President’s Message
Welcome to the website of the Garden State Norwegian Elkhound Club!
We are a group of passionate breed enthusiasts who hold our breed near and dear to our hearts. Our members are involved in one or more various activities with our breed; agility, conformation, obedience, rescue, etc. and yet we all come together to support one another wanting only the best for the Norwegian Elkhound breed. The bulk of our members come from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut although we have a number of members who are much farther away. The genesis for this regional club become a reality in 1966 when I invited many local Elkhound enthusiasts which I had met at shows to get together for a party and a meeting of the minds to see if this idea of a club might be do-able. They came from all over the tri-state area… and the rest is history!
Our club is rich in tradition in that a number of notable breeders have made this their club of choice over the years and our yearly specialty shows of over a half century are indeed special events. We have had a number of the breeds finest breeder-judges officiate at our specialties, many from overseas and our trophy table and beautiful challenge trophies offered are coveted. Agility trials have been added to our yearly events and every fall, many of us gather to host and work at the two day trials to the delight of the agility community and our treasury. Rescue is another division with hard working members who work in tandem to evaluate individuals in need, interview prospective new owners, sometimes transport rescues, and in general insure that Elkhounds which have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own are given a second chance in their new homes with just the right match. In addition to the above, the club holds a number of meetings per year – some of them educational, some in conjunction with shows and our pot luck offerings are always notable and delicious.
As we continue on after our 50th anniversary, I think the longevity of this club says a lot for the members who love our breed and go to great lengths to see it and this club thrive. We hope you will consider joining us and know that in any case we are always here to help any Elkhound owner with problems or questions they might have.
Margaret K. (“Maggie”) Mott
President