Chesapeake VA - It was a beautiful weekend for an event, sunny and cool on Saturday, sunny and hot on Sunday.  The crowd around the pool was huge as people tried to cool off.  Thank you to the Chesapeake Humane Society for being a great host to our event and to our volunteers.  Without you this event would not happen.

We saw everything this weekend - doggie birthdays, Personal best jumps (both dog and human), Youth and Veteran competitors, and lots of new members to the Chesapeake Club.  It was a great time had by all.

Maggie turned 3 on Friday and figured out the BEST way to celebrate her birthday weekend - win 1st Place in the Pro Finals.  Maggie and Dan jumped their way into their very first Top 4 and earned a new Personal Best of 20' 6".  Maggie also raced her way to a 3rd Place finish in Speed Retrieve, all the time looking very stylish in her new, pink birthday collar with diamonds on it.

Brian & Mishka also jumped their way into their first Top 4 Pro Finals.  Unfortunately, a bee decided to sting Mishka on the dock during finals.  After that, he was understandably skittish on the dock, but still managed to jump to a 4th Place finish.

Jake, the big Chesapeake from Chesapeake, wowed the home crowd.  Youth Handler Zachary Ward with Jake had their very first Master jump and a new Personal Best of 21' 3".  They also jumped two more Master jumps and overall received two 1st Place Master Ribbons.  Their huge jumps also earned Zachary "Top Junior Handler of the Bark in the Park Event".  The Pierce/Ward family success continued throughout the event.  Zachary's uncle, Jim Pierce, also received a new Personal Best with Jake of 22' 10" and a 9th Place Pro Finals finish.  James Ward, Zach's older brother, competed in his first DockDogs event by jumping Diamond.  He decided it was fun and we'll be seeing him next year along with his father, first time jumper Robert Ward & Teak.

Steve with Twister also had an excellent weekend but we're wondering what his punishment was for getting home late on Sunday??  With the second largest jump of the weekend - 21' 5" - he would have qualified for finals but was unable to stick around.  He was still the Triple Threat Champion for the event with his 1st Place Top Gun finish (6' 2") and 2nd Place Speed Retrieve finish (7.22).  We're hoping once Heather & James saw all the prizes, ribbons and money he brought home, his lateness was forgiven.

Sandy was giving Youth Handler Robert Locher a lot of attitude on the dock this weekend almost refusing to jump at all.  Their best jump was 19' 11" which qualified them for the Pro Finals and an 11th Place Finish.  Youth Hander Kylie Vanhoose, a brand new club member, jumped a 7' 8" jump with Trouble.

There was also a record number (at least for our club events) of Veteran Dogs this weekend.  Congrats to the old timers from our club for showing the young pups what it's all about:  Cindy Eyler & Wonder (13' 4" - 8 years), Renee Beagle & Trouble (12' 6" - 10 years), Aleta Channell & Mousse (11' - 11 years) and Jim Linde & Tasha (2' 5" - 10 years).  Kelley Hall, a long-time member of the Chesapeake Club, also made her 2008 debut competing with her "grand-dog" Henry taking 1st Place in the Junior Finals.  Henry is one of Caliber's very enthusiast puppies.  Recovering from ACL surgery, Caliber missed cheering for both her competing pups, two year old Henry and seven month old Piper visiting from NC.

We had six new members join the club at the event and they were making some waves.  Moe Gasperetti couldn't quite convince Cara to jump but we're guessing in an event or two she will have the "IWS Pop" down to a science.  Belinda Jared with Coco Chanel started out with a 0' 10" jump and improved to a 3' 6".  As a chocolate lab, after a few more practices Coco will be jumping with the big dogs after a few more practices.  Charles Hearn, with yellow lab Grace, also started small but will get the hang of it in no time.

Another new member, Aleta Channell, had a busy weekend handling multiple dogs.  She brought her own dogs, Splash and Mousse, along with a "borrowed" dog from a friend, Rebel.  Splash made a strong showing with a 9th Place Pro Finals win and a 4th Place Speed Retrieve finish.  Mousse finished in 2nd Place in the Novice Finals.  Renee Beagle, a long time DockDogs competitor also brought along multiple dogs and handlers for the fun.  Rebel was the star of the family with a 2nd Place win in Senior Finals, a 3rd place Top Gun finish in EV as a first time competitor, and a 7th Place finish in Speed Retrieve.  Tiger also did well and finished in 4th Place in the Senior Finals.  Renee enjoyed the Chesapeake event so much that she and her pack joined the club on the spot.

Lil' Miss Daisy Lou and Carly jumped to a new Personal Best of 21' 2".  Not to be outdone, Carly herself jumped a Personal Best and earned her first Novice Leg after her fall into the pool on the very first jump of the event.

Congratulations to all our competitors and we hope to see you soon.  For Club Member Stats click here and for Complete Event Results here. 

Jim Pierce & Jake - 22' 10" 3rd Place - Pro Finals	Steve Sozio & Twister - 21' 5"	Zachary Ward & Jake - 21' 3"
Carly Keane & Daisy Lou - 21' 2" 12th Place - Pro Finals	Brian Rutledge & Mishka - 20' 10" 4th Place - Pro Finals	Dan Bryant & Maggie - 20' 6" 1st Place - Pro Finals
Sharon Rodgers & Thunder - 20' 10th Place - Pro Finals	Brandy Fowler & Buddy - 19' 11" 7th Place - Pro Finals	Robert Locher & Sandy - 19' 11" 11th Place - Pro Finals
Aleta Channell & Splash - 19' 5" 9th Place - Pro Finals	Renee Beagle & Rebel - 18' 11" 2nd Place - Senior Finals	Renee Beagle & Tiger - 17' 10" 4th Place - Senior Finals
Aleta Channell & Jacob - 16' 8"	Danny Renteria & Rebel - 16' 8"	Jim Pierce & Diamond - 16' 7"
Kelley Hall & Henry - 16' 7" 1st Place - Junior Finals	Brigette Davy & Boomer - 16' 3"	James Ward & Diamond - 15'
Jim Linde & Harry - 13' 9"	Cindy Eyler & Wonder - 13' 4"	Renee Beagle & Trouble - 12' 6"
Aleta Channell & Mousse - 11' 2nd Place - Novice Finals	Terry Moore & Matty - 10' 2"	Kylie Vanhoose & Trouble - 7' 8"
Kelley Hall & Gunnie - 7' 6"	Robert Ward & Teak - 5' 2"	Zachary Ward & Teak - 3'
Charles Hearn & Grace - 2' 9"	Jim Linde & Tasha - 2' 5"	Belinda Jared & Coco Chanel - 1' 5"
Steve Sozio & Twister - 6' 2" 1st Place - Top Guns	Sharon Rodgers & Thunder - 6' 2nd Place - Top Guns	Renee Beagle & Rebel - 6' 3rd Place - Top Guns
Carly's 1st Novice Jump	Brandy Fowler & Buddy - 5' 4" 2nd Place - Cadets	Carly's 1st Novice Jump