2021 DockDogs Season Recap and World Championship Invitations

Tomorrow we leave for our road trip to Iowa for the 2021 DockDogs World Championship! We are beyond excited to embark on this grand adventure and overjoyed that we will be able to spend time with our dockdogs family – some who we haven’t seen since pre-Covid!! We will miss our Canadian dockdogs family immensely. 

We chose to skip the trip in 2020 due to neither of us being vaccinated yet for Covid, so regardless of how our pups perform, we are just content and thankful that we will be able to go this year, and our focus is on gratitude and having fun with our pups! Brian and I are very proud of our pack considering they only competed in a couple of National events and still qualified for the world championship. Although our pups each earned multiple invitations, we chose to decline some and accept only a limited number. This will lessen our load at Worlds and allow us to focus more on Porter, Martini, and spending time with friends after a rough season.

2021 DockDogs World Championship Invitations

Just some of the reasons we are so proud of our team this year:

💛Limoncello

After a mandatory retirement in 2018 due to advanced Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Cello miraculously had a complete recovery in 2019 and was cleared to compete with no restrictions. Although her DCM has resurfaced and she is on a restricted activity schedule with limited jumping at events, she still managed to earn a Big Air invitation and will be competing at the World Championship in the Legend Division (this division is for 10-11yr old dogs). 

💚Hooch

I scratched Hooch the weekend Rita passed away so with the limited events we attended this year he did not have enough scores in Extreme Vertical, or Iron Dog to be ranked worldwide in these disciplines. This year at the World Championship he will be be competing in Big Air / Master Division.

  • Ranked dockdogs #1 GSP Worldwide in Big Air (an amazing accomplishment for the 4th time in his career!!)
  • Ranked dockdogs #1 GSP Worldwide in Speed Retrieve 
Photo is from a previous season. Photo credit: Nancy Miller

🇺🇸Lager

Lager’s excitement for the dock is just as vibrant as when he participated in his first dockdogs event back in 2015. His enthusiasm is a daily inspiration for us. This year at the World Championship he will be competing in Big Air / Veteran Division (This division is for dogs 8-9yrs old). Lager will also be competing as in Iron Dog in the Titan Division. 

Photo credit: Precise Image Creations

💜Whiskey

Wish the Fish started off strong and even though we still don’t have a set routine in place for the dock, she began the season by jumping off the dock in less than 30 seconds, and earned her World Championship invitation in her first 2021 competition. By her second competition she was back to her dock shenanigans and more interested in entertaining the crowd with her zoomies on the dock. She has qualified for the World Championship each year since 2018, but has never actually jumped in the pool at the event… so finger crossed we will have a wet Whiskey at Worlds this year! 

Photo is from a previous season. Photo credit: Nancy Miller

💙Porter 

Porter has spent this season taking over the position of Team-Attention-Glommer, and he’s done a darn good job of it! He has very much enjoyed the naps, head scratches and belly rubs from all who took time out of their 2021 competitions to visit with him at our team canopy. After nearly losing him during a status epilepticus episode 10 months ago, we are beyond grateful for the added time we have been granted and are very excited for him to make his second trip to the World Championship.

🧡Jägermeister 

Nothing but excitement for this boy! He was surrendered due to his epilepsy, and not only been seizure-free for over a year now, but he has also fell in love with the sport of dock diving! This was also only his first year competing in National events! During his first DockDogs World Championship, Jägermeister will be competing in Big Air / Senior Division, and Speed Retrieve / Turbo Divsion. 

  • Ranked dockdogs #1 GSP Worldwide in Iron Dog (a combination of all 3 disciplines) 
  • Ranked dockdogs #3 GSP Worldwide in Extreme Vertical 
  • Ranked dockdogs #3 GSP Worldwide in Speed Retrieve

Photo credit: Precise Image Creations

💠Martini

Martini attended her very first DockDogs competition in September and did a wonderful job amongst all the commotion. We think she actually felt more comfortable being around a big group of dogs, as she came from a large kennel situation prior to being saved by Pointer Rescue Organization. We are hopeful that she will feel just as secure at Worlds, but it will be a new environment, which could be challenging. Thankfully we will be able to watch her closely thanks to our limited competition schedule. 

💖Margarita

Sweet Reet, you were THE BEST Cheerleader any team could ever ask for. This is the first World Championship without you. I will miss painting your little piggy toes pink in preparation for the event, so I will be painting mine pink in your honor. We will miss you dearly, but also know that you will be by our sides in spirit. You will forever be the team MVP in our hearts.

Team Bling

Between trying to cope with the loss of Rita and dealing with the major construction at the house, we chose to skip the Worlds bling this year.  The bling (team trading cards, decals, shirts)  is my job so I’ll take full “blame” for it. Part of it was me not wanting to accept having to adjust our logo (don’t worry- Rita will still be on the future cards, shirts and decals!)… and part of it was just way too much construction mayhem – – the dogs having to be cooped up during the long construction hours creating not enough construction-free-time in the day to exercise them and still get other things done.  With the permission of GSP Rescue of NJ & Pointer Rescue Organization, I do plan to do a (newly designed) Liver Killers T-shirt fundraiser for the rescues when I am able to update our logo… so stay tuned! 

Our Team will be wearing their new EMM Loans sponsored Super Fly Suits that also have Margarita’s angel wings embroidered on them to help our pups fly!


Over the next week or so we hope you join us on our pack’s biggest adventure of 2021 by following along on our team’s Facebook and Instagram pages!

Dog Days of Summer Wild Card Double Header: North Ridgeville, Ohio

Such an emotional weekend with so SO much to be thankful for. Although many tears were shed as we spent the weekend at the same facility that we competed at when we lost our Sweet Reet, we shared just as many if not more laughs and celebrations with our dock dogs family. This community is truly amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with everyone. Congratulations and great job to all competitors who participated throughout this weekend… and a HUGE thank you to Christine at Canine Superheroes as well as dockdogs staff Linda, Sean, and Joe for a safe, fun, and well-run event …we very much appreciate all of your hard work!

Limoncello

Cello looked pretty as usual as she paddled through the air and jumped exceptionally well despite limited dock time (doctor’s orders due to her decline in heart health and some arthritis).

