Cocker Spaniel Club of Las Vegas

Sharon Landry established the Cocker Spaniel Club of Las Vegas (CSCLV) in 1972 as the Cocker Spaniel Society of Clark County.  It was changed to the Cocker Spaniel Club of Las Vegas in 1973.  The charter members were:  Sharon Landry, Penny Dante, Nicki Cappriotti, Jan Mills, Dick & Judy Wiest, and several others.  The club met at various members’ homes every month.

The club logo was hand drawn by Sharon and given to Don Ploke, who was working on the logo for the Cocker Spaniel Club of Orange County, California at the same time, and produced what we have today.

New people became members; Kay and Joe Fielding, Don Ploke, Shelly McIntyre and Jackie Dew.  Dee Dee Wood was our very first judge at our very first match, which was held on a grassy area at one of Las Vegas’s hotels on the strip. We had entries from California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah.  In 1976 the club became a member of the American Spaniel Club (ASC), which is the parent club of all cocker Spaniel clubs in the USA. 

On October 21, 1978 the club held its first licensed AKC specialty show at the Clark County Community College with Sharon being the first show chairman.  Bernard Ziessow was our first regular class judge.  Joyce Morin was our first sweepstakes and futurity judge.  Best of Breed went to CH Chess Kings Board Boss owned by Billie Ballentine of Arizona.  Best in Futurity was Angela’s Sir Lad, owned by Angela and Virginia Hicks of California.  Best in Sweepstakes was Jus-us Pistol Pete, owned by Suzanne and Michael Williams also of California. 

The next year Don Ploke was the show chairman and he held that position for the next 25 years.  In 1980 the club decided to hold a second licensed show in the year.  Our club was one of the first specialty clubs in the country to hold two AKC shows a year.  This was almost unheard of at that time.  We held these two shows each year for many more years, one in April and the other in October.  Other specialty clubs soon followed us with two shows a year.  The club grew over the years with our show being one of the highlights of the year for cocker exhibitors. 

In 1983 we hosted the American Spaniel Club’s summer national show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  This four day show drew over 600 Cocker Spaniels and was a great success. Don Ploke was show chairman and Sharon Landry was Asst. show chairman.

Today the club continues with long time members and new members and we still have our show each year and welcome new members.