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Marie McArdle & Bullet
Oakville, ON  Marie McArdle is the glue that holds Ontario DockDogs together. A familiar face in the crowd with her bouncing black lab Bullet, Marie is now taking on handler role of Bullet as her daugher Paula is sadly moving to Texas! Marie a.k.a. "Momma" is very artistic and crafty, always whipping up something special for the club on her sewing machine or otherwise. Bernadette Beirnes and Meg Bradford, Ontario  Meg's first attempt at dock diving was at Carrotfest 2008, in Bradford. It certainly wasn't the success that we had hoped for, but we did two official dives – 3 feet for the first, and….7 inches for the second. To be totally honest, the 2nd "dive" was actually a "fall in". It became very clear that the focus of the weekend was more about just getting Meg wet rather than getting any kind of distance. With the dock-diving bug deeply planted after CarrotFest, we've been hard at working practicing. We're both looking forward to a new season of dock-diving in 2009 and logging some longer dives! Ellen Schopp & Osier Tonawanda, NY  Osier started dock diving last August and her first jump was into the Erie Canal in North Tonawanda, NY. She loves to jump off the dock to get her "green target duck". Ellen also has a few other exciting dock toys up her sleeve for upcoming "themed" events so watch for her and her leaping lab. Osier also does agility and competes in AKC, CPE, and NADAC. Ellen was recently spotting travelling in the US with Osier to the Fire On The Dock Fest. She's got so many dog sports to take Osier to she feels like a 'hockey mom'! Karen Sandford & Nugget Toronto, ON  Nugget is a gentle soul of quiet disposition who was born on September 9, 2004. Food, retrieving tennis balls and dock diving are his main interests (not necessarily in that order). His reserved demeanour vanishes, however, once he's in the general vicinity of a dock diving pool. Whether he jumps two feet or fourteen (his personal best), this kind and noble Golden Retriever will transform into a showboat extraordinaire as soon as his paws hit the deck and the Wubba is thrown. The now-traditional victory lap around the pool is Nugget's personal trademark. Amanda Wood and Tink & Kessie Pickering, ON  Tink is a four year old Border Collie who tries her best at anything that’s thrown at her. Her first love is agilty, but she loves the water and jumping off the local dock, so we decided to give Dock Dogs a try! She took to it very well, and now that there’s an official big dock close to home, we plan on getting in some practice. She also competes in Disc and is in training for flyball. Kessie is still just a young border collie, and just learning how to swim, but already loves the water. Laura Logronio & Taylor Scarborough, ON .jpg) I am a highly excitable golden retriever who has passed advance obedience much to the amazement of my masters. I have them conned into thinking I am a naughty dog but I can be good when I want to. After my obedience training, I went on to take a trick class but I only perform my tricks selectively for the right audience and the right treat, of course. I spend a significant amount of time with all four paws off the ground, just like the Winnie-the-Pooh character Tigger. My hobbies include chasing the neighbourhood cats, squirrels, and chipmunks, going to the dog park, and believing I can swim as fast as Laura can paddle a kayak. As for my masters, Laura is the Activity Coordinator of a retirement home and Dennis builds medical equipment. Lynda Hixson & Woody Hamilton, ON  Lynda is a diehard DockDogger! A familiar smiling face at all events Lynda always has a kind word and a brownie for all competitors. Her faithful companion "Woody" the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever can be heard before he's seen as he is usually revved up for any water action. You can either find Lynda chasing Woody down after one of his jaunts or giving out ribbons at our club events, often with her very own cheering squad in tow! Sarah and Zakk Hixon are very active with the Ontario DockDogs Club, it's a team effort from the Hixson family!!!! Kendra Clarke & Parker Burlington, ON  Parker is a 3 year old Border Collie/Brittany Spaniel. Parker always loves to have a job. It is not often he will just relax. We have been involved with K9 sports since he was a puppy. Our trainer told us to give dock diving a try two years ago. We gave it a try and loved it. The sport is fun