On August 25th Matt, Bailey and I drove down to Dover, Delaware for Delmarva Dockdogs’ Summer Splash event.  If you’ve been following my blog you’ll know that Bailey had been quite ill earlier this month and, after receiving a diagnosis of Lyme Disease plus a vague possibility of torn ligaments, I was very nervous to see how Bailey would feel about flinging herself off a dock.

Matt had the first jump of the weekend and Bailey went about her business in normal, happy, healthy form.  Woohoo!!!  Oh, and by “normal form,” I mean that Bailey launched into the air after her wubba, landed in the water, forgot all about her toy, and started swimming around the pond trying to catch bugs and frogs!  Bailey always does this at the Dover pond so Matt and our club president are always prepared to wade into the pond and drag her back to shore so as not to hold up the rest of the competitors (thanks Matt and Mike!).

Bailey was clearly feeling better after her bout with Lyme Disease.  She placed second in the Extreme Vertical competition with a grab at 6’4″ and capped off Saturday with a great 23’2″ jump for me — her best of the whole season!!  We returned to Dover on Sunday for the last qualifying rounds and then got ready for the Elite/SuperElite finals where we would be competing with our canine friends Mac, Mojo, Cali, and Rain.  Bailey set the bar high with her first finals jump of 23’0″ and never looked back.  Bailey’s jump was good enough for first place, a big blue ribbon, and a prize bucket full of goodies.  Go Bailey!

Here are some photos from the event:

Alice, a beautiful browndog, wows the crowds with bouncy leaps on the dock as she works herself into a frenzy before jumping.

Alice’s owner Kelli took this photo of Bailey soaring through the air during finals. I love how relaxed she looks!

This 8 month old puppy Nico had several personal bests at Dover. Nico’s handler, Laura, helped him out with beautiful, well-timed toy throws.

Coleman, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever, had a fantastic event with multiple 21 and 22 foot jumps. Great job, Coleman!

During a brief rainstorm on Saturday Bailey happily wedged herself onto her squished up bed and snuggled under a fleece blanket.

Related Posts:

• Bailey’s Health Scare
• Addicted to DOCKDOGS!