What's New
April, 2024: 
Congratulations to Mie Kingsley et al from Danby, Vt and Danby Pond Whitfield Morningstar TD for a successful TD Test. We enjoyed watching your pup motor thru the course in Grand Isle, Vt. The weather was beautiful and sunny but the breeze was strong off the lake.
December, 2022: 
Celebrate BOTC's 50th!!!! Nancy is working with a local screenprinter to create some anniversary Tee Shirts. The logo as shown on this "rendering"
will be printed on shirt(s) in your choice of colors and sizes. You can review the
options Here. The price is only $15 each!
Contact Nancy Suarez
if interested; she will give you more information and specifics about payment.
September, 2021: 
Kela, Ilene's one 1 year old lab, successfully received her TD tracking title Pioneer Valley Kennel Club tracking test in Bernardston, Massachusetts.
Congrats to Ilene and Kela!
August, 2021:
The July Agility Trials are in the books! Results are posted, Congrats to all. Look for news on the April 2022 Agility Trials later this year.
July, 2021:
BOTC has released the Agility Trial info and Volunteer Sign-up sheet. Please all the links on the Trials page for more info.
June, 2021:
BOTC has released the Premium for our 8th annual July Agility Trial - 4 days of AKC Agility Trials to be held at the Shelburne Field House on July 29th thru August 1st. Due to Covid restrictions, both of the Club's 2020 trial weekends were canceled as was the April 2021 Agility Trial Weekend. We're all looking forward to the July Trial as a chance to reconnect with friends we've not seen for a year or more as well as for the fun and enjoyment of doing agility with our dogs.
Competition will start at 10 AM on July 29th and 8 AM on the other three days. The event will run almost continuously until about 6 PM each day.
With the Covid-related regulations easing, BOTC is expecting to be able to operate the trial in much the same way as the Club has over the
past 8 years of our July Trial. However, we expect some of the Covid precautions we've all grown used to will continue thru this event -
in particular mandatory mask-wearing when indoors.
The event will be open to the general public and there will be no admission charge for spectators. However, face masks will be mandatory and there may be other safety protocols depending on State and Facility policies in place at that time.
May, 2021: 
On a beautiful sunny Mother's Day, May 9, 2021, BOTC hosted a TDX test. We were pleased to offer 5 TDX tracks, and had lots of breeds involved: Dutch Shepherd, Belgian Tervuren, Shih Tzu, Standard Poodle and English Cocker Spaniel! Statistically, it is said that a club will have a 20% pass rate for a TDX test. We are thrilled to announce that we had two teams pass! So, a 40% success rate for Sunday!
I'm pleased to congratulate Thomas Harding and his Poodle, RACH Rebelstar Opus Wins The Scent Challenge VCD1 BN RM3 RAE3 FDC OAJ OF CGC TKI, and now, TDX! And congratulations also go out to Mie Kingsley and her English Cocker Spaniel, Whitfield Danby Pond Kaylin's Request RN TKN, and now, TDX!
Thank you to our awesome judges, Ilene Morgan and Lynda Morgan. Our mother/daughter judging team who spent their Mother's Day as judges! And a huge thank you to all of our tracklayers, who braved the tick-laden environment to put in the tracks for our teams. And, to the club members who helped with all of the logistics of hosting an event.
March, 2021:
BOTC is working hard to schedule as many of our 2021 events as possible. We have the TD/TDX Tracking Test approved for May 8-9. The July Agility trial is awaiting venue/date confirmation, as is the Fall Obedience trial. Other member opportunities are being actively sought as we work through the constantly changing pandemic situation.
June, 2020:
BOTC regretfully announces that all trials for the remainder of 2020 have been cancelled.
Please stay safe, train well, and we look forward to seeing you in 2021
May, 2020:
The 2020 BOTC July Agility Trial is Tentatively on. There are many factors that will be considered in the coming weeks.
May, 2020:
The 2020 BOTC VST Tracking Test is On and Rescheduled to August 1! >
March, 2020:
The 2020 BOTC Agility Trial is Cancelled.
January, 2020:
Our Annual Holiday luncheon and membership meeting was held at the Lighthouse in Colchester on January 11. It was well attended by members and guests, and Lynda captured a few moments in photos - view in the Gallery! Of note - our slate of directors was unanimously voted in, the budget approved, and a decision made to forego the February meeting. See you in March!
November, 2019:
The 2019 BOTC Obedience and Rally Trials are complete! THANK YOU to everyone who participated this past weekend!! We held 4 Obedience Trials over the two days, with a total of 187 entries. We also held 4 Rally Trials over the two days with a total of 194 entries. We awarded many new titles in all classes. Congratulations to all participants, and special congrats to all new title holders! The weather was crazy on Thursday and Friday, and many people endured a difficult trip to the show site. Roads were washed away, and still everyone found their way to us.We got the show site set up in record time, thanks to everyone who came out to help. The "10 for 10" on Friday was well-attended and everyone seemed to find it useful. Thank you to all of the club members, friends-of-BOTC, and 4-H folks who acted as stewards, helped with hospitality and also did both set-up and tear-down. The number of people that offered to help was amazing. Thank you to our wonderful judges. When I took them to dinner on Saturday night (and all weekend long, really) they all shared how happy they were to be there. It was a pleasure to work with all of you, too! Thank you, Bryan Sirotkin, for helping with set-up, and for once again being our photographer. I saw lots of people come into the crating area with a freshly taken photo, and sharing with all their friends. Last, thank you to the exhibitors. Without you, there's no need to hold events! Everyone was friendly. The dogs were a joy. So nice to see so many breeds represented! And truly heartwarming to see the number of Novice entries we had.
October, 2019:
We had a fun day at Wag It Forward, in spite of the wind. Apparently, it was a blue day for BOTC! We love supporting the community with demos and testing times. There are a few pics in the Gallery.
January, 2019:
We held our annual Members Luncheon at the Windjammer Restaurant in South Burlington on January 19. After a brief business meeting, all in attendance enjoyed the great meal and great company!
December, 2018:
The year is coming to an end! Membership dues are due and payable to Judy.
The last meeting of 2018 will be held on 06-Dec at 7PM; agenda has been sent out and this meeting includes the vote for our 2019 Officers and Board.
November, 2018:
A small but staunch group of members represented BOTC in the Pet Food Warehouse sponsored Wag it Forward on Sunday, October 14, 2018. We had a booth providing information about AKC Obedience and Rally and did demonstrations of some portions of these sports.
Two members of the club also provided members of the community with information about working dogs. On Wednesday, November 7, 2018 Rio Demers and Ilene Morgan gave a public presentation at the Masonic Hall in South Hero on the subject of service dogs. Ilene, with Tracking Dog Bentley, has trained tracking dogs for over a decade. She explained various services these dogs provide and emphasized the commitment of dedicated handlers who train them. Rio, with Raice, affiliated with Wilderness Search Dogs, and Decker, a FEMA Rubble Search Dog, explained various training requirements relevant to these services. The presentation was designed to provide the audience with a broad picture of the various services provided by these dogs. Many people asked questions of the presenters and were amazed at the diverse talents and services provided by canines and the organizations and individuals that produce service dogs.