Shetland Sheepdog Club
November 23rd, 1908, marked the first meeting of the Shetland Collie Club.
"At a meeting held in the Country Hall, Lerwick, recently a club for the Shetland Collie was formed, and its list of patrons is a formidable one. Provost Porteous presided over the meeting and Lady Marjorie Sinclair, Mr. Cathcart Wason, M.P., Sir Arthur Nicolson, Mrs. Moffat, and Mr. Bruce were appointed patrons. Provost Porteous was made President, and the Rev. A.J. Campbell Vice President, while Baillie Laing is Chairman of Committee. Mr. J.A.Loggie is Treasurer and Secretary. Lady Marjorie Sinclair is, as everyone knows, a daughter of the Countess of Aberdeen, and has been a doggy enhusiast since her childhood. Mr. Wason, who represents Shetland in Parliament, has taken a keen and personal interest in the Shetland Collie controversy, and is no mere figurehead. There is something peculiary appropriate that the Shetland Collie Club should be formed in Lerwick, and, despite the weight of the opposition to the Shetlander as a show dog, there are surely few breeds that have got such an auspicious send-off in the matter of their specialist Club. Sassenachs beware!" - from Collie Folio 1909.
The new club earned mention in the 1909 Lerwick Up Helly Aa bill: Defacers of this bill will be struck with the Collie Club as all mongrels are entitled to be.
The British Collie fancy vehemently opposed Shetlanders appropriating the name "Collie" for their breed. In early 1909 the club changed its name to "The Shetland Sheepdog Club".
The club maintained its own registry for island dogs, dividing them by size. Stud Book "A" listed dogs measuring 10 to 12 inches at the shoulder and Stud Book "B" listed the larger 12 to 15 inchers. Copies of the "A" book are known to survive and included 139 Shelties starting with Crichton Frisk born in 1909 and ending in Ida born in 1926.
Corresponding secretaries as listed in the annual Kennel Club Stud Books were:
| Year | Corresponding Secretary | Address |
|---|---|---|
| 1912 - 1916 | James A Loggie | Royal Buildings, Lerwick |
| 1917 - 1920 | no name available | --- |
| 1922 - 1928 | J S Brown | 51 Commercial Street, Lerwick |
| 1930 - 1936 | W Jamieson | Garderhouse, Lerwick |
| 1937 - 1952 | Mr G Pratt Boyd | Dunrossness |
| 1953 - 1960 | Mr H Bowie | Parkhall, Bixter |
| 1961 - 1963 | Mr Alwyn A Anderson | 2 Saint Olaf Street, Lerwick |
| 1964 | no name given | --- |
| 1965 | Mrs Lorna J Irvine | Robins Brae, Dunrossness |
| after 1965 | to be determined | --- |
