Club Business

History of the Club

The group initially formed under the moniker Mid-Atlantic Toller Enthusiasts (MATES) in the year 2000 in anticipation of AKC reorganization of the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (Toller) and the Toller Parent Club becoming an AKC member club.

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The Parent Club, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA) (NSDTRC-USA), was formed in the late 1980's through a special arrangement with the Canadian Kennel Club dated March 21, 1986. That agreement permitted the NSDTRC-USA to maintain it's own registry of Tollers in the United States with a deadline and promise that the NSDTRC-USA would apply for AKC recognition of the breed by 1997. Through intense efforts of many Toller breeders and enthusiast, including most of the members of the Liberty NDSTRC, the Toller was admitted to the AKC Miscellaneous classes in June 2001 and was officially recognized July 1, 2003.

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The NSDTRC-USA By-laws were forward thinking and included as one of its primary purposes of the club the mission "To encourage the organization of independent local specialty clubs in those localities where there are sufficient fanciers of the breed to meet the requirements of the American Kennel Club. See, NSDTRC-USA ByLaws Article I, Section 2 (c).

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Each member of MATES fully supported the NSDTRC-USA and many are foundational members of the Parent Club and worked hard to help obtain AKC recognition of the Breed and the Parent Club. As of 2022, the breed and Parent club have matured in the United States and it is time for independent specialty clubs to form.

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Tollers in the Mid-Atlantic region i.e. MD, DE, VA, NJ and PA from the inception of the NSDTRC-USA played an important role in the development of the Toller in the US.  MATES held its first organization meetings in 2000 under the instigation of log time fancier, Jill Griffin. 

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In 2022, the AKC recognized the first independent locale specialty club for the Toller breed, the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club of New England. If accredited, the Liberty NSDTC would be the second independent local specialty club to be formed for the Toller breed.

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At the NSDTC-USA annual meeting in September 2019, the Region 7 Director of the Parent Club, Francine Kaplan and the Parent Club Conformation Events Chair, William Burland, were asked to run the 2021 Parent Club National Specialty. At that same event, the then President of the Club Dan Rode, approached members of MATES and suggested they form a local regional club to help expand and fulfill By-Law Article 1, Section 2, Subsection C. President Rode felt confident the National Parent Club and breed in the US had progressed to the point that regional clubs should start forming for the breed to grow.

The Parent Club gave MATES members permission to hold a Designated Specialty at the MSDA March 2020 show. Francine Kaplan and William Burland and Dr. Sherry Seibel rallied Toller owners to the show. Knowing they had accepted the responsibility to put on the 2021 National, the 2020 MSDA show was used as the training grounds for the 2021 National. A team of 14 people was assembled and optional meetings began. 

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On June 23, 2019, the MATES crew held Tollerfest at Travelda Farm, Quakertown, PA. The event was an educational event invited Toller owners from the Mid Atlantic Region. Attendees came from Washington DC, Virginia, South Carolina, as well as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. Toller owners were rotated through a series of stations where they could watch demonstrations and then try out retrieving, obedience, rally, agility, grooming and scent work. Wendy Whitlam of the Pet Campus donated her time to run AKC Canine Good Citizen testing. The event concluded with a al fresco dinner on the farm.

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The MSDA Designed Specialty was a huge success and supercharged the planning team to begin work on the 2021 Parent Club National Specialty. Covid then caused the national to be held in Bethlehem, PA to be moved to 2022.  Once the 2022 National successfully concluded the team was then ready to accept President Rode's challenge to start a local regional club. 

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Between August 2022 and March 2023 the group met virtually and prepared its Draft ByLaws and Constitution. In April 2023 the group sought advice and direction from AKC Club Relations concerning the club name and territory. AKC responded and MATES adopted the name suggested by AKC and become Liberty Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club.

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MATES members represented the breed at the Meet the Breeds in New York City in January 2023, ran a specialty for the NSDTRC-USA at MSDA in March 2023, and ran a Supported Entry at the Freehold, NJ shows in May 2023.

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The first in person meeting was held in May in Freehold, NJ. In June 2023 the Liberty NSDTRC established a member managed not-for-profit Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) domiciled in the State of Pennsylvania. We next intent to convert the organization to a Pennsylvania Non-Profit. Therefore, we have prepared and adopted ByLaws utilizing the AKC model ByLaws and the model Non-Profit ByLaws that comport with the Pennsylvania Non-Profit laws.

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Liberty held it's first event, a Fun Match, in August 2023 at Upfront Dog Training Center in Allentown, NJ. The event included a group conformation training session, the fun match which included juniors, Canine Good Citizen, Canine Good Citizen Advanced, and Trick Dog.

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In October 2023 the Liberty NSDTRC applied for recognition from the AKC for recognition as a new regional Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club. Liberty is requesting AKC grant to it a territory that encompasses the entirety of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. This will ensure we can garner large entries for conformation shows and have the requisite volunteer talent to create well attended shows that enhance the exhibitor's experience.

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In January 2024 AKC requested some revisions to our bylaws and those changes were made an adapted by an overwhelming majority of founding members. Liberty NSDTRC received approval from the AKC under the new Two Path Event Process for New Club Accreditation to License Status policy to hold a Mentored Conformation Show.

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Applications for membership are accepted at anytime. Renewal is due by Jan. 15 each year. See membership section below for more information. We hope you will join us!