Pondering the year that for all intents and purposes seemed to simply fly by, I cannot believe all that has come and gone since the first quarter when I last managed to carve out time to write a club newsletter. I do apologize for the failing on my side to keep up with the newsletters. So what did happen in the second, third and fourth quarters of this year?
We introduced a Raw Beginner Course to see whether we could find a way to alleviate backlogs on our new intakes. Our hope was to encourage members to complete the course in 4 weeks so that we could have a continual flow of new intakes each month. But it seems that life catches most of us by the scruff of the neck and unfortunately 4 weeks was too long a period for people to commit to consecutively amidst all their other life stuff and so the problem never really got resolved. So in 2023 we will revert back to Raw Beginners simply being part of the standard obedience class structures.
We saw Loani resign and thank her for her many hours of hard work at the club, and Charene took up puppy club classes again.
We began dreaming and preparing for our 4×4 dog track and look forward to progressing with this idea in 2023.
We had some horrific storms and rain interruptions (but fortunately this year none of our shows or end year were washed out like 2021!) and sadly, Gloria’s Lapa was decimated during one such storm and we were forced to carefully deconstruct it.
Two of our club fur friends passed away: Coert’s dog Thunder and the Lastrucci family’s dog Quano. Our deepest condolences to these members.
We had many club members emigrate or semi-grate and tears and hugs were shed during the course of the year as we said our goodbyes. We thank Freya and Gloria in particular for their many years of service and friendship at our club.
Canine Good Citizen Events
We held 2 CGC opportunities this year. We had our first CGC of the year in May and said our farewell to our faithful judge over the years, Christine King, who is another person who has now emigrated.
We had 15 members achieve their Bronze CGC; 5 members achieved Silver CGC and 4 members achieved Gold CGC.
We then had another CGC in August and met a new judge, Kathy Clayton. What a wonderful and relaxed time we had and we learnt a lot from Kathy as she commented and gave input as things cropped up during the examinations.
6 members achieved their Bronze CGC; 7 members achieved their silver CGC and 6 members achieved their Gold CGC.
Obedience Show
We held an obedience competition and Montego were are sponsors. They put up a life-saving gazebo up for the judges in the ring as it was a true scorcher of a day! JJ the excellent Montego consultant handed out samples and answered queries. We held a potjie afterwards and enjoyed several scrumptious pots. Thank you to the chefs and the members who sponsored their pots to the club.
The results of the show are as follows:
Raw Beginners category:
1st place – Ellen and Viva
2nd place – Kato and Smokey
Beginners category:
1st place – Leoni and Boris
2nd place – Tania and Josh
3rd Place – Jenny and Ava
Intermediate category:
1st place – Sharon and Mushu
2nd place – Louiza and Pirate
3rd place – Leopoldine & Lucy
Advanced category:
1st place – Loani and Katya
2nd place – Martin and Uschi
3rd place – Louiza and Patroon
Well done to all the members who took part in the competition. It was quite a learning curve for most participants, especially since for many of the members it was their first obedience show.
Some of our members held some very interesting and inspiring demonstrations during our break time. We had carting demonstrations, fly ball demonstrations and 4×4 track demos. We truly do have talented members and dogs in the club. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and talent with us.
Dog jump competition and awards/end year braai
Following our tradition we rounded the year off with a jump competition topped off by trophy awards and a club sponsored braai.
Once again Montego supported our club with some wonderful sponsored prizes, samples for the members and the knowledgeable company of one of their consultants. They helped us with bunting for the ring and even got our power going after we were suddenly converted to a pre-paid meter and needed to get it connected! We thank Montego for their sponsorship and the extra mile they go.
Bravecto sponsored us some really beautiful goody bags this year. We extend a heartfelt thank you to Kim. And a huge thank you to Annatjie and Pieter who also contributed some goodies for inside the goody bags (beautiful ropes, balls and tug toys and dog biscuits).
Charl spoilt us each with some very welcomed ice-cream tubs on such a sweltering hot day. Thank you so much Charl for making the day extra special.
We thank Peter for the music and sound on the day as well as for the judging alongside Meghan who helped him with the time-keeping.
Grant, thank you ever so much for handling the braaiing even though you were not feeling the greatest on the day. Your dedication and commitment does not go unnoticed. We missed your humour and wit very much. Hopefully next time round you can stay the whole time.
Boshoff and family, thank you so much for the beautiful photographs. It’s never an easy job, but you excelled!
To everyone who brought dishes and desserts, thank you so much. We ate like kings.
Thank you to Tania for her guidance and direction the entire year and for all the hard work not just training the handlers, but also training and advising the instructors and also the committee on tasks and duties. And all this despite her knee replacement and concomitant complications from that.
Some club members arrived early on the morning of the show to help set up tinsel, decorations, trophy tables and other tasks needing completion before the show commenced. We thank you for making the preparations fun and lighter.
Jumping show results:
Puppy:
1st place – Vanessa and Charlie
Small Impact:
1st place – Louiza with Patroon
2nd place – Louiza with Vlooi
3rd place – Louiza with Kolletjies
Small Non-Impact:
1st place – Sharon with Mushu
2nd place – Louiza with Toetsie
Large Impact:
1st place – Martin with Uschi
2nd place – John with Jinx
3rd place – Charl with Bea
Large Non-Impact:
1st place – Tania with Gypsy
2nd place – Tania with Georgie
3rd place – Arnold with Lonzo
Annual Trophy Award 2022 results:
Manwork trophies – none awarded this year
Obedience Male Dog – Annatjie van Jaarsveld and Buddy
Obedience Bitch – Leopoldine Coetzee and Lucy
Other awards:
Annatjie van Jaarsveld – PSDC Super Star (for so much service and dedication to the club)
Jennifer Brits and Ava – Most improved
Kato Lemmer – Endurance
Irene Goussard-Kunz – perseverance
We wish to thank each and every one of our club members for the journey we are on together. We love what we do as the committee and instructors and hope to see you all back safely in 2023 for some more adventures.
SOME USEFUL LINKS
Boarding/Doggy day care in Pretoria East Our Services – Best Friends Dog School
Our adopted animal charity is the South African Veterinary Association’s community project called Community Veterinary Clinics (CVC). They look after the primary healthcare of dogs and cats in disadvantaged communities and offer vaccinations, de-worming, dipping, and sterilization at a reduced fee. Please get involved in their MySchool card project – www.savacvc.co.za
https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&catId=102899&id=4951475
http://www.nonlineardogs.com/100MostSillyPart1.html
https://www.treehugger.com/books-every-dog-owner-should-read-4863578
Ruben and Marissa have committed to offering their spare time with Pretoria Dog Rescue. It is a worthy cause to support. Please put the word out that they have many, many dogs up for adoption. Check out their Facebook page for more information. Pretoria Dog Rescue | Help stray, neglected, abused, homeless and suffering dogs (ptadogrescue.co.za)
The SPCA is often in need of volunteers, so if you have any spare time, please consider donating it to a worthy cause. Please contact Celestie Mathews who is a volunteer at the SPCA. She has some wonderful fundraising ideas. Celestie also has a volunteer Whattsapp group that you can belong to, where she advertises the SPCA’s wish lists – 082 825 8442.
All dogs purchased from a rescue organization qualify for a discount at our Club. Contact us regarding this.
Warm regards
Charene Verheijen
PSDC Secretary