  • Big Air:
    • 14’7″
    • 15’4″

Hooch

Hooch has steadily been jumping in the 21-22 feet range for quite some time now, but busted out a 23’8” jump this weekend, and earned several 1st place medals for his Big Air jumps.

  • Big Air:
    • 23’8″ 2nd Place Master Division
    • 22’11” 1st Place Master Division
    • 22’3″ 1st Place Master Division
    • 22’2″ 2nd Place Master Division
    • 22’7″ 1st Place Master Division
  • Speet Retrieve:
    • 7.795 seconds
    • 6.997 seconds

Lager

Lager did well in Big Air and took first place in Speed Retrieve Round 1 (Turbo Division). He also thoroughly enjoyed competing in Dueling Dogs.

  • Big Air:
    • 18’1″
    • 18’10”
    • 18’5″
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 7.054 seconds 1st Place Turbo Division
Lager competing in Dueling Dogs (Lager is on the right)

Whiskey

Wish the Fish took 59.999 seconds out of the allotted 60 seconds…but jumped 4 out of the 6 times she was on the dock, and of course entertained the crowd with her dock antics (multiple times she decided zoomies on the dock was much more fun than jumping in the pool)!

  • Big Air:
    • 7’6″
    • 6’7″ 1st Place Novice Division
    • 6’9″ 2nd Place Novice Division
    • 7’5″ 1st Place Novice Division

Porter

PoPo was thrilled to play with a puppy and 2 adorable children two days in a row and did a great job of glomming attention and pets from everyone he could. He even took a nap with Justin from team Malinois Mania DockDiving! As a token of his gratitude, he left each visitor with enough Po hair on clothing to make their own take-home mini Porter souvenir.

Jägermeister

Jäger did well in competition, and took first place in Speed Retrieve Round 2 (Turbo Division). He quickly made himself well-known with the crowd as he decided that he enjoyed staying IN the pool was way more fun than getting out.

  • Big Air:
    • 18’9″ 3rd Place Senior Division
    • 20’7″
    • 19’5″ 2nd Place Senior Division
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 7.823 seconds
    • 7.002 1st Place Turbo Division
  • Extreme Vertical:
    • 4’6″
  • Iron Dog:
    • 2739.21 points 5th Place Warrior Division

Martini

Tini did WONDERFULLY- she was confident in her crate under our team canopy, welcomed visitors sitting outside of her crate, and also accepted treats from new people. Special thanks to the kind, amazing (and very patient) people who sat on the ground next to her crate and helped our Tini Beanie tremendously.

Liver Killer Bling

Remembering Reet

The number of people Margarita touched in her short time with us continues to amaze us. Rita’s passing was a devastating loss and the tributes to her as well as the support we continue to receive is beyond appreciated and will never be forgotten. Thank you to all of you at Canine Superheroes this weekend.

Team Malinois Mania had a special collar made for their pup, Scout to wear in honor of Sweet Reet!

All competitors at the event tossed a lei in the competition pool in honor of Margarita as the song “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John played over the event speakers.

Canine Superheroes Spring Splash Wild Card; North Ridgeville, Ohio



I’ve been avoiding this post like the plague. This is the dock diving event where we had to help Sweet Reet cross the rainbow bridge. It was this event that crippled me and the reason the my blogged diary of memories here on Cello’s Corner is more than 2 years behind.


There are no words to express the amount of gratitude I have for the outpour of love and support Brian and I received for the loss of our Sweet Reet on June 12, 2021. As severely devastating as it has been, It is equally overwhelmingly heartwarming to see just how many people she’s touched both near and far.

I want to thank everyone at Canine Superheroes Foundation for your assistance, kindness and support during a very difficult time for us. Losing Margarita was extremely devastating. It was unsettling not to be home – but it was also a blessing to be surrounded by so many people who not only understand the pain I was feeling, but who truly are extended family. My immediate reaction with the loss of Margarita was to pack up and go home. Those of you who talked me in to staying – Those of you who talked me into getting back up on the dock with Hooch and Whiskey – Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It was the best medicine for me – and more importantly the best therapy for the rest of our pack. Our 6 other fur-kids needed us too. The competition dogs KNEW they were at a competition and wanted to compete…Porter loved being outside and glomming attention from handlers in between their jumps…and someone always found a way -directly or indirectly- to make us smile or laugh in between my continuous ugly-crying breakdowns. It was truly the most supportive environment our entire family could have been in – it was the DockDogs community at its finest.

The last couple of photos I took of Margarita:

I also wanted to share some of the happy moments with the rest of the pack. The few photos and video I have are included as well.

Limoncello enjoyed her now mandated “once a day” jumps on Friday and Sunday and looked prettier ever up on that dock. With scratching all jumps on Saturday, she will not be eligible for a World Championship invite

Hooch and Jenny had a great time on the dock prior to the passing of Margarita, but with scratching all jumps on Saturday, he will not be eligible for a World Championship invite

Lager did well in Big Air but continues to have some difficulty in Extreme Vertical. With scratching jumps, he will not be eligible for a World Championship invite.

Wish the Fish managed not only to jump all three necessary jumps to be eligible for a World Championship invite in the Novice Division, BUT, she jumped in the pool in under 30 seconds each time compared to her usual 59.999 second circus show on the dock AND jumped a consistent 7ft + a few inches! She earned an invite to the DockDogs World Championships

Porter enjoyed spending time hanging out at the camper on our patio mat and demanding attention from anyone that passed by and dispensing ridiculous amounts of Po hair onto everyone to take home as a “gift”

Jägermeister had a spectacular time and placed third in Iron Dog (Warrior Division) with Brian which secured a World Championship invitation for him.

Wags & Wine at Windmill Creek Winery; Berlin, MD




What an amazing weekend in May of 2021! It was so wonderful to be together with so many of our Dock Diving friends. Windmill Creek was beautiful and the wine was delicious!

Margarita

Our team won a 50/50 raffle plus 2 of our dogs placed in finals so The Liver Killers were able to raise a total donation of $660 for rescue!


Limoncello

Cello enjoyed 2 Big Air waves this weekend and her jumps were pretty as always! Cello recently had a change in her Dilated Cardiomyopathy, so her jumps are limited at the moment.


