SEQUIM –– This place has gone to the dogs.
Tall dogs, squat dogs, furry and hairless dogs descended upon Carrie Blake Park in the hundreds this weekend for the three-day Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club’s Spring Agility Trials, which end today.
“We just have such a wonderful time,” said Susan Parr, a kennel club board member.
For roughly 10 years, the Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club’s agility trials have attracted dog owners from all over the West to show off their pets’ skills before the gathered crowds.
This year was no different.
Parr said 260 canines were entered into the weekend’s agility drills, in which dogs competed in such events as the A-frame, teeter-totter and dog walk, as well as in jumps, tunnels and weave poles.
An additional 87 were entered in contests designed to show how well they obey their masters’ orders.
Work for cookies
Dogs came to the park at 202 N. Blake Ave. from thousands of miles away to run, jump and shimmy — all for the salary of tiny dog cookies.
“Let me give her a cookie, and I’ll be right back,” Kathy Farrill of Maple Valley told a reporter after her Australian shepherd, Kizmet, ran the course.
The fields around Carrie Blake Park have been crowded since Thursday night with recreational vehicles and tents set up by dog owners.
Competition began Friday.
Bob Preston brought his two Rottweiler dogs from Port Alberni in British Columbia to compete in both agility and obedience.
“They really are getting to love the agility stuff,” Preston said.
Carol Schiefer brought her dogs, including a border collie named Trace, to the show from Yorba Linda, Calif.
“It’s a great show they do here. Just a lot of fun,” Schiefer said.
Others made shorter trips.
Take the black standard poodle JazzMean, owned by Laurie Turner of Sequim, who was a remarkable entrant primarily because of her rare full tail.
“You don’t get to see that around here. You don’t see this many dogs around too often, though,” Turner said.
Continues today
Contests continue through today, starting at 9 a.m. and continuing until 6 p.m. or until competition is finished.
Dogs compete to earn their way into points competitions, which lend them prestige and prizes.
The Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club’s next show will be the All Breed Dog Shows, Rally & Obedience Trials, set July 26-28.
Summer agility trials will be Aug. 9-11, also at Carrie Blake Park.
For more information about the kennel club, visit www.hrkc.org/index.htm.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
