Canada's Most Northern Dog Show

..... by Jacqui Wolffe
April 2005

	The Yukon is known as the `land of the midnight sun' and our annual dog show in the month of June is when the sunlight is at its best. You can setup your RV in the parking lot of the Mount Mac Recreation Centre and have one of the most beautiful views of the Yukon River valley set against a backdrop of distant snow capped mountains. And it gets even better.. you can read your show cata- logue outside, at midnight, without any artificial light. Truly, it is the land of magic and mystery. The Yukon Kennel Club (YKC) was founded in 1969 in Whitehorse and held the first official show in 1971 - a single show - one - and the judges were Evelyn Kenny and Hilda Pugh. A total of 58 dogs attended. When she had finished her judging assignment, Evelyn decided to stay on an extra couple of days and teach club members the basics of obedience. Subsequently, Obedience Trials were added in 1972, we had 150 exhibitors and the future of the club seemed assured. But the following year, the club declared bankruptcy and the board members took out a personal loan to cover the club's expenses. Many a bake sale and fundraising event was held until that loan was paid off! Membership has varied over the years from as few as 3 to as many as 20 members. The Yukon, like many northern communities, is transient and our numbers fluctuate with the economy - currently the population is about 30,000. Our members are diverse and active in many facets of dog-related activities. The club has been working hard educating the general public and making them more aware of purebred dogs. Last Fall, we organized our first Purebred Dog Walk and it was well attended by over 20 breeds. We hope to make this into a breed challenge and see if there really are more Goldens or Mini Schnauzers in Whitehorse. We also organized a Come Meet The Dogs event and although space was limited we managed to accommodate 33 different breeds including the French Bulldog, Irish Red & White Setters, Norwegian Buhund, Border Terrier, Komondor, Puli, Chow Chow and Cane Corso. This was a great tool to promote purebred dogs and GOOD dog ownership. Five hundred people attended and we raised $440 (plus dog food) for the Yukon Humane Society No Kill Animal Shelter.		While other areas of the country are battling Breed Specific Legislation the YKC has been lobbying the city of Whitehorse to increase the current quota of 2 dogs/household to 3. But we recommend a 3rd dog may not be added until the first 2 dogs have attained an obedience certificate from a recognized organi- zation such as the CKC, AKC or UKC. The YKC lead the way in June of 2004 by bringing the first ever National Breed Specialty show 'north of 60' when we hosted the Canadian Cardigan Corgi Club. Many Yukoners and former Yukoners have won Best In Show at the June event including: Edna Perks - Cairn Terrier; Kathy Stewart - Keeshond, Donna McLaughlin - Standard Poodle; Millie & Bill Thompson - Alaskan Malamute; and Susan (Rosenthal) Anderson - Samoyed who took 5 consecutive BIS and went on to Group 4th at Westminster ...impressive! The Yukon KC would like to give special mention to Joan McMurphy, a long time member of 32 years, and acknowledge her hard work and sup- port as Show Secretary. Our show has grown to 6 conformation shows and 4 obedience trials over 3 full days. Most of today's exhibitors are Alaskans arriving in their motor homes from Juneau, Fairbanks and the Anchorage area. Ours is the first Canadian show they can attend if they're traveling south via road. We attract exhibitors from the 'lower 48' too, places as far away as Texas, California, Wyoming and other points south. Come and enjoy all the Yukon has to offer at our 2005 show from June 17-19th. We're awarding gold nuggets for Best In Show and Best Puppy in Show. Maybe you'll strike it rich! More and more dog show lovers are making that "special show" the Yukon show.