Hooch

•3rd Place Big Air Finals / Elite Division


Lager

•5th Place Iron Dog / Titan Division


Whiskey

•3rd Place Big Air Finals / Novice Division

•New Personal Best jump: 9’9”


Jägermeister

•1st Place Speed Retrieve / Express Division

•5th Place Big Air Finals / Masters Division

•New Personal Best jump: 21’2”


Margarita: Team Cheerleader

Rita enjoyed touring the vineyard grounds and napping under the shade of our team canopy.


Porter: Team Manager

PoPo enjoyed rides in the golf cart and exploring in the campground dog park.

Jumping into Fall: Bennington, VT

This was our 2nd and last dock diving competition in 2020 due to the cancellations of events and restrictions during the Covid 19 pandemic. This was also Jägermeister’s first camping trip.

Limoncello

  • Big Air
    • 17’11”
    • 17’10”
    • 19’7″
    • Finals: 19’2″

Hooch

  • Big Air
    • 22’1″
    • 23’2″ / 1st Place Elite Division
    • Finals: 22’3″ / 3rd Place Elite Division
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’8″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 7.081 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2903.58 points / 4th Place Gladiator Division

Lager

  • Big Air
    • 18’7″
    • 19’6″
    • 19’9″
    • 20’6″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 7.226 seconds / 3rd Place Turbo Division

Margarita

Rita enjoyed naps under the team canopy and lounging on her couch-bed in the camper

Whiskey

  • Big Air
    • 4’8″
    • 7’0″
  • Finals: Timed-out / Novice Division

Porter

Porter enjoyed snoozing under the team canopy.

Jägermeister

  • Big Air
    • 18’5″ (with Jenny)
    • 17’10” (with Brian)
    • 19’4″ (with Jenny) / 1st Place Senior Division
    • 18’2″ (with Brian) / 2nd Place Senior Division
    • 18’1″ (with Jenny)
    • 12’9″ (with Jenny)
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 7.559 seconds (with Brian)

Splash Down at Splashes-N-Wags: Bennington, VT

The pups visited Vermont for the first time and competed at the Splashes -N-Wags facility in Bennington, VT. It wasn’t their best showing, but after being cooped up with the Covid-19 quarantine, we were thrilled to see our friends (at a safe distance) and have fun with our pups! We were also happy to be able to camp onsite!

Limoncello

  • Big Air
    • 18’7″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 4’6″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 8.375 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2619.13 points

Hooch

  • Big Air
    • 20’10”
    • 20’9″
    • 21’6″
    • Semi-Pro Finals: 20’8″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’8″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 6.696 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2906.85 points

Lager

  • Big Air
    • 18’4″
    • 18’8″
    • 19’1″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’8″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 6.786 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2872.53 Points / 2nd Place Overall Titan Division

Margarita

Margarita enjoyed taking walks around the facility and afternoon naps in the camper!

Whiskey

  • Big Air
    • 5’9″
    • 7’8″
    • 7’0″
    • 4’7″
    • 4’8″
YES! She jumped!!!!!!

Porter

Porter enjoyed snoozing in the shade under the team canopy.

Dock Diving a little differently with Covid-19 restrictions in place

2019 DockDogs World Championship: Dubuque, Iowa

Our 5th year attending the DockDogs World Championship was fun and exciting! We want to congratulate all competitors for the accomplishment of making it to Worlds, and for the amazing performances of all your dogs! It was quite amazing to see world records being broken in person! We also would like to applaud all those who made finals! It was an honor to share the dock with you all!

First and foremost, we are beyond grateful that our pack had no health issues or injuries throughout the competition. We had an absolute blast playing with our pups and spending time with friends – both old and new. Four straight 8-hour long competition days was a lot to ask of our pups, and we are extremely proud of both their endurance and performance. Above all, our hearts are filled with joy to have seen our pups have fun all week long doing what they love best.

Limoncello

We could not have been more excited to see this little Dock Diving Diva back up on the dock! After a forced medical retirement, Limoncello kicked heart-disease-butt and was cleared to compete again. She did an amazing job during her competitions!

Hooch

Brian and I could not be more proud…Hooch is the 2019 #1 ranked German Shorthaired Pointer!

We did not make it to the Gala since were were worried about leaving Porter at night. I regret not being able to be there in person to accept Hooch’s award, but after the year our pack had, just being at the World Championship was a blessing. Hooch’s achievement of the #1 ranking is an awesome bonus! Hooch, you are an amazing little dude…it has been my honor to be on the dock with you. I love you, buddy!

For those of you who don’t know Hooch very well, he started out as a pup scared of the water, then branded his signature “Hoochie Hop” ….and then quickly evolved into a pretty impressive jumper, earning DockDogs Most Improved Dog his first year if competition, as well as the #1 GSP 3 times now. Below is the link to the video of his progression from not jumping at all to soaring over 24 feet at 1 year old!

(Sound on)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ozKP80iglCU

Lager

Lager had an impressive showing, and was very close to making finals this year!

Margarita

We very much appreciate all those who took the time to stop and say hello to Margarita while she was out-and-about since she was under the impression that it was her job to greet EVERYone in the competition arena!

Whiskey

Whiskey may not have gotten wet at the World Championship, but she sure won over the crowd with her shenanigans on the dock!

Porter

A HUGE heartfelt thank you to all those who stopped to say hello to Porter, asking how he was doing, and to those who kept an extra eye on him in Dog Town while we were on the competition floor. 

Delmarva Dockdogs Jumpin’ Into Jersey at the Ocean County Decoy Festival; Tuckerton, NJ

💛Limoncello

  • Big Air
    • 19’2″
    • 19’6″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’0″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 9.644 seconds
  • Iron Dog:
    • 2551.98 points / 3rd Place Warrior Division

💚Hooch

  • Big Air
    • 22’7″
    • 21’4″
    • Elite Division Finals: 23’0″ / 2nd Place
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 6’6″ / 2nd Place Top Gun Division
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 6.657 seconds / 2nd Place Nitro Division
  • Iron Dog
    • 2980.04 points / 1st Place Gladiator Division

❤️Lager

  • Big Air
    • 21’1″
    • 21’3″ / 3rd Place Master
    • Master Division Finals: 19’9″ / 6th Place
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’10”
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 8.209 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2823.56 points / 3rd Place Titan Division

💖Margarita

Margarita enjoyed an ice cream treat!

