The first attempts of creating a parent organization for the Miniature Australian Shepherd came from the first people to specifically breed the size variation of the standard dog. Although Doris Cordova, Bill and Sandy Kennedy, and Chas Lasater, all of California, were unsuccessful in creating a club, they did succeed in forming a mission, which was picked up by later organizations. They wanted to produce an Australian Shepherd that was less than 17 inches that head the heart, intelligence, and drive to work stock, but be small enough to travel easily to shows and be a house dog.
In 1989, the National Stock Dog Registry was the first organization to recognize the Miniature Australian Shepherd as a size variety of the Australian Shepherd. Although just a size variety, the members of that first organization missed having an organization dedicated solely to the miniature, so in 1990, the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of the USA was formed. One of this organization's most notable achievements in its early years was to earn the acceptance by the American Rare Breeds Association so the dogs could have a nationally recognized conformation showing venue.
The Miniature Australian Shepherd and the standard Australian Shepherd were shown along side each other until 1993 when the standard was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club. It was the ARBA's rules at the time to not let any of their recognized breeds to share a name with an AKC named breed, so the ARBA suggested the organization change its name. Although not an entirely popular move, the parent organization changed its name to the North American Shepherd Club of the USA.
This is quite an important part of the history of the Miniature Australian Shepherd, because it caused confusion in the dog breeding world. Dog breeds and dog breed organizations don't often change names, so those outside the know assumed the people involved may be trying to breed the Miniature Australian Shepherd with other dogs to create a new North American Shepherd. This is not the case. It has always been the goal of the club, be it the MASCUSA or NASCUA, to produce a size variety of the standard Australian Shepherd.
Another organization dedicated to the Miniature Australian Shepherd is the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of America. This club, founded in 1996, also has the same goals of the original parent organization, intent on continuing to breed the Miniature to purebred Standards in order to create a size variation of the breed.
To contact he North American Miniature Shepherd Club of the USA, visit
http://www.namascusa.com/index.html.
For more information on the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club of America, visit
http://www.mascaonline.org/.
Although these two organizations decided to merge into the Miniature Australian Shepherd Club in 2004, it appears they are still negotiating.
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