|
Del
Valle was founded in 1967 with Jack Beal as the first President. We joined
in the Fall of 1968 when Ken Giallanza was President. At that time, there
were about 20-25 members in the club and the primary focus of Del Valle was
obedience training. The fees collected from the classes basically covered
the club's expenses. We also had a conformation class.
Originally, the classes were held outside at May Nissen Park in Livermore.
In the early days, club members taught all of the classes. Classes moved to
the Rodeo Grounds for a while, and then ended up at the rec center on 8th
Street and H Street in downtown. For the first time, we were able to train
inside, on wood floors using rubber mats. By this time, we started to use
professional trainers such as Tom Lams doing conformation with Carol Curry,
Diane Campbell, Carole Davis and Mary Anne Foote teaching our obedience
classes.
At
the end of class, we would have to sweep the entire floor of the rec center,
Charlie Bonham and Hugh Wilson did this for a year, and Hugh did it the
following year. Then, the classes were forced to move out onto the tennis
courts! It was comical,
in that the lights were coin operated, so people had
to pump quarters into the box to keep the lights on so we could see what we
were doing. There was a lot of flak from the tennis players who couldn't
fathom that the city would allow us to train dogs on the tennis courts!
The
core members of the club at that time were: Jack & Karma Beal, Ken & Sharon
Giallanza, Muriel Doggett (who designed the club's logo), Roy Stark (owner
of Livermore Ranch Kennel), Charlie Bonham, Dean & Dolores Warner, Marty &
Ginny Funk, Lauraly Fry, Norm Teach, Herb Baak, Jim Battershill, Neal Brune,
and Carole & Hugh Wilson.
Del
Valle held its first fun match at May Nissen Park in 1968 and its first
all-breed fun match with junior handling in June of 1969. There was another
match held at Junction Avenue School around the same time.
--Recollections of
Carole & Hugh Wilson |
Public Education and
Community Outreach -
Del Valle
believes in educating the public regarding responsible dog
ownership and care. In the city of Livermore, Del Valle has paid
to create a Public Dog Park; located at Max Baer Field on Murdell
Lane, as well as assisting the city in creating the animal
fanciers permit. Del Valle annually generously donates to
public charities in our region and has donated $1,500 to the pets
victimized by Katrina hurricane.