and the people are friendly. Parker received his national senior title last year. We are looking forward to another season of exercise and fun. Kelly Kersey Carlisle, ON  This over enthusiastic dog jumping in our pool is our Black Labrador Retriever Jett (1 year, 8 months). During the summer of 2007 our eldest son and one of his friends were swimming in our pool and Jett jumped in to get the toy they were playing with. Needless to say... the very next thing we taught him was how to use the ladder to get out, which he caught onto very quickly. It turned to be the most fun filled summer for my children, and the dog, have ever had. They were all in the pool every chance they could! When the a friend saw an advertisement for Ontario Dock Dogs, she knew this was the sport for Jett. Jett really enjoys jumping in our pool to retrieve toys and has shown that his can take his retrieving skills to the regulation sized dock. Making their debut performance at Cottage Life then moving on to take a 4th place finish in the Novice Division at Woofstock this dog knows no bounds! Ryan Boutin Lindsay, ON  Ruby is a 2 year old Chocolate Lab that isn't happy unless she's in the water. Her love for Big Air was discovered last March while retrieving her chew from our local pond (a pool noodle wrapped in a piece of Crazy Carpet and duct tape). Since then she has competed in several events earning a senior title while being cheered on by her biggest fans Brandon, Emma and Sawyer. Ruby has improved by leaps and bounds moving her way through the ranks...she's gearing up for that Master title and the elusive 20 foot mark for the 2008 DockDogs season. Watch out boys! Kim Rushnell & Willow Manilla, ON  Willow is an 8 year old American Staffordshire who was rescued by her mom from the Clarington Rescue Connection in 2000. Willow is a 'Velcro dog' and has bouts of separation anxiety despite living with multiple pets including a dog and 4 cats. She is often referred to as the dog who loves too much. An avid swimmer, Willow swims in a large spring fed pond at home from early spring until late fall. She is obsessed and often has to be dragged out and made to take a rest. Her favorite water toy is the water Kong and she swims so fast she leaves a wake. Joining Dock dogs will allow Willow to show off her form and provide her with more opportunities for socialization in the hopes that she will not worry so much when left alone. Wendy O'Leary & Rocket London, ON  Wendy's husband is ex-military so they have moved around a fair bit, decided to retire in London 17 years ago because that is where she grew up. Wendy works as an Administrative Assistant for the London Police Service. She is obsessed with Irish Water Spaniels as she has two of them. The oldest one does not like water however so she will not be competing. However Sky is a St John's Therapy Dog. Rocketman is the first puppy they have had in 14 years (oh how you forget) but he is very high drive so they keep trying to find outlets for his energy. Wendy has two kids, three grandchildren and two dogs, her life is full. Karin Apfel & Storm Bradford, ON  Karin is an obedience and flyball instructor who just acquired a rescued Malinois that needed a job. Storm has some fear of humans issues to work through, and dock dogs gives her the opportunity to be around people while still having a great time. Storm loves water and loves retrieving. Storm won Speed Retrieve the newest discipline at DockDogs at the Cottage Life Show and is looking for more dock action this summer. Sarah-Simone Welland, ON  Sarah-Simone, 13, is a junior handler from Welland Ontario. Her Crazy Jack Pack has become addicted to this sport since starting in Binbrook in August 2007. Most commonly you can see her jumping her rescue JRT, Forrest Gumpy who started with a jump of 9'10" and quickly found his springs. He earned his senior title and is well on his way to a Masters title with a top jump of 20'6". Who said a little guy can't fly! The pair has also managed to finish in the top 4 at three National events this year. Sarah also enjoys diving with one of her smaller rescues, Cpt. Jack. He is not a huge jumper but with a top jump of 9'3" they are having a ball. Sarah sometimes even lets little brother Garrett handle the little guy once in a while. This season Sarah-Simone hopes to be back out with Forrrest Gumpy , Cpt. Jack and maybe even finally get little Shella off that dock. Debbie Browning & Chablis Toronto, ON  Chablis is a sweet little Golden Retriever, and