💜Whiskey

  • Big Air
    • 4’4″ / 1st Place Novice Division

💙Porter

Porter enjoyed an ice cream treat!

Liver Killer Bling

Booker D. Surfdog Endless BBQ Tour: Wildwood, NJ

This is the first dock diving competition that we have seen on the beach, so we decided to take the hour long ride with just Hooch and Porter to check it out.

Hooch didn’t do his best, but it was neat to compete on the beach with the Atlantic Ocean as our backdrop!


  • Big Air
    • 21’10”
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 6’0″ Third Place Top Gun
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 7.081 seconds
  • Iron Dog Points
    • 2917.77 points
We got to see Booker D. Surfdog as well!
Porter enjoyed his wagon ride on the beach!

Dog Days of Summer Wild Card Double Header: North Ridgeville, OH

The last week in August 2019 we took a ride out to North Ridgeville, OH for Cello to participate in her second event of the year in order to qualify for the World Championship after her first event back-in-action where she rocked the dock in Canada!

We were able to camp on-site at the competition

💛Limoncello

  • Big Air
    • 18’6″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’0″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 7.942 seconds
  • Iron Dog
    • 2722.2 points / 3rd Place Warrior Division
      • ***Invitation to the World Championship!

💚Hooch

  • Big Air
    • 21’10”
    • 21’2″
    • 20’3″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 6’0″
  • Speed Retrieve
    • 6.654 seconds / 3rd Place Nitro Division
  • Iron Dog
    • 2938.99 points / 1st Place Gladiator Division

❤️Lager

  • Big Air
    • 20’2″
  • Extreme Vertical
    • 5’8″
Lager competing in “Dueling Dogs”

💖Margarita

Margarita enjoyed an ice cream treat while cheering on her brothers and sisters!

💜Whiskey

  • Big Air
    • 2’3″
    • 2’6″
    • 1’4″

💙Porter

Porter enjoyed an ice cream treat with Margarita!

K9 Central Wild Card Double Header: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

Our favorite trip and event of the year… K9 Central!

Limoncello

This was Limoncello’s first DockDogs event since she was released from medical retirement!

Big Air

20’2″

20’0″ 2nd Place

18’11”

Extreme Vertical:

5’4″

Speed Retrieve

2609.18 seconds

Iron Dog

2609.18 points

Hooch

Big Air

22’5″

24’9″ Second Place Elite

24’3″ First Place Elite

22’8″

Finals: 23’2″ 4th Place

Extreme Vertical:

6’4″

Speed Retrieve

2999.86 seconds Second Place Nitro

Iron Dog

2999.86 points 1st Place Gladiator

Lager

Big Air

21’7″ 2nd Place Master

21’1″ 2nd Place Master

21’2″ 1st Place Master

Finals: 20’6″ 2nd place

Extreme Vertical:

5’10”

Speed Retrieve

7.927 seconds

Iron Dog

2848.51 points

Margarita

Margarita enjoyed taking long walks around the property.

Whiskey

Big Air

8’1″

7’5″

6’2″ 2nd Place Novice

7’10” 1st Place Novice

Porter

Porter enjoyed chilling with his Pop!

Hog Dog Daze 2019

With Cello cleared for coming out of retirement, we decided we should celebrate by finding the nearest dock diving competition and letting Cello have some fun with what she loves best. So many of our friends came out to the event in Cello’s honor…it was such an amazing weekend!

Ultimate Air Dogs runs their events a bit differently than DockDogs, and also has some different games for the dogs to play.

Limoncello

Cello came out of retirement in full force! She jumped over 20 feet to earn herself a spot in finals!

Splashes:

  • 19’6″
  • 19’8″
  • 19’6″
  • 21’1″

Chase It:

  • 8.45 seconds

Finals:

  • 22’0″ 3rd Place

Hooch

Splashes:

  • 23’2″
  • 21’9″
  • 22’4″

Finals:

  • 23’11” 2nd Place

Lager

Splashes:

  • 19’9″
  • 20’1″
  • 18’1″20’2″

Chase It:

  • 7.12 seconds

Margarita

Margarita enjoyed napping in the shade, and playing with her stuffed toys on the camper. 

Whiskey

Whiskey earned her self a personal best of 8’7” , made Finals, and actually jumped off the dock (instead of timing-out) for the first time in Finals!

Splashes:

  • 7’0″
  • 6’8″
  • 7’9″
  • 8’7″ ***New Personal Best!

Finals:

  • 6’7″ 3rd Place

Porter

Porter enjoyed walking the perimeter of the facility and meeting a bunch of new people. 

K9 Fun Zone 3rd Annual Wild Card Double Header; Caledonia, Ontario, Canada

We’ve had a rough start to the season between Porter’s seizures and Margarita’s Lymphoma and complications that followed.  We weren’t even sure we were able to attend this event until the morning we were supposed to be leaving for our road trip.  In fact, it wasn’t until about noon on July 3rd that I finished up with Margarita’s last oncology appointment and got the “ok” from her oncologist, Dr. Risbon, to travel to Canada with her.  We didn’t preregister for the competition, knowing we may not even be able to attend.  A lot of the jumps were marked as “full” but we know that each venue usually holds about 5 slots for people to sign up on the spot.  With all of this in mind, we set still out on our way to Canada late in the afternoon of July 3rd.  Boy, are we glad we did!

 

Limoncello

Limoncello enjoyed being a part of The B.A.A.A.R.K Foundation charity ball drop and having a girls GLAMping weekend with Margarita lounging in the air-conditioned camper.

Hooch

Hooch had the second longest jump of the competition! This was also his first time competing in a national event as an Iron Dog. His performance should earn him an automatic World Championship invite in Elite Division Big Air, Nitro Division Speed Retrieve, and Gladiator Division Iron Dog!!

