About IWALE

Pat and Bob Hersch have a super nice lake house on the shores of Lake Erie, Ripley New York. Many of us who have irish wolfhounds like to meet at Pat and Bob’s Lake House. Bob will start a fire in the fire pit outside with chairs around and the dogs all play together running in the fenced yard, avoiding or sniffing Pat’s bee hives also on the property. People drink wine and talk dogs, politics, life and watch the dogs run and play until they settle around the chairs at the fire and rest while their owners relax and chat.

This is a heavenly location and we have had many good times with many irish wolfhound friends. This is where the idea of starting a club in this area which is about 6 hours from all of the other wolfhound clubs in the north east. We had gathered previously at the All Breed – Dunkirk NY, Erie PA, and Hamburg NY, Tallmadge OH, Cleveland OH shows for years, there were always a good representation of dogs in these particular areas. So discussion started to form around the idea of putting a club together to represent Northeast Ohio, Western PA, and Western/Central NY. We are also close to the Canadian Border.

Starting 2023 – 2024 our group started to form and made application to IWCA and AKC and was approved in 2024 for our first Irish Wolfhound Association of Lake Erie Specialty at the Hamlin NY fireman’s grounds together with Tonawanda Valley Kennel Club and Genesee Valley Kennel Club. Lisa Dube Forman was our conformation judge and Sherwood Prawel our Sweepstakes judge. It was a great success.