About Us

In 1964 a group of people got together and decided they wanted a club to help promote the general good and welfare of dog owners and pets.

 

Imperial Polk Obedience Club, in conjunction with the Lakeland Parks and Recreation Department, began to hold classes at Tigertown in one of the hangars.

 

Classes were held only on Wednesday evenings. Beginning classes for the public were held at the start of the evening and then we had our competitive classes for members.

 

Some of the beginning classes were held outside of the hangar, which meant we occasionally had to deal with heat and mosquitoes.

 

Inside we had to lay down mats for the competitive classes and then roll them up and put them away after class.

 

Trials were held in other locations so mats and jumps had to be transported.

 

When we moved into the complex where we are presently located, we were in a smaller building. Our best recollection is that we moved into the small space in 2001.

 

At that time, we had a flyball team and we wanted to hold tournaments, so more room was needed for the runback area. We also needed more room for obedience trials. So, we moved into our present location about 2003. Flyball tournaments were held for many years until the team disbanded. The larger space gave us the ability to hold larger obedience trials and some agility trials. We were also able to hold more classes.

 

We have a handful of members that remember those fun but tough years and how nice it was to move into our own space and train in air conditioning.

 

​The honor of Life member is awarded to those members who have given many years of service to the club and have reached a point in their life where they are no longer able to be Active. We are fortunate to have five Life members, Judy Ilse, Jane Libberton, Jan Ness, Sheilah Platzer and Joe Rodoski.

 

The club began with a focus on obedience, but as dog sports evolved and grew in popularity our members began to branch out so that we now have a representation in various sports.

 

However, one thing has remained constant and that is our love for our dogs and the time we spend with them and other dog people.