Big Air:

23’7″                      1st Place Elite Division

23’9″                      1st Place Elite Division

Big Air PRO Finals:                     

22’0″

Pic Credit: Nancy Miller

Extreme Vertical:

6’2″

Speed Retrieve:

6.564 seconds         1st Place Nitro Division

Iron Dog:

2973.62 points       1st Place Gladiator Division

Lager

Lager had an absolute blast this weekend getting to play his favorite game of Dueling Dogs, and participating in The B.A.A.A.R.K Foundation charity ball drop! His performance this weekend should land him an automatic World Championship invite in Turbo Division Speed Retrieve and Titan Division Iron Dog.

Big Air:

19’11”

20’5″                              3rd Place Masters Division

19’2″

20’4″                              1st Place Masters Division

Extreme Vertical:

5’10”

Speed Retrieve:

7.304 seconds                1st Place Turbo Division

Iron Dog:

2876.3 points                   3rd Place Titan Division

Dueling Dogs:

Lager made it to the first round of finals, but unfortunately was bumped out in the last round.  He LOVES this game!

Margarita

What a weekend this little Diva had…Margarita enjoyed Donuts, a banana split, a convertible ride, a Canada Goose stuffed toy, and other gifts from our Canadian DockDogs family!

Whiskey

Wish-The-Fish came out in FULL force and she increased her jumping distance with each leap into the pool, earning a 2nd or 3rd Place medal for every jump and a new PB of 8’3”! We are hopeful her average Big Air score will earn her a World Champion invitation in the Novice Division, but we will have to wait and see if the Invite Fairy pays her a visit!

Big Air:

3’5″           2nd Place Novice Division

7’5″           3rd Place Novice Division

8’3″           2nd Place Novice Division

7’0″           2nd Place Novice Division

Porter

Po-Po had a great time walking the facility grounds and also enjoyed an amazing massage from Marti at Pawz Therapy !

Liver Killer Bling:

Seacoast DockDogs Hosts “Hops and Hounds” at Raitt Homestead Farm Museum; Eliot, Maine

This was our first time competing at this event.  We were super-excited since we were able to camp on the Raitt Homestead Farm Museum for the entire weekend!

Limoncello:  Team Coach

In between yelling at the boys and after the competition, Cello had a chance to jump off the dock and swim in the pool. In our eyes, she won 1st Place for prettiest girl on the dock this weekend.

Hooch

Hooooooooooooch had a great weekend! He is brand new to competing in Speed Retrieve and Iron Dog AND to learning the Chase Method during Big Air … and he rocked the dock in all 3 areas, despite the mistakes his Mama made, and with him being a beginner in all three “new” games! We have a lot to work on as a team, but I am so proud of this little guy!!

Big Air:

20’3″

22’0″

Finals:

21’2″    🥉3rd Place Elite Division Big Air Finals

Extreme Vertical:

6’0″     🥉3rd Place Top Gun Division

Speed Retrieve:

6.690 seconds 🏅New Personal Best score!

Iron Dog:

2939.05 points    🥈2nd Place Gladiator Division 
🥉Out of all the competitors this weekend, Hooch won 3 Place Overall in the Iron Dog competition!

Lager

Lager started off the weekend in a little bit of a slump, and was hesitating a bit on the dock. He pulled it together by the end of the competition though!

Big Air:

17’6″

17’8″      2nd Place Senior Division

19’10”    1st Place Senior Division

Finals:

20’1″     🥇1st Place Senior Division Big Air Finals

Speed Retrieve:

7.310 seconds    🥉3rd Place Turbo Division Speed Retrieve

The announcer at this event was a Massachusettes Law Enforcement Officer, and he “coined” Lager! The history of “coining” began in the ancient Roman army, where coins were presented as rewards.  The U.S. tradition goes back to the 1960’s.  A member of hte 11th SFG over-stamped old coins with a new emblem.  The 10th SFG was the fist to mint a custom coin and remained the only Army unit with its own coin until the 1980’s.  Originally the coins were given to recognized outstanding achievements. They are now used to build unit morale and cohesion. During the Vietnam Era, the “challenge-response” was added to the tradition. A soldier can be “challenged” to show his or her unit coin. Those that cannot have to “buy a round.”

 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Sweet Reet took a break from cheering on the team and caught up on some beauty rest this weekend in preparation to kick some Lymphoma butt this week!!! 💪🏼.

Whiskey

Despite the brand new toys Mom bought for this competition, Wish the Fish decided she would rather be a Land Shark this weekend, and timed-out in her jumps.

 

Porter:  Team Manager

Porter had a great day of napping and taking walks around the farm on Saturday.

However, even though his meds have just been increased, the second night on the farm around 10pm he had another series of seizures. Luckily, his emergency injection of Midazolam brought him out of the seizures and he did not have to go to the ER. It had been 20 days since his last episode.

Overall, we had a great trip to Maine and enjoyed this competition!

Keystone DockDogs at SteelStacks: Bethlehem, PA

First dock diving competition of 2019” and “Porter’s first attendance at competition ever” was on June 1st and 2nd, 2019.   SteelStacks is by far one our most favorite venues!

Limoncello

Cello enjoyed giving the boys “pointers” and “pointing” out all their mistakes throughout the weekend.

Hooch

Hoooooooooch entered his first competition as an Iron Dog! He won 3rd Place overall in the Gladiator Division!!! He also did Speed Retrieve for the first time and earned a score of 6.783 seconds! (I couldn’t believe it!!) He also qualified for Elite Division Big Air Finals and placed 4th overall.

Big Air: 

20’6″

22’9″

Extreme Vertical:

5’10”   1st Place Cadet Division

Speed Retrieve:

6.783 seconds

Iron Dog:

2930.12  3rd Place Gladiator Division

Lager

Lager had an amazing weekend winning First Place overall in Iron Dog in the Warrior Division. He also won Second Place Overall in Speed Retrieve in the Express Division!

Big Air: 

20’0″

20’10”

Extreme Vertical:

5’6″     3rd Place Cadet Division

Speed Retrieve:

8.092 seconds  2nd Place Express Division

Iron Dog:

2797.1  First Place Warrior Division

Margarita

Sweet Reet enjoyed napping in the fresh air, visiting with her favorite police horses, and receiving attention and love from all the competitors.

Whiskey

Wish the Fish barely plopped into the pool on Saturday, but it was enough to qualify for Finals for her first time ever!! However, Whiskey decided today was not a good day to dock dive, and she refused to jump in finals, earning 5th Place overall in the Novice Division!!

