When we were named as the International Puppy and Trainer back in 2019, we looked forward to returning to Indianapolis for IPTC 2020 to hand our titles on to our successors a year later.
    Unfortunately, reality intervened. IPAHW 2020, which was to host IPTC 2020, was delayed and eventually canceled. Many people who had planned to attend these events were hurt, and as we struggled to find answers and restitution, one thing became very clear: holding another IPAHW soon was not on the cards.
    The future of IPTC looked more and more bleak.
    We believe that IPTC is important. The Contest has brought our community together to name more than 20 International Puppies and Trainers since its inception in 2000. We also recognized the ending of the International Puppy Contest (IPC), and the intention that its history should also continue through a single, unified International Puppy title. We were determined that this history, and our line, should not end with us.
    We were also lonely. With so many travel restrictions in place around the world, our ability to connect and share our passion with our communities, to attend the events that stoke the fire we feel to challenge and support our communities, has been seriously reduced.
    So, we reached out to others who we knew would feel like us: every IPC and IPTC titleholder we could find. We reconnected with our title family: a vibrant, diverse group of puppies, handlers, and trainers who believe in the strength and joy of our puppy and handler community.
During these amazing online events, we floated the idea of a future IPTC, whether it should happen at all, what form it could take, and whether we would be the right people to take such a project on. And there were strong feelings: were another Contest to be held, it should be true to the ideals of safety, inclusivity, and accessibility that we hold tight; it should be focused on the community or people who we represent and serve; and it should be driven collaboratively by a group of people who would hold each other accountable and responsible, who love the Contest and what it represents.
    During our discussions, it became clear that a group of us did believe that we should pursue a future IPTC. We have been working for the last few months exploring what needs to happen to bring IPTC back, creating an event that we, as titleholders and passionate members of our communities, can be proud of.
    Over the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing you to the team. While there is little that we can share right now about the event that we are planning, we want the world to know: IPTC is coming back.
Until then?
Sit. Stay.
Good pup!
Pup Sirius and Handler David