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History written by Joyce Ostby, May 1, 2006
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History Locations Club Functions Club Members 1st and 2nd Obedience Trials |
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Spokane Dog Training Club Members Although training dogs was the emphasis, it has been the wonderful people through the years that have sustained the club. Books could be written about all the dogs but without the devotion of club members we would not have such a lengthy history. There are five members who still remain members from the 1960's. Not sure if they are just nuts or cannot leave the club. Our oldest member is Vi Flick, age 97. She resides in Oregon but remembers activities and events at the club. She got involved, as her husband, Al Flick, was very active in SDTC. Other long-term members are Doris Woodward, Barbara Davis, Beverly Johnson and Joyce Ostby. Early members that were the building blocks for the current Club were Ken Nelson, Kathryn Marshall, Basil Orr and Al Flick. They all served in a variety of jobs and were willing to help where needed. When I joined the Club Ken Nelson was Director of Training and had a large impact on me, as he was a very gentle, kind, intelligent trainer. I still remember the time a bunch of us went to the Portland shows and Ken put a UD on his Doberman Pinscher in 3 shows straight: I was impressed. He was great as an instructor and gave me a start and model to follow when I began teaching classes. He was also responsible for the dog photographs: some still hang on the walls or are in books in the meeting room. Kathryn Marshall was a great trainer and obtained many degrees, including the first OTCH earned by a Club member. Her pictures are still on the walls. She also was editor of the K-9 Tails for many years, a licensed AKC judge and early Director of Training. Basil Orr was active in the club for many years, serving as the first president and several times in later years, plus was Director of Training several times. He was also a licensed AKC judge. Al Flick came to Spokane already a licensed AKC judge and served as President for several years. He was primarily responsible for the initial bylaws, many of which remain today. He was the one who got me into judging as he grabbed me one day at a fun match. He was tired towards the end of the day, so threw me into judging for him. I got hooked and that is how I started judging. It was a crazy class that I have never seen since. The handlers worked each other's dogs in Novice so it was a little hard to judge since most of the dogs were trying to figure out what happened to their handlers. Doris Woodward (formally known as Doris Gibb) has always been there for the club, training her own dogs, being on the board as Secretary, and the big one - being the Secretary for countless obedience trials. She also made sure that the printing was done for K-9 Tails and the show catalogues until we had the Browns for our show superintendents. Barb Davis joined the club as a young girl and her dad Wes used to bring her and those darn Wirehaired Fox Terriers to train. When she could drive, a key to the Club was a big deal and she would come to train her dogs by herself and contemplate the world. She also served as editor of the K-9 Tails. Bev Johnson initially interested a few club members in tracking and started the practice of recognizing tracking degrees as an award. She also served as secretary for the club. In later years, other club members contributed tremendous amounts of time and had a major impact on the direction for the Club. Sharon Nelson joined the Club in 1986 bringing knowledge of animal behavior and training needs of the pet owner. As Director of Training she developed classes that met the needs of our customers who were not there to get ready to enter obedience trials but just wanted a dog that was easier to handle. The classes took on names like home companion, puppy kindergarten and puppy socialization. Her influence changed the direction of the classes up until this day. She also introduced agility and you know where that has gone! Sharon has moved on but did become the founder of NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council). We had two other members join in the 80's who have had a profound influence and are still active members of the club. Both are darn hard workers, put the interest of the club first and exemplify going above and beyond just being a Club member. They are Barb Benner and Tannis Witherspoon. These two picked up the K-9 Tails in 1990, when it had been dropped for a couple of years, and immediately made it into a first class production. They established a format and style that has been followed for the past 10 plus years. Through the efforts of both, the club has really expanded into other performance events. They not only participated but got others to join too. Both have worked extremely hard to make herding, agility and tracking, solid and well supported events. Both have been very active in the obedience program and have supported the Club whenever the need arose. Merry Boeck holds the record for longevity as a sole Director of Training. She was able to expand the number of classes we have, incorporating many of the different performance events. She was a great instructor and modeled that, thus helping instructors do a better job. Her impact on our method of teaching classes prevails still today. I apologize for not mentioning everyone who has contributed throughout the years. I mention what I believe to be the outstanding ones; I know there are many more. It has been a privilege to know you all. Another member can write the saga of the next fifty years. "Back to your dogs!" Joyce Ostby
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