1999 Black CAT USDAA Trial

It was Halloween.  The Canby Arena never looked spookier.  There were shocks of corn stalks, jack o'lanterns, cobwebs, spooky apparaitions of all kinds and, oh yes, a USDAA dog agility trial.  Approximately 185 dogs and their handlers were entered, with an very large proportion of the entries in the starters/novice and level 1 performance classes.  More evidence of the growing popularity of dog agility and the success of USDAA's newly instituted performance class.  The judges were Scott Bartley, formerly of Spokane and now living in Indiana, and Tammie Wiebe of California.  The courses were challenging but doable (although Dunc and I didn't quite do them). 

There must have been something about the Halloween atmosphere that inspired some teams to MADness. Four teams completed their Master Agility Dog title.   The were Lisa Bowers of the Rainier Agility Team and her Malinois, Lucy; Dana Stillinger or the Willamett Agility Group and Lass, her "Dave Nelson Immaculate Conception" Border Collie X; Pritamo Kentala of RAT and her "pound pooch" Zita; and, last but certainly not least, CAT's own Debbie Berkley and her long-tailed Aussie, Nahtaki. 

Debbie Berkley and Nahtaki with Judge Scott Bartley

In addition to the competition, a high point of the event was the costumed Halloween fun match.  Prizes went to the best costumes for dogs and handlers.  Some people let their imaginations get the best of them.  Following are some thumbnails of some of the more creative or outlandish costumes.  Click on them to see them full size.

Jo Ann Mather's Bag Lady	Lois Lane (aka Roberta Foster) and Superdog	They say you grow to look like your dog	Uncle Sam wants who?
Vet Humor	Your friendly Trial Chair	Harem girls?	Supergirl and the Pirate (with some border collies thrown in)
	Batman and Superdog	Cattle Russeler with Cow

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