Greater Rochester Rottweiler Club

History of GRRC

A group of friends were talking at a weekly obedience class and decided that forming a club for the education of Rottweiler owners (and potential Rottweiler owners) was needed for the Rochester and surrounding area. At that time, according to AKC records, the breed was in the top 5 on the popularity list.   We put an advertisement in the paper, telling Rottweiler lovers that we were going to form a club.  We met at the Henrietta Pizza Hut in June, 1989. We had a roomful of people attend the first meeting - and the club was formed. That first year was extremely busy.  We spent many hours composing the constitution and bylaws. We elected officers, and started having monthly meetings. We had over 50 members with membership categories being family, single, associate and charter. We consistently had between 40 to 50 members through the early '90's.

We met monthly at an office on Lyell Avenue as this was a central location. We had many speakers come in and talk on various topics - search & rescue, canine first aid, conformation, eye problems, health problems, tracking, Police K-9, pet photography, etc.  We held a tattoo and heart screening clinic at Stoneridge Animal Hospital, held a couple of agility clinics at Add-en-On Kennels, had carting instructions, held a nutrition seminar at Lollipop Farm for the public and held one or two auctions to raise money for the Club.  We sponsored a regional specialty in 1991 in conjunction with the Genesee Valley Kennel Club dog show in Hamlin, NY. In addition to these many events, we held our annual summer picnics and Christmas dinners

Lynne Engelbrecht was our Newsletter Editor and published the newsletter monthly.   The newsletter included accomplishments of the Club, what the Club planned for the future and what was currently happening in the dog world - more specifically, the Rottweiler world. This was all accomplished by the old fashioned method of snail mail.

With the breed being so popular, there was too much bad press happening in the 90's. We sent out hundreds of information packages on the breed and fostered many phone calls for help with training, conformation, and rescue.  Some Club members assisted with rescue efforts on an individual basis.  At that time, the number of calls for rescue was enormous and heartbreaking. 

And here we are - 15 years later and the Club is still active.