(This historical article was taken from the 1973 Old English Sheepdog Club of Greater Seattle yearbook.)

After several years of discussion and planning, on March 15, 1969, a small group of dedicated Old English Sheepdog owners from the Washington-Oregon area met and formed the Pacific Northwest Old English Sheepdog Club. Membership spanned from the California-Oregon border to Alaska. The club was officially established when its Constitution, By-Laws and Code of Ethics were adopted on May 5, 1969.

The Club was formed with goals of keeping the members informed about the latest happenings in the Old English Sheepdogs, to promote good sportsmanship and to protect the breed. The number of Old English Sheepdogs in this area was small at that time and the club, acting as a regional club, decided to hold quarterly meetings in the Washington-Oregon area. The business meetings were to be combined with friendship and a program designated to be of interest to the novice, the breeder, the pet owner and the exhibitor. The programs were planned from the suggestions of the members and included speakers on topics of interest concerning grooming, breeding, general care and the well-being of our dogs, handling, showing, hip dysplasia, veterinary care, movies of current dog shows from other parts of the country and activities of other breed clubs in establishing working trials for their dogs.

To further keep members informed, the club published a quarterly bulletin with information on Old English Sheepdogs. It contained personal tidbits, local news and interesting articles on raising, training and developing Old English Sheepdogs to their fullest potential. The first club newsletter was mailed out on June 30, 1969. By November, 1969, there were 68 members in the club. On May 17, 1970, Raggedy Ramblings was adopted as the official name of the club's newsletter.

The club endeavored to support entries at local AKC dog shows by offering trophies and encouraging members to show their quality Old English Sheepdogs. The club has also held an annual Fun Match for Old English Sheepdogs. Our first fun match was held on August 17, 1969 at Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington. It had an entry of 29 in the match with a parade of five champions. The second match was on August 15, 1970 with an entry of over 30 OES. Our third fun match, on August 22, 1971, had an entry of over 50 OES in conformation and obedience. Our matches have been fun and successful with the number and quality of Old English Sheepdogs increasing every year.

The membership has also grown and so have our areas of endeavor. In addition to the original goals and areas of interest, we are now attempting to educate potential buyers of Old English Sheepdogs, give special awards for outstanding achievement of member's Old English Sheepdogs, to promote obedience training and we are considering some actual sheep herding trails for our Sheepdogs.

With the growth of membership, it became apparent that the Pacific Northwest had enough dedicated Old English Sheepdog owners to support more than one club. So in 1972-73, our northern members in British Columbia formed their own club as did our southern members in the Portland, Oregon area and in the Eugene, Oregon area. The Portland group's first name was Ragabob Old English Sheepdog Club. As of 1973, most of our membership resides within the Greater Seattle area.

Considering the geographic spread of our membership in the past, attendance at meetings has been good with between 35 and 45 percent of our 72 members plus guests in attendance. Our programs have included demonstrations on obedience, grooming, handling and ring etiquette, films on anatomy of dogs, a veterinary speaker on canine diseases, a tattooing session, and a report on recent and proposed animal legislation . We now have bi-monthly meetings and publication of our bulletin which we now call Raggedy Ramblings.

Our club changed its name from Pacific Northwest OESC to Shag-Downe OESC on November 14, 1970. Shag-Downe was to represent "Shaggy Dog Owners." On October 11, 1972, to comply with American Kennel Club policies, the Board of Directors unanimously approved  a club name change to the Old English Sheepdog Club of Greater Seattle. The name change was officially approved by the membership on November 16, 1972.

In the Spring of 1973, we successfully conducted an All-Breed Fun Match with the help of almost every member's participation. We raised the needed funds to continue our weekly newspaper ad which offers guidance to anyone wishing to know more about Old English Sheepdogs especially on how to buy.

We are incorporated within the State of Washington as a non-profit hobby-social organization and we have received a tex-exempt status from the IRS under Section 501 (c) (7). We were approved on March 22, 1973 by the American Kennel Club to hold Sanctioned B and OB specialty matches and we are looking forward to becoming a member of the OESC of America. Over 50 percent of our membership also belong to the National club.

Our first AKC sanctioned B-OB match was held on August 19, 1973.

Our first Independent Specialty was held on August 27,1977 at Providence Heights Conference Center

Conformation Judge: Sandi Baker

Obedience Judge:  Janice Thomas

Best Of Breed: Ch Loyalblu This One is Mine, bitch, owned by Dr Hugh and Linda Jordan, Whittier, California

Best Of Opposite Sex: Ch Cheerio Heavy Number, dog, owned by Ken and Paula Leach, Portland, Oregon

Winners Dog:  Squarecote Pride and Joy, owned by Irv and Pam Hara, Issaquah, Washington

Winners Bitch / Best of Winners:  Winnoby�s Much Ado, owned by Judy House, Grosse Pointe, Michigan

Entry was 19 dogs, 23 bitches, 11 Specials (8 dogs, 3 bitches) and 9 in Obedience