Caroline Brodie
A dog club is desperately seeking new premises after being evicted from the hall it has called home for more than 20 years.
Despite boasting the best-behaved dogs in the region among its ranks, the Aberdeen Canine Training Club has been told it must leave Craibstone Hall by the end of the year.
The hall – on land adjacent to Scotland’s Rural College’s Craibstone campus – is being demolished to make way for a 700-home development by Cala Homes.
Club treasurer and trainer Nicola Ward said efforts to find a replacement venue had so far drawn a blank.
She said: “After 20 years at the hall, we have received notification from the landlords that we have to be out by December 31, so we have two more weeks of classes and then we have to empty the whole place and find somewhere to store all our equipment.
“We have contacted Aberdeenshire Council and community halls and various places.
“A lot don’t take dogs at all and a lot are just booked up.
“We’ve even looked at indoor riding schools.”
The club, which celebrated its diamond jubilee in 2012, uses Craibstone Hall three nights a week for regular puppy training, pet obedience and competitive obedience classes as well as hosting various weekend events there throughout the year.
Its members have won a string of accolades at some of the nation’s top dog shows, including Crufts.
However, without premises, next year’s classes could be in jeopardy.
Miss Ward said: “We always stop about the middle of December for Christmas. We tend to have a break because people are away, but we usually start up again around January 10.
“If we don’t get anywhere by then we might have to give January a miss.
“The worst case scenario is that we would have to stop holding classes during the winter. In summer, we could hold them outside.
“So the club would continue but in a very reduced form.
“We are appealing to anyone who has got a venue on the outskirts of Aberdeen that might be suitable for us to lease.
“The ideal place would be a church hall that is maybe not being used any more.”
Anyone who can help can contact the club on 07895 069126.