maybe just a bit of a princess, but don't let that pretty face fool you. When it comes to dock diving, she's high drive and all business. When introduced to the sport, she was rather hesitant at first, but once she realized there was retrieving and swimming involved, she never looked back, gaining confidence and distance with every jump. "Bumper, bumper, bumper.....where's my bumper, bumper, bumper!!!" Beth and Scotty Crawford Niagara Falls, ON  Beth and Scotty live in Niagara Falls with their two White Shepherds, Trooper (5yrs) and Indy (1yr). They began their DockDogs careers at the Welland docks and jumped big at their first event in Binbrook. Trooper jumps in the novice division, he doesn't go too far but his style makes up for lack of distance and he will never miss a chance to jump and always is the first to encourage his companion, Indy, to jump farther! Indy improved with leaps and bounds this year with his last and longest jump recorded at 11'7". He is very eager to try again as soon as we get to another event. In practice he likes to have someone throw the ball --but if I am not fast enough he will throw his own ball and dive after it! When we're not on the docks we can often be found with the dogs along the Niagara parkway. Sometimes just for a change Trooper likes to retreive rocks from the bottom of the river, but wherever we are with the dogs if there is water, the two of them are in it.--swimming, wading or just splashing. Heather McLeod Weston, Ontario  Heather McLeod, after an extensive background in the Performance Muscle Car and Drag Racing Industry (!), got hooked on dogs eight years ago. Heather’s first dog, Sierra, started the domino effect. Heather now has four dogs in her "pack". |
Blair Holierhoek & Jesse
Vineland, ON .jpg) Jesse and I are new to any type of dog sports. After watching Jesse launch off the dock at the cottage I thought she was going to be the next DockDog superstar. Apparently it's not as easy as it looks because Jesse spent her first event staring at the water and refusing to jump. It took A LOT of indoor practice during the winter months to get her off the dock. Now she consistently jumps over 20 feet and has an EV personal best of 6'5" making her one of the top EV dogs in Canada. Not bad for a 2 year old female that wouldn't jump less than a year ago. It is safe to say we are hooked on the sport, we attend every Ontario event and travel to the States on a regular basis to compete. We enjoy DockDogs so much I recently purchased another lab puppy! Todd Fetzer & Jazz East Aurora, NY  Todd and Jazz are a familiar face on the Ontario DockDogs scene. First seen at an Ontario event last year they made waves at the Spring Cottage Life Show with a personal best jump of 22'7", good enough for a second place finish in the semi-pro finals. The Fetzers decided that Ontario DockDogs was for them and joined the crew shortly afterwards and are now regulars, making a stop at WOOFSTOCK, with Todd trying his hand at announcing and doing a GREAT job! #1 Cheerleader and head of their pack is Todd's wife Sue who reins both guys in when they get too wild! With an elite jump looming in their future who knows what the rest of the season will bring for this dynamic duo. Christine Attridge Hardy & Silken Burlington, ON  Christine works as a Vet Assistant at Park Road Veterinary Clinic in Brantford ON. Christine also does a lot of Fundraising for the Farley Foundation through the Clinic. Christine had two wonderful male Labs Teddy a Yellow and Shamus a Black Lab. That is when the family became Lab lovers. In the spring of 2006 one of the Clinic's clients came in with 8 Black Lab puppies to be checked over before finding new homes for them. One of those puppies made its way to Paris, ON to live with Christine's family. A beautiful black female named Silken became a member of the family within seconds of coming into the house. Silken lives with her older brother a Chocolate Lab named Stogie. Unfortunately Stogie does not do the water thing. Christine and Silken got started with Dock Dogs, August of 2007 in Binbrook ( the bug bit that weekend big time). Silken is also in the process of training for Fly ball with Christine's mother. With a jump of only 1.8 and 1.10 last year in Binbrook and 4 jumps in Pickering, Christine and Silken hope to make progress by leaps and jumps in 2008. With the tons of energy Silken has, I am sure that she and Christine can surpass all expectations that they have set for themselves. Christine is a