Big Air:

4’5″

Porter

Po Po was so well behaved this weekend! He enjoyed watching all the commotion and took some long naps each day. He is still trying to figure out what team position he should apply for… Team Water Boy? Team Manager?

Liver Killer Bling!

2018 DockDogs World Championship; Knoxville, TN

I am disappointed in myself for falling behind on this blog, but writing about Margarita’s Lymphoma journey each week has prompted me to remember the whole reason I began this journal of posts in the first place:  to share all the memories that have been gifted to me by my fur-kids.  It’s important to me to be able to look back on just how blessed we are to be spending a part of our lives with each and every special 4-legged angel included in this blog.

My first “catch-up” post is the 2018 DockDogs World Championship!

This was our 4th consecutive year that we have been fortunate enough to have all competing dogs qualify for the World Championship.  Even though two out of our five do not compete, we have a “no dog left behind” policy, so we travel in our camper as a family to this exciting event!

Of course we updated all of our team “bling!”

2019 Trading Cards

Team Banner:

Team Shirts:

Special Shirt Made for Whiskey’s First Year:

RV Window Decals:

This is the 2nd year the World Championship was held in Knoxville, TN.

Getting ready to leave, and tracking our miles along our road trip:

My mom was waiting outside of her house to wish us luck!

We were worried about how Whiskey would handle such a long trip…but she didn’t seem to mind one bit!

 

 

Every year one of the DockDogs clubs puts out a Road Trip Bingo game for all team handlers to play along the way!

We did get Bingo, but did not win first place!

Some road trippin’ fun along the way:

We are HERE!!!!!!!!!!!

Check-in:

The moment we’ve all been waiting for!!!!!!

Dog Town:

The amazing lady in this next photo is one of the people who helped Whiskey (then known as “Wish”) on her freedom ride from the kill-shelter to our house in NJ. Not only did she do several legs of the transport in TN, she sent Whiskey with special treats to wish her well in her new life.  When she heard that Whiskey had made the World Championship, she booked a hotel and came out to meet us, visit with Whiskey, and watch her up on the competition dock! As you can see, the blur-that-is-Whiskey was just a “little” excited!

 

As we arrived and set up our spot in “Dog Town,” a friend of ours presented me with one of the most amazing surprises ever!

He was going to paint Whiskey in between competitions!

 

“Paint me like one of your French girls.”

This was one of THE most thoughtful and loving gifts we had ever received!

Limoncello:  Team Coach

Cello is now retired due to heart disease.  She very much enjoyed hanging out at the team canopy and getting lots of attention from her DockDogs family!

Hooch

Hooch was fired up, but his normal 23+ foot jumps were just not there.

Round 1:

  • Big Air:
    • 21′ 7″
    • 21′ 5″

Round 2:

  • Big Air:
    • 21′ 0″
    • 21′ 8″

 

Lager

Round 1:

  • Big Air:
    • 17’8″
    • 18’3″
  • Extreme Vertical:
    • 5’8″
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 9.873 seconds
  • Iron Dog Score:
    • 2579.84 points (ranked 21 overall for Round 1)

Round 2:

  • Big Air:
    • 17’3″
    • 18’11”
  • Extreme Vertical:
    • Double-missed (no score – which unfortunately also disqualified him from getting a qualifying Iron Dog score)
  • Speed Retrieve:
    • 7.582 seconds

 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Rita  enjoyed  “helping”  during  setup!  

She also enjoyed hanging out with her main-man, Mr. Spock the English Pointer!

Whiskey

This was Whiskey’s first trip to the World Championship, but not her first time in TN… Whiskey was born in TN and dumped in a kill shelter before we took her in as a foster pup with Pointer Rescue, Organization in May 2018.

Round 1:

  • Big Air:
    • Timed-out (refused to jump)

Round 2:

  • Big Air:
    • Timed-out (refused to jump)

Although Whiskey refused to jump, she sure put on a show for the crowd!

Although none of our competing dogs performed as well as we had hoped, we are thrilled we had another opportunity to be a part of such an exciting event, and honored to have competed against the best dogs in the World!  People asked us if we were disappointed in our dog’s performance – NEVER!  Would we have liked to have made finals?  SURE! But, what’s most important is that our dogs had a blast, we had fun competing our dogs,  and we learned from the experience.

Brian and Lager

Jenny and Hooch

Jenny/Rita and Brian/Cello

Jenny and Whiskey

We are very much looking forward to the 2019 Dock Diving Season!

Jumping into Jersey at the Ocean County Decoy and Gunning Show: Tuckerton, NJ

This annual competition will always hold a special place in our hearts. Back in 2013, this was Limoncello’s very first DockDogs event!

I packed some fun gear to wear while jumping Whiskey and Hooch!

Limoncello:  Team Captain

Every captain deserves their own chair, right?! Limoncello kept the crew in-line back at our Team Canopy.

Hooch

Big Air:

  • 22′ 5″
  • 22′ 2″
  • 22′ 6″
  • 22′ 9″
  • Big Air Finals:  22′ 0″  1st Place Elite Division Finals

Extreme Vertical (All-in-One Finals Format):

  • 6′ 2″

 

Lager

Big Air:

  • 19′ 9″  1st Place Senior Division
  • 19′ 0″  First Place Senior Division
  • 18′ 7″  First Place Senior Division
  • 18′ 7″  2nd Place Senior Division
  • Big Air Finals: 18′ 8″  2nd Place Senior Division

Extreme Vertical (All-in-One Finals Format):

  • 5’10” 1st Place Cadet Division 

Speed Retrieve (All-in-One Finals Format):

  • 7.310 seconds 3rd Place Turbo Division

Iron Dog (All-in-One Finals Format):

  • 2867.36 points 3rd Place Titan Division Iron Dog

 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Margarita cheered her siblings on, but in-between competition waves, she posed for pictures around the Tuckerton Seaport!

Whiskey

Whiskey decided yet again, just like at the Hebron Harvest Fair, she was done with jumping! She was still a crowd favorite with her antics up on the dock!

 

We had a wonderful time, as usual, at this event!

 

Liver Killer Bling

Hebron Harvest Fair; Hebron, CT

Hebron Harvest Fair is another event that we hope to get to every year.  The venue is great, and the crowds are amazing!

