The APDT Chronicle of the Dog Summer 2020 | Page 16

ASSOCIATION NEWS | 2020 CHAIR'S AWARD RECIPIENT
�Terrell and Mary Ann Jones at the Memphis
Conference in 2018.
embroidered Labradors. His are green
with yellow Labs, while hers are tan with
chocolate Labs. They have been wearing
them at conferences for more than 15
years, Mary Ann said during an interview
with the couple at the 2018 conference in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Long-Time APDT Member Terrell Jones
Named as 2020 Chair’s Award Recipient
Terrell Jones, the owner of a daycare and grooming facility in Tennessee, is the recipient
of APDT’s 2020 Chair’s Award, which recognizes an individual who has significantly
impacted the work of the association or the dog industry during a long period of time.
Terrell has been a member of APDT since 1997 and has attended, along with his wife,
Mary Ann Jones, nearly every APDT conference since their first one in Orlando, Florida,
in 1994. He believes he only missed two conferences: 2017 in Richmond, Virginia and the
one scheduled in 2005 that was impacted by Hurricane Katrina, which included parts of
Tennessee, less than a month before the conference, forcing its move from New Orleans to
San Jose, California.
“We chose Terrell Jones for the APDT
Chair’s Award because of Terrell’s dedication
with APDT through the years.
Terrell is one of the long-time members,
and even at age 79, he continues to seek
learning more about the dog training industry
and his desire to teach others,” explained
APDT Chair Khara Schuetzner.
Terrell joined APDT soon after its inception
because he “wanted to learn about what
makes a dog tick” and he wanted to
learn more, he said during a recent phone
interview. Like many in the dog industry,
Terrell and his wife, Mary Ann, were selfisolating
at home while their business has
been shut down due to the COVID-19
crisis. As for being the recipient of the
Chair’s Award, Terrell, who just turned 79
in April, said he is always “overwhelmed
anytime someone gives me an award. To
be chosen for this award is quite the honor.
I’m feeling very blessed and speechless.”
Those who attend the conferences may
recognize them not by name, but by the
coordinated clothes they wear, specifically,
the adorable corduroy slacks with
The couple own and operate Claridge Pet
Resort in Collierville, just a 35-minute
drive east of Memphis. As the owner of
what was known as Claridge Kennels in
Memphis, Terrell joined APDT so he could
learn how to take care of dogs the best way
possible, and network with others on how
to treat dogs. He reflects the diversity of
APDT’s membership and its value to the
dog industry. They met Dr. Ian Dunbar at
one of his seminars prior to APDT forming.
Intrigued by his positive reinforcement
training methods, they attended the first
APDT conference in 1994 at Orlando,
Florida. “That taught me more,” Terrell
said of the APDT seminars he attended
at previous conferences. “I realized how
much more merciful it was for the dog with
positive reinforcement training.”
Terrell always loved animals as a child.
He was introduced to the Rough Collie
breed, his favorite, while in middle school
when the librarian introduced him to the
Albert Payson Terhune’s series of books
about a Rough Collie named Lad and
his adventures at “The Place,” which was
Sunnybank Collies on the eastern shore of
Pompton Lakes in northern New Jersey.
It made a lasting impression. He attends
“The Annual Gatherings at Sunnybank,”
an annual memorial service in August to
those Sunnybank Collies and other dogs
lost that year.
In 1954 Terrell received his first Rough
Collie puppy he named Lassie. It would be
the start of his interest in dog training. “I
trained the dog to do 25 tricks, including
speaking like a man (one woof) and
speaking like a woman (several woofs in a
row).” He didn’t know what a play bow was
in dog behavior at the time, but he used
14 Building Better Trainers Through Education