regular on the Ontario DockDogs circuit and can be found cheerfully handing out ribbons to our competitors or giving a friendly smile to new comers. Kyla Ballard & Dash Kitchener, Ont  Dash is a 4yr old Border Collie. He was a rescue dog, found running loose in Winnipeg MB out in the country. I adopted him in the summer of 2005 when he was approx 1yr old, and he has been my faithful friend ever since!! He is an incredible dog, always amazing me at his willingness to learn and please. He does everything I ask with all the effort he has, 110% all the time! He also loves to cuddle on the couch tho too!! He is such a joy to live and train with and I am grateful for him every day. Luke Zubick, Logan & Sky London, ON  Luke and Logan burst onto the scene in March of this year, getting a crash course in dockdiving at the Cottage Life Show. Logan has shown flashes of brilliance this year, enough to have Luke drive him all over the country side from event to event. Luke is an active club member who makes a mean chocolate chip cookie! Luke has recently expanded his dog family to include a young puppy named Sky. This family is addicted to dock diving, but who can blame them! Evelyne Bertrand & Lady and Major St. Catharines, ON  Evelyne has been married for 32 years and has 2 wonderful grown children. All of her children have grown up with dogs. Today she owns two beautiful Border Collies. Lady, the female, is 2 1/2 years old and Major, the male, just turned 2 in December. Both of them have been in obedience school. Lady and Major are taking herding classes and Major did Agility. Like any Border Collies, they love to learn new things everyday. Major loves running after everything that they throw.They keep them on their toes and they can't wait to get out there and meet new people and try to do some diving! Karen & Mark Larocque & Bond Maitland, ON  Bond is a two year old Australian Shepherd who became part of our family when he was seven months old. We were brought together through ARPH (Aussie Rescue Placement Helpline), although he is not a true rescue dog he was offered to us by an Australian Shepherd breeder from North Bay who works with the program. We needed a very special dog since I depend on a wheelchair for my mobility, we wanted a dog who would respect me and help me when I need it and Bond is that dog. I have trained him to be my service dog and he is always there to help me, he never leaves my side. Mark and I own a boat and we spend every weekend out on the beautiful St. Lawrence River so Bond has been exposed to water since his first summer with us. He is totally obsessed with the water and is in it every chance he gets, whether it's diving off of the back of our boat or off a dock, if it involves water he is in it, no questions asked. Last September Mark, Bond and I went to Winchester to watch a dock dogs competition. After watching the qualifying for about half an hour we decided to enter Bond. It was not our intention to compete, but we decided what the heck, Bond loves to dive, so what have we got to lose. Well he dove four times from a stand still (Mark could not get him to run) and his biggest dive was 11'4 so he ended up finishing 15th! Since we all enjoyed the DockDogs experience so much we decided to join the Ontario club and have some more fun this year! We can't wait to get out there and meet new people and do some diving! Melissa Doldron & Simba Ajax, ON  Melissa and Simba have a motto that they'll try any dog sport once! Melissa enjoys the fun and camaraderie that Dock Dogs brings! Not having a "traditional" water dog...well, that's quite a challenge! Never one to back away from a challenge, Melissa hopes with each new event Simba will see what all the fuss is about and launch into his dock diving career! Until then, Simba has become an honorary member of the ODD Fun Police! When he's not chillin' poolside, Simba enjoys the other dog sport of agility, running leash-free at the dog park and snuggling up under a blanket with anyone willing to cuddle! Jen Vedder, Mark Latham & Junta Fonthill, ON Junta is obsessed with the water. It wasn't hard to get her started. Last spring we brought her to the Welland Canal just to see if she would jump off the dock... well it didn't take much... and she kept going and going and going. She's the type of dog that will play frisbee for seven hours straight, which she did last summer in my brothers backyard. She has an insane amount of energy. We love her to death. She is just over 2 years old now.
