may be dissolved at any time by providing to the Canadian Kennel Club written documentation signed by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the members of that club who are in favour of this decision; proxies are not permitted. In the event of the dissolution of the club, other than for purposes of reorganization, whether voluntary or involuntary or by operation of law, none of the property of the club, nor any proceeds thereof, nor any assets of the club shall be distributed to any members of the club. After payment of the debts of the club, its property and assets shall be given to a charitable organization for the benefit of dogs as selected by the Board of Directors of the CSTC.