Wild Rose Hunting Retriever Club

Hello WRHRC Member,

I would like to announce the upcoming 9th annual Smiling Blue Skies Walk to End Canine Cancer, taking place on Sunday, May 1st, at North Glenmore Park, Calgary. Last year we raised a whopping $12,000 for the study of new cancer diagnostics and treatments for all companion animals through Pet Trust at the Ontario Veterinary College.

If you have been “in dogs” for any length of time, you have already lost a dog to cancer, or you are going to lose a dog to cancer. The sad fact is, that cancer is the most common cause of death for our dogs. One of three dogs, whether purebred or mixed breed, will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives, just as one out of three Canadians will be diagnosed with cancer. Since 2001, the Smiling Blue Skies Cancer Fund at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College, has raised over $600,000 for cancer research, treatment, and 24/7 support to all those touched by cancer. The research done at the OVC does not only benefit our dogs, but all companion animals, and humans too! In fact, Canada’s Institute for Comparative Cancer Investigation does just that, joining us all together, in our battle against cancer, and in our shared dream, to find a cure, for all of us.

How can you get involved?
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The 2011 WRHRC Annual General Meeting was held at the AHEIA Calgary Firearms Centre in Dewinton on Sat Feb 26th. Membership attendance was fair but some new faces braved the weather to introduce themselves and meet the executive.

Congratulations to Greg Drew, your 2011 Club President. We wish him the best of luck for the next year.

Elections of officers were held with the following results.
President: Greg Drew
Vice President: Doug Rowden
Treasurer: Shaun Brien
Secretary: Nancy Holland
Other board member positions did not change.

Event committees are looking for volunteers and working on settings dates for our annual events. These will be announced soon. If you’re a new member or just unsure about how you can help I encourage you to contact the the webmaster by using the contact us link at the top of the page. I will try to direct you to who needs help the most.

The annual NAHRA Hunt test will be held July 9 & 10 as per the NAHRA website you can see other clubs hunt test dates by region. Test chair person is still to be determined.

Greg Drew and Doug Rowden have agreed to organize the 2011 WRHRC Picnic test with event date and details to follow.

Ross Murphy is organizing the 12th annual Seven Singles event. Date is currently set for May 15th with details to follow on how to register for this fun day.

If you’re interested in lending a hand in these events please contact one of the organizers directly or contact the webmaster if you need contact information.

We desperately need volunteers, no experience necessary. Volunteering does not mean you miss out on running in the event, unless of course you’re a judge. And does not necessarily mean a full day commitment either. I would encourage all who would like to get more involved to not be shy and step up to help out this great club.

The WRHRC board has set a date for the club Annual General Meeting.
When: Saturday, February 26th @ 4:30PM
Where: Alberta Hunter Education Instructors Association (AHEIA) Calgary Firearms Centre, Dewinton.
Map: Click here for map to Dewinton Gun Club. or click here for Google Maps.
What: WRHRC AGM starting at 4:30PM.
Members meeting for a fun skeet and trap shoot starting around 2:30pm weather permitting.

The membership form is available for download and renewals will be accepted at that time as well. However you’re encouraged to contact Lisa before then.

We encourage all members to attend this event.

It seems the the cold weather is letting up for the time being and it’s a great time to get your dog out for some fun in the off season.

The 2011 Membership form has been posted. It is permanently linked on the site’s right hand side bar and available here: 2011_Membership_Form.pdf

Please renew your membership for 2011.

The board of directors are meeting this week and we will set a date and location for our annual general meeting.

Keep checking this site for that notice. If you have not being receiving club notices and related emails please use the “Contact Us” form to make sure your email address is currently on our mailing list.

Hope to see you all at the meeting.

Well it is time to sit down and figure out what you and your dog(s) have done this past season when it comes to NAHRA tests. It is time for the annual awards.

Deadline for application will be December 31. Awards will be presented at the AGM (date and time still to be determined)

Point system/guidelines are listed below.

The Club will award “High Point” plaques to the dog and handler who have earned the most points in each category (Started, Intermediate and Senior).

Here’s how it works:

Points are earned for successfully completing a NAHRA picnic or NAHRA licensed tests at each level anywhere in North America. Points will be awarded as follows:

• 1 point for successfully completing a picnic test with no water tests.
• 2 points for successfully completing a picnic test with water tests.
• 5 points successfully completing a licensed test.

There are no points for events like the Seven Singles. If a dog is entered in a picnic test in more than one level and the tests are run together using the same marks, points are only awarded at the lower level.

It is the responsibility of each handler to report points that they have won. All you have to do is send Lisa a quick email to mydogs3@shaw.ca, letting her know what you have qualified in. Please include your name, the dog’s name, and what event you qualified in.

Please be advise that the WRHRC club grounds will be sprayed for foxtail starting Monday November 8th. You may want to forgo using the grounds on those days. Once spraying is complete we will advise.

The thistle spraying has been completed.
Foxtail control to take place later in October, membership will be advised prior.

Attention members:
Please note that the WRHRC grounds are to be closed Wednesday Sept 29 – Saturday Oct 2 for thistle and fox tail spraying.

Please join me in congratulating WRHRC VP Ron Adlington for his outstanding work at the recent Stampede City Retriever Club field trial. Ron was able to handle both his dogs to a first place in each of their stakes. Ink took first in the open stake over 60 dogs. And Matte won first prize for the junior stake. This is a great accomplishment and is a reward for many years of hard work and dedication to the sport. Congratulations Ron, Ink and Matte on what must have been a great day.

Richard Horst of the Western Arizona Gun Dog sent us a message to let us know about their new club and wanted to invite any of our members to come on down and sample the nice AZ climate this December.

Richard writes:

We are a brand new Arizona Retriever Club, currently working with NAHRA.
We wanted to make you aware that we have scheduled our first NAHRA field test for December 11-12, 2010. We selected this date as it coincides perfectly with the Copper State Hunting Retriever Club’s planned NAHRA tests of December 4-5, 2010. As a result, these two full weekends of tests will allow each entered dog to maximize its ability to progress with its NAHRA title.
We look forward to seeing you at our first NAHRA field test.

For more info about the new club and their upcoming events please check their website at:
www.wazgd.com

Club grounds will also be off limits to all members for training starting Saturday July 31st right through until Monday August 2nd.

The Flat Coat Club has rented the land for Sunday August 1st and the Golden Club has it for Monday August 2nd. The clubs and judges will be setting up their tests on Saturday July 31st.

These two events are open to the public, so please feel free to come and watch.

Any questions please contact Lisa Williams.