TOLEDO KENNEL CLUB INC Information

The Toledo Kennel Club, Inc. has been in existence since 1878, at which time members of the Club owned Gordon Setters. Unfortunately, no records remain from that era. The present club was formed at a meeting of local dog fanciers in the Newsboy's Building on February 3, 1921. George Sinclair was elected temporary Chairman. In attendance at the organizational meeting were: Dr. John Keller, Dr. George Jones, J. C. Phipps, Mr. Wallick, W. C. Blanchong, Marvin Kelley, Charles Quetschke, editor of The Toledo Blade, R. J. Pardee, George Greehalgh, John Gilpon, Fred Derge, Mrs. H. B. Stein and Mrs. William Vogel. The Club was incorporated in October of 1924 under the laws of the state of Ohio as a non-profit organization. Subsequently, The Toledo Kennel Club became a member club of the American Kennel Club on February 13, 1945. The current delegate to the American Kennel Club is Ms. Joyce Wilson. In 1922, TKC sponsored its first all-breed dog show and has held shows ever since with the exception of the years 1931 and 1945. The first shows were very different from today's, as showing was done in the late afternoon or at night and went on for two or three evenings with a total entry of 282 dogs. During the early years, dog shows were benched and held at the old Coliseum at the corner of Ashland and Bancroft Streets. People dressed up, often showing dogs wearing tuxedos and evening dress. Later, the Civic Auditorium and then the Sports Arena served as show sites until the entries grew large enough to require more space. Dogs were present on the premises all day. There were many breeds of dogs, which were never seen by the public in those days, as they were rare in this area. The early shows averaged at most 60 AKC recognized breeds, although people did come from Europe to show dogs here. When dog obedience training was introduced in the United States, the Toledo Kennel Club was one of the first clubs in the U.S. to offer classes. In 1938, the Toledo Kennel Club's members eagerly adopted the idea and began to offer ...