Jennifer and Junta are a wonderful team that always seem to be smiling. With a unique and effective throwing style this pair is always a crowd favourite when they are leaping off the dock. The whole family comes to events to cheer Junta on including their young son the newest dockdiver in the family. Judy Vodden & Lenny Oshawa, ON  Lenny is a Black Lab mix and was rescued from the Stratford OSPCA in Sep 2006. He now resides with his mom, Judy Vodden, in Oshawa, ON. This team got hooked on Dock Diving in 2007 at the Ontario DockDogs event in Binbrook (near Hamilton) at the beginning of August. Lenny posted a surprising personal best of 12'1". Since then, he has improved in leaps & bounds - literally!! He earned his Regional Novice title at Binbrook, then went on to earn his National Senior title. Lenny now has 3 legs towards his National Master title. He finished the 2007 season with a new personal best of 21'7" which he jumped in the Winchester event at the end of Sept. He is known at Dock Diving events as "Long-legged Lenny" and/or "Leapin' Lenny". Lenny has recently discovered Extreme Vertical. Kristina Bailey Bradford, ON  Kris and her two Border Collies are involved in a variety of dog sports. They can be seen performing with DogSmart Performance Team and playing flyball with Hair Trigger Flyball Team. Askum - 5yrs is a rescue from Border Collie Rescue of Ontario and only does kiddie pools, "If I can't touch the bottom, I am not going in". Then there is Panic - 2 1/2yrs, Blue Merle Border Collie who gives 150% to anything he attempts. Panic's first event was at Dog Days of Scugog, it took a little time, but then once he saw how much fun his cousin Jynx was having he gave it a go, and whaooooo, he got 3 qualifying novice jumps. We can only get better from this point on, so here is to big jumps and meeting new friends. Stephanie Hounsell Fort Erie, ON  Phoebe is a very unique beagle; dock diving is her newest passion - a very close #2 to Flyball, her absolute favorite sport. Thanks to Melissa for bringing the competition close to home, Phoebe has now found a new place to compete. Phoebe has grown up loving the water; we swim for fitness, and one day I tried to get her to jump off a dock at the lake, and she did it... I was surprised! Ever since she has enjoyed jumping into the water. Our technique may not be the best, but with time and practice I am sure she will improve. Phoebe also excels and has titles in Flyball, Agility, and Rally Obedience. Dawn Farah Bradford, ON  Jynx is a three year old border collie/JRT mix, who was born to fly. She took to dock diving like a duck to water, with almost no training. Dawn & Jynx do agility and Frisbee with the DogSmart Performing Dogs and compete with the Hair Trigger Flyball Team, but their favourite, by far, is dock diving. Jynx showed off her dock diving skills at last years Big Air Show at the Toronto Sportsman's Show, and hopes to make the cut again this year. She was also named Lap Dog of the Year for 2007 by the National DockDogs organization. So far, Jynx has excelled at everything she has tried - a true dream dog. Paula Czach Houston, TX  Paula has been relocated to the state of Texas but is still an Ontario DockDogger at heart! Her two dogs Murphy and Zeke compete in Obedience, Flyball and Agility with her black lab Murphy (almost 9 yrs) finishing his OTCh last year and her chocolate lab Zeke (6 yrs) completing his CD and CDX. This year Zeke managed to make it off the dock 5 times finishing his Novice Jumper club title. Paula also jumps "Momma's" dog Bullet who lives to fly off a dock. On their first weekend out they finished a Senior Jumper title placing 5th with a personal best of 20’4”. Melissa Vig
Niagara Falls, ON  Melissa Vig is owned by "a few" black and white dogs.....some Border Collies, a Jack Russell and a Sheltie. Melissa started "in dogs" when she got her first dog, a Sheltie named Kelsey, at the age of twelve. Since then she has gone on to perfect her training and grooming skills and made this her career choice. Melissa and her boyfriend, Mike Lombardi, own and operate Metro Muttz Dog Training. In addition to dock dogs, Melissa is also heavily involved in several dog sports such as Flyball, Agility, Freestyle, Disc Dog and Obedience. Melissa's dogs have also appeared in several commercials, print ads and done film work for Nickelodeon at Universal Studios. Melissa, Mike and the .pack of black and white dogs are all looking forward to another fun season by the dock. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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