Annual Meeting
This meeting is held on a Sunday in April. It is a Pot Luck party for the entire membership. On this afternoon there is no Business Meeting but we do vote in our new Officers with members receiving trophies for their accomplishments during the year! There is also a silent raffle with a huge number of great items to bid on!
Meeting Programs
During Club meetings there are special invited guests that speak on a variety of topics. We have heard from Veterinarians, Search & Rescue Groups and Obedience Trainers to name a few. There has been information on grooming, nutrition, responsibilities of dog ownership and how to find your pet if it becomes lost. Club meetings are held on the 1st Wednesday of each month at Suffield Vet. Hosptial at 7:00 PM unless otherwise noted in the Club calendar.
Fall Match
CRVGRC holds one B-OB Match, in November. The Match is held to meet AKC requirements, educate the public on Golden Retrievers and allow individuals to practice breed and obedience training. The “B” stands for Breed which is also known as Conformation and only Golden Retrievers are allowed to enter these classes. CRVGRC is a Specialty Club which means we are solely for Goldens. The “OB” stands for Obedience and AKC allows all breeds with the ability to enter these classes. Club members are asked to help in all aspects of the Match such as; handling the entries, stewarding (being a judge’s assistant) in the rings, set up/take down of the equipment, etc. All dogs are able to come to the Match and socialize!!
CT River Valley Specialty Show - CRVGRC holds June Specialty and Supported Entry shows in conjunction with the New England Sporting Group Association (NESGA). This show highlights all the AKC Sporting breeds in the dog fancy. During this show weekend, CRVGRC has both of its shows on Friday of the show weekend. This event showcases the sporting breeds as hunting dogs, so the shows include a Gun Dog class to honor those dogs that continue its heritage today.
AKC FastCAT®
AKC FAST CAT® – which stands for Coursing Ability Test – is a timed, 100-yard dash where dogs run one at a time, chasing a lure, called a “bunny”, down a course. It’s amazing to see dogs of all breeds compete, and Golden Retrievers just love to run after the lure!
CRVGRC began hosting FastCAT events four years ago, and we now have many “regulars” who compete at our events every year. People and their Goldens come from all over New England and New York state to run for ten, nine or eight seconds (if you have a very fast dog). It’s fun, it’s fast, and it’s furious!
Sometimes, it seems like it’s over before you know it, but it’s so cool to watch your dog run at top speed, ears back, eyes focused, legs strong, determined to catch that bunny! There really isn’t any training involved, but there is a brief health check and swipe for females before each run, just to make sure that all dogs are healthy and not in season.
