Have you ever seen dogs competing in agility, herding, flyball, water sports, frisbee freestyle, freestyle dancing or other dog sports and thought, “Boy that sure looks like fun?” Have you ever said “I think that looks like something I would like to do?” Well MARL just might have the perfect dog for you.

When I retired and decided that I could now spend more time on volunteer activities, MARL was the first place I thought of. I have German Wirehaired Pointers and compete in conformation, obedience, hunt tests, field trials, agility and a new sport, freestyle dancing, which is choreographed moves to music. Before I started volunteering I had to promise myself that I would not bring ANY animals home as I have many (4 dogs, 2 cats, 2 horses, 1 bird) of my own. Well, I did really well for a long time, but one morning I walked in and there was this little black and white puppy sitting in a crate staring at me. Normally I give the puppies a greeting and walk back to the kennel and spend my day with the big dogs. But there was something about that puppy!!!!! I held her and the rest is history. People want to know what made me pick her and I can only reply that I didn’t pick her, she picked me.

Now in my defense, three of my dogs are well into retirement (15, 13, and 12 years old) and the fourth has had a cruciate ligament tear and is limited in what she can do so…I really, kind of, sort of , needed a new dog. Anyway, back to Roxie (or Snork as she was named at the Shelter). A skinny puppy wandering alone and lost, lucky enough to have a caring person pick her up and bring her to MARL. She didn’t fit in very well in my home at first. Her Border Collie brain needs constant stimulation and work. Maybe not a perfect choice for a quiet, orderly household but here is a perfect competition dog. She will work all day, is highly food motivated, learns things the first or second time you show her and strongly desires to be with me and to interact with me. She was with me only two weeks and off we went to Camp Gone to the Dogs. We got a good start in agility, Frisbee, herding, flyball and obedience and she even got to try her hand (or paw) at lure coursing. Needless to say, she excelled in every sport (OK she didn’t do so well in her attention class when they hung hotdogs at mouth level) and even at her young age (5 or 6 months) she was happy working a large part of the day.

Many dogs end up in shelters because they are tireless and busy and smart and basically their overloaded families don’t know how to channel all that energy. Are all dogs in shelters Type A personalities? Not by a long shot, most of our dogs at the shelter are wonderful family dogs who would be delighted to hang out and fit into whatever family activity is going on. But if you have room in your home and heart and are interested in interacting with your dog on lots of levels, come in and see us, I bet we have just the dog for you!!!!!!

How does Roxie spend her day? Well, first thing in the morning I try to make sure she gets plenty of exercise, I work on frisbee, throw her ball, I have a complete agility course set up, we work on behaviors, she runs in her fenced in yard with her pals, sometimes if the weather is bad I might throw her ball in the house. Given enough exercise she is pretty mellow the rest of the day. As I type this she is lying under my feet having doggy dreams. I may find her on my bed taking a little nap on her pillow, chewing on one of the many toys I keep in every room, or curled up next to me on the couch. My dogs are first and foremost my pets, they live in my house, sleep on the bed, go almost everywhere I go and are a big part of my life. Competing in dog sports gives you and your dog a special relationship; you become a team working toward a goal and hopefully have a lot of fun along the way.