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Training club
tops 17,000 registrations
- The North Saanich Dog Obedience Training Club
or
NOSA, for short
is the second-oldest dog obedience club in B.C.'s Capital Regional District (after
the Greater Victoria Dog Obedience Training Club).
- The acronym NOSA was formed nearly 57 years ago by using the first two letters in
the words "North Saanich," a rural
municipality just outside Sidney, British Columbia, on the tip of southern
Vancouver Island.
- From its 1947 origin as a private club, NOSA offered its first lessons to
the public beginning in June, 1954. Classes were held in a variety of
places before NOSA made Sidney's Sanscha Hall home four years later.
- NOSA is Sanscha Halls oldest, continuous tenant
(53 years). It was
among the first community groups to use the facility when it opened in 1958
and was one of the first groups to use the 'Mary Winspear Community
Cultural Centre @ Sanscha' when it opened in the fall of 2001. Sanscha
is actually an acronym for 'Sidney and North Saanich Community Hall
Association'.
- More than 4,000 dogs have received training through
NOSA's beginner programs. Since many
dog owners remain with the club in order to go on to more advanced training
levels, NOSA estimates it has handled well over 17,000 registrations over the
years.
- NOSA not only shows dog owners how to train their pets; the club also
teaches and promotes responsible dog ownership among its members and the
community alike.
- NOSA also has a second component as a competition
obedience club. Over the years,
NOSA members have placed in Canadian Kennel Club national obedience
rankings.
- NOSA is one of only two dog obedience clubs in
the Capital Regional District sanctioned by the Canadian Kennel Club to stage
licensed dog obedience trials. The club holds this trial every April.
- NOSA is also a member of the Association of Island
Obedience Clubs (AIOC) an alliance of dog obedience clubs on Vancouver
Island from Victoria to Campbell River. The AIOC celebrated its 50th year
in 2010.
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