First 'Tollermania' event held in New Germany, N.S., with 400 dogs in attendance

Howling, barking, and whimpering could all be heard at the Diesel Dog Ranch in New Germany, N.S., Saturday as more than 400 Nova Scotia duck tollers and their owners gathered at the grounds.

Originally, Dan Barnhill was just going to have a few people and their pets visit his ranch for a small get-together.

In a matter of three weeks, though, the event snowballed into large groups of people from Canada and around the world making their way to Tollermania.

“A few people reached out saying, ‘I would love to come by and see Diesel’s Ranch’ and then, when word got around, things exploded,” said Barnhil.

After three connecting flights from Florida to Halifax, American attendee Lisa Urbani arrived with her toller, Denver.

Lisa Urbani is pictured with her toller named Denver.

“Whether we have flown to Las Vegas or Massachusetts -- really anywhere in the country -- everything in my life is about my dog, so that’s why we’re here,” she said.

Once the event picked up momentum, Barnhill decided to host an auction and print shirts to donate to Toller Rescue.

“We printed these shirts and sold them. Ten dollars from each t-shirt went to the rescue as well. And, just from the shirts alone, we made $5,000,” he said.

Following the auction, a series of competitions began, starting with a field trial demonstration.

The trial included a duck decoy that was shot out, then followed with tollers chasing and retrieving.

Following Saturday’s event, the Municipality of the District Lunenburg provided Barnhill with a certificate to celebrate the event.

Some competitions will continue Sunday.

Barnhill said with the success of the event -- in honour of his dog, Diesel -- that Tollermania will continue for years to come.