Our team canopy – I miss our American Flag canopy and will be on a mission to find another for the 2019 Season!

Limoncello:  Team Coach

Limoncello enjoyed naps in the camper in between competition days!

The job of a coach is never done!

Hooch

Big Air

  • 21′ 3″
  • 22′ 3″
  • 21′ 10″
  • Pro Finals:  21′ 7″  First Place PRO Division

Extreme Vertical:  All-in-One Finals Format

  • 6’2″

Lager

 

Big Air

  • 19′ 4″
  • 19′ 8″
  • 19′ 8″

Extreme Vertical:  All-in-One Finals Format

  • 6ft

Speed Retrieve:  All-in-One Finals Format 

  • 7.230 seconds Third Place Turbo Division

Iron Dog:  All-in-One Finals Format

  • 2883.05 points  2nd Place Titan Division 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Margarita walked around the fair and gave out her love to all the spectators.

Rita also enjoyed napping in the camper in between the competition days!

Whiskey

Whiskey decided she was done with jumping!

I could not get her off the dock the entire competition, so she had no scores for this event!

Despite the fact that our team didn’t do as well as we would have liked, our dogs – most importantly – had a blast doing what they love!

Hopkinton State Fair: Contoocook, NH

We were thrilled that we were able to make it to one of our favorite annual events again this year – The Hopkinton State Fair !

The only bummer was that this year they had a target shooting show close to the competition pool, which freaked-out a lot of the dogs (one even broke out of his kennel – thank goodness he was safely caught).  Our dogs were NOT fans of this noise, and we had to scratch them from several of the competition jumps.

Limoncello:  Team Coach

Our team coach gave the competitors some good “Pointers” during our trip up to New Hampshire.

 

Hooch

Big Air

20’7″

22’0″

23’7″  2nd Place Elite Division

22’5″

Extreme Vertical All-in-One Finals Format

6’0″

Lager

 

Big Air

19’8″

18’9″

19’9″

Extreme Vertical All-in-One Finals Format

5’10”

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Margarita’s main-man, Mr. Spock the English Pointer, brought her roses!

Whiskey

Big Air

3’5″  1st Place Novice Division (Whiskey’s first 1st Place medal!)

4’6″  2nd Place Novice Division

This may be my most favorite video ever…even though I am the one being made out to be a fool! Haha!  Whiskey was a crowd favorite as she ran through my legs (in the opposite direction of the pool!) I chased her on the dock and the crowd was going wild!

So proud of this little girl!

A family we met two years ago at this event made a special trip back just to see us, and give us a special gift in celebration of our new family member…some Tennessee Whiskey to celebrate OUR Tennessee Whiskey!

We had a great time seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and hanging out with our pups…AND we accomplished what we came here for:  Whiskey had to jump at least once at another National level event in order to be able to accept the DockDogs World Championship invite she earned in Canada – mission accomplished…Whiskey’s going to Worlds!

K9 Central Wild Card Double Header: Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

This venue by far is our favorite!  The event at K9 Central has camping on site, awesome pool set-up, and some of THE nicest people you will ever meet!

Not only is the venue our favorite, the easy drive, and the beautiful scenery add to the enjoyment of our road trip.

One of the most exciting parts of this journey is the Thousand Islands Bridge.

I am not a fan of bridges – especially narrow ones (yikes!).

However, I do my best to put my fear aside so that I don’t miss out on the beautiful scenery of the Thousand Islands area on either side of the bridge.  The view is gorgeous, and you get to see many of the privately owned islands while crossing the bridge.

 

The past few years we had taken a few extra days off for this trip, so we are usually the first ones there!  We love how close our camper is to the pool!

This was also the first trip in our new camper!

We upgraded to a bigger camper with double slides so we could have more room !


Limoncello:  Team Coach

Limoncello enjoyed lounging in the camper with Margarita.   Coaching Hooch and Lager is a “ruff” job – so Cello relieved some stress by getting a massage from our friend, Marti, at Pawz Therapy.

Hooch

Big Air

  • 22’6″
  • 23’3″  1st Place Elite Division
  • 22’9″
  • 24’1″  1st Place Elite Division
  • 23’3″  1st Place Elite Division
  • 22’9″
  • Big Air Pro Division Finals:  22’6

Extreme Vertical All-in-One Final Format

This probably was the most exciting Extreme Vertical for Hooch and Jenny as a team!  Hooch matched his personal best, grabbed the bumper at 6’6″  and in the end earned 3rd Place Top Gun Division  – but not before Hooch had to go into a “jump-off” with 2 other dogs who were in a 3-way tie with him!

Lager

Big Air 

  • 17’7″
  • 19’1″
  • 20’9″  2nd Place Master Division
  • 18’6″  2nd Place Senior Division
  • 19’2″  1st Place Senior Division
  • 19’8″ 1st Place Senior Division

Extreme Vertical All-in-One Final Format

  • 6’2″

Speed Retrieve All-in-One Final Format

  • 7.037seconds  1st Place Turbo Division

Iron Dog All-in-One Final Format

  • 2920.34  3rd Place Gladiator Division

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Margarita made sure to get her beauty rest in the camper with Limoncello in between cheering-on her siblings during the competition.  She also enjoyed a massage with Marti!

Whiskey (Wish): First Ever DockDogs Competition AND Adoption Day!

Whiskey was still our foster dog, Wish at the time of this trip.  However, she had begun jumping into the lake at home, so I figured, why not try her up on the dock?!?!

We had been calling her “Wish the Fish,” so I bought Whiskey very own “fish wubba” for the dock.

I registered her under the name “WISHkey,” as a guest Liver Killer team member, and hoped for the best! Whiskey not only jumped into the pool, but earned herself a DockDogs World Championship invitation!

Big Air

5’10”

4’3″

7’0″  Second Place Novice Division

6’3″  Second Place Novice Division

We had fallen in love with Whiskey long before this trip, but had been fighting the urge to adopt her.  We decided while on this trip we would no longer fight that fight, and called Pointer Rescue, Organization to let them know we would like to adopt her.  Welcome home, Tennessee Whiskey!

