The Puyallup Valley Dog Fanciers (PVDF) was founded in 1972.  Founding members, Stan and Joan Zielinski and Grenville and Virginia Sawyer, met in their living room and asked the question, “Should we form a dog club?”

Back then, the American Kennel Club (AKC) required 40 members to form a club.  As there were already two clubs in the nearby area (Olympic Kennel Club and Tacoma Kennel Club), founding members drew a circle around the Puyallup-central and Graham areas.  Stan Zielinski and Dave Lee then traveled back to New York to advocate for the Club’s formation, where they eventually garnered AKC’s approval.

Before PVDF was even officially recognized, members scheduled the first match at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.  The Club had hoped to attract at least 50 participants and were pleasantly surprised, and a little overwhelmed, when more than 500 people stood in line to register that day.  Needless to say, the Club was successful that day and has never looked back.  As one of over 5,000 dog clubs now recognized by the AKC, it just goes to show . . . there’s always room for one more!