Happy 2010 to everyone!  Hopefully you've had a lovely holiday season and are now ready to start the new year.  The club members and their dogs who attended the Grafton Christmas Parade were treated to a gorgeous sunny day, which meant a huge crowd of spectators.  The dogs certainly enjoyed the attention, and we were ever vigilant in keeping them away from all the candy in the streets...... not to mention the treats left by the camels and horses in front of us!   Our Christmas Party and Gift Exchange, held at the Paramount Restaurant in Grafton, was also a very nice event.  We had a rather small group (13 of us), but we all enjoyed the company, the food, the beverages, and the great gifts.  Unfortunately, I never thought to take the camera out of my purse, so there are no pictures.  There are, however, pictures of the Christmas parade on our website:  www.wisconsinairedaleterrierclub.com.    The next event is our Annual Meeting, which will be held on Sunday, February 21st.  We will be nominating and voting on officers and our board members at this meeting.  The slate of nominations is: Pres.  Sue Reimund Vice Pres. Pam Straus Sec. Sue Shannon Tres. Sandi Cooley Board:  Lanny Duttlinger, Pam Lyon LaVerne VanDerZee was our 3rd board member, but she would prefer to step down. Please contact Sue Reimund if you would be interested in filling that position. Also, awards will be handed out, so if your Airedale has won any awards or titles in 2009, please send me the information.  Details on the Annual Meeting are in this newsletter.   You should be receiving your Membership Renewal form in the mail in the next few days.  Please make Sandi Cooley's job easier by sending it back to her, along with your check, as soon as possible.  Be sure to update any information, including any changes to your e-mail address.  Hope to see many of you at our Annual Meeting! ~Sue Shannon *********************************************************************************************************

WATC 2010 ANNUAL MEETING

Sunday, February 21st

11:00 a.m.

At the home of Craig Larrabee and Mike Bernklau

617 E. Circle Rd.

Mequon, WI  53092

 If your last name begins with A - R, please bring a side dish or salad.

If your last name begins with S - Z, plase bring a dessert.

 Driving Directions

From I-43, take the Mequon Rd. exit.  Go east on Mequon Rd.  The road will curve to the south.  Go approximately 2 miles, past the park on your left, to Circle Rd.  Go Left on Circle Rd.  At the 'T', turn left.  Their home will be on your right, with the Airedale mailbox.

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From WATC President Sue Reimund:

  An important link about disaster preparedness:     http://www.wisconsinairedaleterrierclub.com/disasterpreparedness.htm

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From WATC Member Paul Lackner:

Dear Fellow WATC members,    

 On behalf of ATRA, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for selecting ATRA to be the recipient of your generosity this past year.  I would like to share with you what the money was used for the help Airedales in need.

The end of July, I had received word that an Airedale breeder in Wisconsin was “getting rid of his stock”.  At that time, we received one Airedale into rescue.  After that time and until October, we took in nine Airedales from that breeder.  Each Airedale needed vaccinations and neuter or spay surgery.  In addition, one of the females ended up having several mammary tumors, one of which had ruptured.  The last Airedale of the “Magic 9”, Beau, came in very ill.  We soon discovered he had canine influenza.  Unfortunately, he infected several of the other ones in addition to other dogs.  For several weeks we had to keep all of the dales quarantined at a kennel in Shawano. 

 Your donation helped get all of these ‘dales up to date on their health needs and our organization was able to screen forever homes for them.  As of today, two of the females, Lucy and Cheyenne, are being fostered with Jim and I who are looking for their forever homes. 

We also took in two more Airedales from a breeder in Wisconsin in the past two weeks.  Thanks to many emails and phone calls that I received from fellow Airedale lovers, I was notified about an ad in the Milwaukee Sentinel for “three free Airedales.”  Several ATRA volunteers contacted the owner of these dogs and we were able to pick up the two females.  The male was given back to his original owner in Germantown.  You will be happy to hear the two girls are doing well, have checked out healthy and are now spayed.  They were littermates and are very attached to each other.  We are hoping to find a home that will take both the girls. 

 And finally, I am sure all of you noticed Abby on the WATC website or on ATRA’s website for months and months.  Jim and I fostered Abby starting in February and thought we would never be able to find her a forever home.  Well I am happy to report that we delivered Abby to her new home in November where she is the Queen Bee and loved by her new owner.  We could not be happier for Abby.  I thank Sue Reimund for offering rescue a page of their own on WATC’s website to feature our rescue dales. 

   I thank each and every one of you for your support of ATRA’s mission- to help Airedales in need.  We are an all volunteer organization who cares about our favorite breed, our beloved Airedale Terrier.

 My sincere thanks,
 Paula Lackner
President -  Airedale Terrier Rescue & Adoption, Inc.  (ATRA)