Liver Killer Bling

We had been known for our American Flag team canopy for quite some time now.  Unfortunately, at this event, a huge wind gust came along and mangled it! We have been searching for another one ever since.

This was also not a very good “maiden voyage” in our new camper.   It had rained very hard the last day of this competition, and the ground became extremely muddy. We sank – A LOT – and had to get towed out.

 

Luckily there was no damage done to the camper and we made it safely home!

We can’t wait to come back to Canada next year!

 

 

Klem’s DockDog Days; Spencer, MA

This was our first time competing at this event held at Klem’s .  We had heard how nice it was – and we sure were not disappointed!  The venue was easy to get in and out of, and the spectators and competitors were very friendly!

Limoncello: Team Coach

In between yelling at the boys, Limoncello enjoyed napping in the shade at our team canopy.

Hooch

Big Air 

23’9″  1st Place Elite Division

23’9″  3rd Place Elite Division

23’3″ 2nd Place Elite Division

Big Air Finals:  23’10”  2nd Place

Extreme Vertical All-in-One-Final Format:  6’2″

Lager

Big Air

18’3″

20’0″

20’1″

20’11”

Extreme Vertical All-in-One Final Format:  5’10”

Speed Retrieve

7.136 seconds   3rd Place Turbo Division

Iron Dog

2892.45 points  First Place Titan Division

Margarita

Margarita enjoyed walking the grounds, snacking on yummy treats, and napping along with Cello under our team canopy.

Whiskey

Whiskey was still our foster puppy, “Wish,” at the time.  She enjoyed the attention from all the spectators, and concentrated on doing her best with chewing her special Wish-bone.

 

Overall, this event was a success for our team, and most of all – FUN for all!  We hope to be able to attend this competition next year!

 

Liver Killer Bling:

 

K9 Fun Zone Wild Card Double Header: Caledonia, Ontario, Canada

We enjoyed our trips to Canada so much in the past, that we decided to go to a different part of Ontario to compete at a venue we had never been to in the past…Caledonia! We had heard great things about this event and were very excited to compete at K9 Fun Zone!

Our camping spot on-site at K-9 Fun Zone…so close to the pool!

 

Limoncello:  Team Coach

Limoncello enjoyed a massage from our fiend, Marti, at Pawz Therapy!

Limoncello was also chosen to be the retrieval dog for the charity ball-drop!  This was a special treat for Limoncello – as she has been retired from competing in dock diving due to a heart issue.  To make it even more memorable, Limoncello wore the collar of the owners dog at K-9 Fun Zone, who had recently passed away from cancer.

Hooch

Hooch did not do his best in Big Air at this event, but he made up for that in the Extreme Vertical competition later in the weekend!

Big Air

21’6″

20’4″

21’6″

21’5″

21’1″

21′

21’6″

Semi-Pro Finals:  19’0″   5th Place

Extreme Vertical (All in One Finals format)

Hooch tied his personal best of 6’6″ which earned him 2nd Place overall in the Top Gun Division, and a DockDogs World Championship invitation for Extreme Vertical!

Lager

Lager had a GREAT competition and earned a World Championship invitation in every discipline in which he competed!

Big Air

18’3   2nd Place Senior Division

17’1″

19’3″  2nd Place Senior Division

18’7″  1st Place Senior Division

Extreme Vertical – All in One Final Format

6ft   4th Place Top Gun Division

Speed Retrieve

2884.82  2nd Place Turbo Division – which earned Lager a World Championship Speed Retrieve invitation!

Iron Dog – All in One Final Format

2884.82 points 1st Place Overall Titan Division – this earned him a Titan Iron Dog World Championship invitation!

Dueling Dogs

7.184 seconds  2nd Place in Class 2 Finals – which earned him an invitation to the Dueling Dogs World Championship (Separate from the Dock Dogs World Championship)

 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Margarita also enjoyed a massage from our fiend, Marti, at Pawz Therapy! Margarita has gotten a massage each of the three times we have been to Canada so far!

Whiskey (Still Wish, our foster pup)

Whiskey (who was still our foster pup at the time) had a great trip – it was her first time in Canada!  We decided to celebrate by getting her a massage as well! Whiskey liked holding a toy and watching the competition during her massage!

We had been to Canada a couple of times, but have never tried poutine (a dish originating from the Canadian province of Quebec, consisting of French fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy) – we finally had some! It was quite different and we liked it!

This venue gave our the most amazing prize bags!

We were quite happy we decided to try out this competition – we’ll be back next year for sure!

PV Pet Pet Palooza: PV Pets, Pennsville, NJ

This was our second year back at this event.  Click HERE to see us at this event last year.

We like this event since it is very close to home!

Limoncello:  Team Coach

Limoncello enjoyed taking a dip in the competition pool in between the scheduled jumps.

Hooch

Big Air

22’9″

Big Air Finals:  22’9″ 2nd Place Pro Division

Lager

Big Air

17’9″

18’5″  3rd Place Senior Division

 

Speed Retrieve

7.605 seconds

 

Margarita:  Team Cheerleader

Rita was not impressed at this event, and enjoyed taking naps throughout the day.

Whiskey

Whiskey, still our foster pup, Wish, at the time, enjoyed getting all kinds of attention!

Hog Dog Air Dogs Club Event: Millersville, MD

Last year we decided to try another diving organization:  Ultimate Air Dogs.  We had a blast at the event they held at Hog Dog Productions last year, so we decided to give it another try – – and we were not disappointed!

It was a bonus to be able to camp on-site at Hog Dog Productions!

Limoncello

Limoncello had fun keeping a watch on all the activities from the camper!

Hooch

Splashes:

21’9″   3rd Place Master Division

21’2″   2nd Place Master Division

Master Finals

21’5″ 1st Place

Lager

Splashes:

19’8″  (with Brian)

18’7″  (with Brian)

19’6″ 2nd Place Senior Elite (with Brian)

Senior Elite Finals

20’1″ 2nd Place

Chase-It

7.53 seconds (with Jenny)

 

Fetch-It (with Brian)

16 ft

Margarita

Sweet Reet took a swim (not by her choice! lol) to cool off in the hot temps.

Whiskey

Whiskey (still our foster dog, Wish, at this point) enjoyed watching all the dogs jump from the comfort of her shaded crate under the team canopy.