Nolander manages chamber office and keeps dogs in line

If you've ever visited the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce office on Main Avenue, you've very likely seen Jeanne Nolander, who's served as office manager for the chamber since 2002. But what you probably didn't see was her dog Yogi, a black, 71-pound standard poodle that abides with poise and patience next to Jean's desk as she goes through her workday.

Nolander is deeply committed to her job, but Yogi represents her true calling: working with animals.

Nolander arrived in Sisters from Portland in 2000, eager to abandon city life after 40 years as a secretary for large companies that included RJ Reynolds and Kaiser in Portland and General Foods in New York. It took six months for her to find a job here, and luck was on her side when she answered an ad in The Nugget for an office management job at CATS (Community Action Team of Sisters).

It was a great way to get a foothold in the community, and when the chamber job opened up she fit right in. Over the last five years Jean also established herself as a respected dog trainer, attracting clients from Sisters, Bend, Redmond and beyond.

Nolander unapologetically explains that her approach to dog training is based on her experience raising four children. You wouldn't reward your children for doing things they're expected to do, such as saying please and thank you or straightening up their rooms. But you might give them extra allowance or a special privilege in exchange for doing something beyond the call of duty, like waxing the car or cleaning out the garage.

"The same is true for dogs," she said. "Obeying basic commands like 'sit' and 'stay' is expected. These are not extraordinary acts, and they don't need to be rewarded. Dogs prefer to behave, and, like children, they need to know where they fit in the scheme of things and what's expected of them, whether in a family or the pack. It's different if you're teaching a dog to do something outside the realm of normal behavior, like tricks or agility training. At that level rewards are important."

Jeanne's passion - and compassion - for animals doesn't stop with dogs. She lives in the midst of a 50-acre wildlife area near Holmes Road in Sisters and shares her neighborhood with four other homes and a view of seven mountains. Her two horses are retired thoroughbreds who share their space with three llamas, three cats and, of course, Yogi.

"Coming from New York the only horses I ever saw had policemen sitting on them." Jeanne said. "I never touched a horse until I was 45, but I always loved animals, and when I came to Portland it was a dream of mine to work with horses. I learned from scratch, taking lessons and buying, as many beginners do, a young Arab stud colt because he was small and I thought I'd be afraid of a bigger horse. I was quite naive and didn't realize how difficult and expensive it would be to train him. I did everything backwards. But I learned from those mistakes and eventually ended up boarding and showing horses in dressage. My team was the first to do costume quadrille in the state of Oregon."

Jeanne's job at the chamber keeps her busy organizing volunteers, handling membership issues and managing funds, but what she likes best is helping the visitors who stop in.

She keeps a file of interesting requests and comments that have come in from tourists, ranging from quirky to profound.

One letter asked, "What were those big dogs wearing antlers at the Christmas parade several years ago?" Another was trying to find Angeline's bakery but insisted it was called "Alonzo's." A gentleman from Texas sent a poorly written, misspelled e-mail requesting a "visitor" (referring to a Visitors Guide).

He apologized for his lack of writing ability with the addendum, "This doesn't prove anything about Texans."

Nolander's basic obedience classes for dogs take place every Tuesday night from 6 to 7 p.m. at Sisters Inn and RV Park. Call 923-3600 for details.