Get to Know

For the Love of Dogs

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On the evening of May 28, 1952, a group of people assembled at the Duncan Armouries. Drawn together by a shared love of dogs, these people were to become the founding members of the not for profit Cowichan Dog Obedience Training Club.Among those present were Sheilah Parry Roberts, Dr. D Lott, veterinarian Dr. E. Johnson and Hunter Smith, an obedience judge from Victoria.

The club’s first obedience training course was a 10 week course that culminated in an obedience trial held at the agricultural grounds on August 21. In that first CDOTC trial, ten dogs participated, with Sheilagh Parry Roberts’ corgi earning top honours with a score of 194/200.By the end of the club’s first year, the club had 44 members with 57 dogs participating in classes.

Those first classes continued to be held at the armoury in Duncan, later moving to the Guide Hall, and then to the Shawnigan-Cobble Hill Farmer’s Institute Hall in March of 1968.The club held three obedience trials a year and Sheilagh remained an instructor with the club until the mid 1980’s.

Today, the club conducts obedience classes on the same property in Cobble Hill but at the Stu Armour Hall. Holding true to its original core values, the club remains a not for profit organization, with class fees set to cover costs. All of our instructors volunteer their time.