2021 DockDogs Season Recap and World Championship Invitations

Posted on October 7, 2021 by Cello's Corner | Leave a comment

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.

💜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!

💙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

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Cello's Corner | Leave a comment

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.

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

Posted on June 13, 2021 by Cello's Corner | Leave a comment

_{Note: this post is back-dated. I am currently attempting to catch up on many missed memories that I failed to post over the last 2-3 years). I appreciate your patience as I attempt to bring my diary of “special moments with my dogs” up-to-date!}

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

Posted on May 24, 2021 by Cello's Corner | 2 Comments

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!

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

Posted on September 27, 2020 by Cello's Corner | Leave a comment

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

Posted on July 5, 2020 by Cello's Corner | Leave a comment

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!