Last weekend we packed up the Subaru and took Bailey down to Millersville, Maryland for her third Dockdogs event of the season.  Dubbed the “June Bloom,” this event was part of the National Sanctioned Facilities Series and was hosted by Hog Dog Productions.  Although Bailey started off a little slow she picked things up for the Extreme Vertical (high jump) competition with a 6’6″ grab and then ended the weekend with her best long jump score of the year – 23’1″.  This was good enough for third place in the Big Air Pro Finals!

After a long day of competing on Saturday we enjoyed a crab feast at the event site with our Dockdogs friends.  I had never eaten “real” crab that was “in a crab” (as opposed to in a crab cake…) but after a lesson from our Maryland friends Matt and I were cracking and picking our crabs like pros.  The crabs were steamed and coated in old bay seasoning… the perfect ending to a fun day of Dockdogs!

Enjoying a Dockdogs Crab Feast on Saturday night. (Photo by Steve Sozio.)

Saturday night we stayed in a La Quinta in nearby Glen Burnie, MD and experienced our very first hotel fire evacuation!  We were sleeping soundly when suddenly a strobe light and alarm started going off in our room.  I leapt out of bed and started to gather up our most important belongings (the camera, my Phillies cap, and my iPhone?) while Matt checked to see if other hotel guests were evacuating.  Oddly enough, Bailey was completely unconcerned by the piercing noise and barely bothered to stand up before curling back up on the bed, oblivious to the mayhem around her.  After convincing her that it WAS necessary to get out of bed we shuffled outside with the rest of the La Quinta guests and groggily watched as five fire engines worth of first responders responded to the call and searched the building.  Lucky for us there wasn’t a fire (just a crazy lady who pulled the fire alarm) so after about 20 minutes we were allowed to go back inside.

On Sunday every one of Bailey’s Big Air jumps was better than the last.  She went from mid-21-footers to a 22’7″ on her final qualifying jump… just enough to squeak into the Pro Finals in the #4 spot.  In the finals she eagerly jumped another 22’7″ and then, on her very last jump, soared to a season-best 23’1″ distance which was good enough for third place overall.  Woohoo!

Bailey looks like she’s smiling as she launches off the dock in the finals.

Here are some more photos that we took at the event:

Gunner, a male GSP from Annapolis, soars through the air as his “brother,” a Wiemaraner named Butler, cheers him on.

Rusty, a handsome Lab from Tennessee, floats through the air in the finals.

Bailey took a nap Saturday afternoon before the Extreme Vertical competition started.

Marcie, a black lab from Ohio, sports a snazzy pink vest when she competes.

This is Marcie’s daughter, Penny. Penny just learned how to compete in Extreme Vertical and she ended up winning that event with a 6’10” grab!

This is our fellow Delmarva Dockdog member “Rain,” a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Rain and Bailey both grabbed 6’6″ in the Extreme Vertical competition (pictured here).

Bailey catches her red “wubba” toy in mid-air during this practice jump. Nice throw, Matt!

Overall, we had a great weekend.  We spent time with our Dockdogs friends, watched our Little GSP enjoy herself on the dock, and ate fresh Maryland crabs… what could be better than that?  🙂