The Rainbow Bridge

Current Flyball Dogs                                           Class Dogs                                            Retired Flyball Dogs

 Rainbow Bridge 

 DPCA Agility Top 20 2003 and 2004

11th highest-Ranked Doberman in North American Flyball Association History

Ashley exemplified the ideal Doberman.  She guarded us, nurtured our Manchester Terrier  puppies, electrified the Flyball racing lane, and entertained Agility spectators with her enthusiasm.  On the non-competitive side, she was a Critter Camp favorite, an easy partner for the smallest child, and a gentle giant at nursing homes and special needs demos.  Although she had no concept of titles and awards, she gave us her all for the sheer joy of it and pleased us to perfection.

Ashley played Flyball with First in Flight for nearly nine years.  While not quite one of the original founders of the team, she WAS one of its earliest members.  She also earned a  number of AKC and NADAC agility titles, and frequently showed up on the AKC Agility TOP 20 Dobermans list.  But, Flyball was always her passion, and racing with the wind in her hair and a tennis ball in her teeth was her delight.  Her pleasant tempermant, speed and athletic honesty, and absolute consistency made her an ideal mentor and teacher for our less experienced dogs.  She never met a dog she didn't like!  She just kept going, and going, and going,...

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.  

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Patches, a smooth coated Jack Russell Terrier, was born in May 1997.  Chip surprised me with this little puppy in July of 1997, after our 15+ year old Tippy, my 1st dog, a black cock-a-poo died of Cushings Disease. Patches started training flyball in August 2000 when she was 3 years old, & went to our 1st competition in November 2000, the Turkey Trot in Franklin,VA. We started with Triad Dog Sports. TDS used to be based in Guilford County. She used to run full double time as a height dog - full time on regular & full time on multi-breed. TDS always needed height dogs. Patches was never the fastest small dog, but she always seems to really like playing the game. She did not start out as dependable as she is now. We've had our share of missing balls, missing jumps, and chasing dogs on the other team.  In the end, most of the errors are early passes due to handler error! Bad Susan.  We started playing with FIF in 2004 or 2005 after TDS disbanded.  In late 2009, Patches passed away following complications after an unfortunate trash eating incident.  We tried everything to avoid this outcome, but in the end, a difficult decision was made because it was what was best for Patches. 

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 Ginni was one of the founding members of the First in Flight flyball team. When she was about 4 years old, we attended a one-day seminar on the sport. She learned the complete pattern during the one-hour lunch break, attended her first tournament 3 months later earning her first points, and we were hooked from that moment forward. Of all the activities that we were active in, flyball was by far Ginni’s favorite. She was almost always the untiring start dog but could run any position and had endless enthusiasm for the game. But her greatest assets were that she could pass any dog and very rarely made mistakes. Her times ranged from high fours to mid fives, depending on her jump height. In her early days, she was many times our 14 inch height dog. Ginni played flyball for about 7 ½ years. She’s almost 10 in the flyball picture. She ran a few heats in her last tournament in January 2004 at the age of 11 ½. Still game and eager to play, and still turning in times in the 5.8 range. Not bad for an old dog with bad hips! She passed over the bridge 10 months later. Ginni was by far the most intelligent and intuitive dog I’ve ever owned. She had incredible heart and presence. She fit the old-type Australian Shepherd mold both physically and in temperament. She was intelligent, loyal and devoted, and fiercely protective of those she loved and her home. She was gentle or aggressive, as each situation warranted. She was a willing and eager partner and of all the titles that follow her name, the one that means the most is not mentioned. She was the beloved companion of the Hunt family and my heart dog. And I still miss her every day.

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 Henry was found on the side of the road a dirty, flea infested, wormy 6 week old puppy  in December of 1997.  A wonderful, lucky find!  Henry retired from flyball after coming home limping more than once from tournaments where he was only running half time. It's much harder for the big dogs. He took longer to train. I had to soak tennis balls in Chicken bouillon broth just to get Henry to pick up the balls. He did not realize that he was supposed to be a retriever!  He was afraid to leave my side. He would go over a jump or two and realize that I was still behind him and he would turn around and come back.Henry was definitely a Velcro clinger dog!  We used to practice having Henry go between me and someone else just to get treats to have him practice going away from me. He had one knee operated on in 2007, and it healed completely, but Henry more enjoyed staying home to keep Chip company on flyball weekends. They would watch tv and eat popcorn.  Henry crossed the Rainbow Bridge peacefully in his sleep in September of 2009.

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 Spooktus came to live with us at the age of three years old in 1995 and from day one fit into our family perfectly. She was planned to be my second agility dog, which I was very active in at the time. After the birth of my second son later that year, we began competing, and easily earned her novice and open titles in AKC agility. Then, in late 1996, Spook suffered acute kidney failure brought on by a bacterial infection of unknown origin. She wasn’t expected to survive. We came home from the vet with meds, IV’s, and very little hope, but lots of love and care, expecting the worst. Gratefully, she did recover. The road to complete recovery was long and took several years, and took it’s toll on the energy and drive of this already soft dog. In late 1999, I started her in flyball as a way to spend a little more time with her. She learned the pattern easily and earned her FDCH but never had much enthusiasm or drive for the game. She was retired in early 2001 to live the life she wanted, which was just to be a much loved family pet. She was a great dog; gentle and patient, comical at times, and always eager to please. She was an easy, content, and happy dog, and family companion is her greatest legacy.

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 Ripley was a 12yr old mixed breed female that ran flyball for almost 10 years. Although she slowed down slightly over the years she always loved flyball as much as when she first started playing. Ripley was very ball crazy and loved the competition of racing against another dog. Her ended her flyball career reaching the title of FGDCH.  She was a lot of fun to run (although my back was always a little sore after holding her back all weekend at tournaments)! 

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Chase was a 12 year old mixed breed dog who retired from flyball in 2006.  He spent his retired days curled up on his big dog bed sleeping.  Chase began running flyball when he was 2 years old.  He loved the jumping and most of all, the people.  However, he wasn't crazy about the tennis ball.  It took me many months and lots of encouragement to get him to carry the ball all the way back to me.  Chase was never the most reliable or the fastest flyball dog on the team, but he was alawys a joy to watch.  He really believed that all the dogs and people were there just to see him, which made him very happy.  In one of the first tournaments he participated in, he went over two jumps and then stopped at the gates just in case anyone wanted to pet him!