A league of their own
Cowboy, Tess & I were invited to attend a doggie event over the weekend organized by Deborah Harpur (left) who has rescued, raised and trained dogs to compete in agility trials.
Dubbed the Pup Paw-Tay, the Saturday afternoon event at the agility yard set up at the business run by Deborah and her husband, it was a combination birthday party, game competition and donation fest benefiting Animals Rule based in San Pedro.
It was a really great event, although we realized quickly we were out of our league. All the other dogs there knew tricks and were champion
competitors. There were dogs that did figure 8s, dogs that balanced treats on their noses for long periods of time, dogs that rolled over on command and dogs that proudly knew how to take a bow when their routines were done.
Cowboy, Tess and I cheered them all on. We also had the good fortune to be on the team that placed 2nd in a game called 'My Dog Can Do That!"
Unfortunately, there were no calls for dogs that stared for bugs on the ground (Tess's favorite pasttime) or dogs that liked to hang out underneath an out-of-commission semi truck (which is where Cowboy spent a brief time during a break in the activities -- way to go, Cows):
Tess enjoyed getting some pats from other spectators:
Here are some other photos taken at the event, including the table filled with all the donations folks brought for the rescue group Animals Rule (with Deborah's dogs Gigi -- on the table), Hobo, left and PJPupp posing in front):
Here's a champion smooth collie who was one of the standouts in the games:
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Cowboy looks like the "anti-agility" dog. He's such a cowpoke.
(Cowboy never looks happy in pictures, he HATES having his photograph taken and resents it deeply when I aim and snap the camera in his direction. It shows all over his face.)
WAY TO GO TESS AND COWBOY....AND POOR COWBOY DIDNT LOOK HAPPY...BUT HE IS HANDSOME THOUGH...
What a small world, Deb is one of Sherman's agility instructors.