Sheila Robertson's passion is dogs.

It's the same passion many have for hockey or whatever interest they may have and, she argues, is no less important than hockey.

"It's my sport,” the president of the Yukon Kennel Club said in an interview this morning. She was responding to comments made to city council Monday night by Whitehorse Huskies coach Randy Merkel.

He called on the city to set aside the mezzanine area of the Takhini Arena from Fridays to Sundays so hockey organizations like his Huskies can use the space for fund-raising through beer gardens.

Currently, dog groups like the Yukon Kennel Club rent the space weekday evenings and weekend afternoons for dog training classes.

About five dog groups use the space for dog training. While the kennel club isn't the group that's in the mezzanine on Friday nights, Robertson was quick to note her organization has a signed contract with the city for the space.

"We sort of felt a bit bullied,” she said, adding she resents suggestions that her sport is any less significant than another.

It was only on Monday that the kennel club received the e-mail from the Huskies requesting it give up one of its Thursday night rentals in April to accommodate a beer garden for the hockey team, which is set to have a five-game series against the Powell River Regals.

The kennel club has said yes to the request, impacting about 30 people in one of the three classes that night, but Robertson said she didn't like the approach the Huskies took on the matter.

While Robertson acknowledged that Merkel may have been dealing with the Friday night group earlier and hadn't heard back, she also noted that for her own organization, there's a process the group goes through in considering such requests.

"The approach was really wrong,” she said of the Huskies.

It's not the first time a request has come through, she added, and the dog group has given up its time in the mezzanine with an additional date added on at the end of the indoor training season.

In fact, just in January, the kennel club gave up one of its other nights after a request came from organizers of the two B.C. junior hockey games hosted at the Takhini Arena. The approach that group took was quite different.

"They were super-polite,” she said, after pointing out that the dog clubs get last dibs on the space when they work out their contract with the city each fall.

Every year, the four or five dog organizations in Whitehorse sit down with city officials to hash out their schedule for the coming year.

There are some conflicts among the dog clubs that eventually get worked out, she said, adding the relationship between the dog groups and the city has been a positive one.

As Robertson said, the dog groups are a community and work together, often proposing a different dog group for a person looking for classes if their schedule doesn't work.

Dog classes happen all year, with the groups moving to the outdoor training area behind the arena through the summer. With the exception of mushing, dog training has to be conducted indoors through the winter, and the only space in town available is the mezzanine, Robertson said.

Schools used to be an option, but concerns over students' allergies eventually nixed that.

While Yukon College has gym space it makes available on a specific basis, such as for dog shows, it doesn't want the gym booked on a weekly basis.

While Robertson would love to have a space like the former Canadian Tire building on Fourth Avenue, it's just not financially realistic for a non-profit group like the kennel club and other dog groups.

"For actual training, there's nothing (except the mezzanine),” she said.

While Merkel argued his and other organizations bring outsiders to town through hosting hockey tournaments and other events, Robertson was quick to state dog groups like hers do as well.

The kennel club's annual $60,000 dog show, which will mark its 40th anniversary in 2011, draws canine enthusiasts from Alaska, Alberta, Ontario and even Florida, she noted.

The club's weekly classes has one participant visiting from Atlin, B.C. every Sunday, she added, pointing out that she personally spends thousands of dollars on her dogs and training, and volunteers her time for the club, both as president and as a leader in classes.

The rent for the mezzanine space is set at $15 an hour for non-profit groups like the kennel club and $30 an hour for private groups, a rate the kennel club is pleased with.