Well, where have I been?
I hadn’t known that “dock dogs” were a sport unto themselves. There’s even an official website. And the national championships are this month!
If you already knew all about this, then just pat me on the head and wish me well. For the rest of us, there are three categories of competition:
- Extreme Vertical – the high jump. Here’s Ares, a Belgian Malinois who holds the current world record of 7’4″:
Ares goes for the win
Wow! That’s some jump. And look at the focus in those eyes …
- Speed Retrieve – just what it sounds like. The current record-holder is Jordan, a chocolate lab (only 16 months old), with a time of 5.27 seconds. Here she is in action (wearing a custom-designed Speedo):
"Air" Jordan
You can tell she loves it!
- Big Air – the long jump. Country, a greyhound mix, is the current record-holder with a whopping 28’10″ jump. I couldn’t find a pic of him doing his Big Air leap, but here he is during Extreme Vertical:
Country goes vertical
In the Junior Handler category, there’s Hannah Gordon, a 14-year-old from Oregon, who is taking her yellow Labrador, Heidi, to the nationals this month. Heidi holds the junior record in Big Air with a personal best of 25’2″.
Heidi after a jump
Hannah saved money for three years to buy Heidi, who won her first competitions as a 1-year-old in 2006. Congratulations to both of them, and to all the dogs and their handlers, and best of luck to all in the championships this month!
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take a long walk off a short pier. It’s a good day for a swim.
