Buddy Does Agility

Buddy holds the following agility titles:

NADAC titles: O-NAC-V, NJC-V, NGC-V, O-TN-N

Buddy also holds a novice obedience title from the United Kennel Club (U-CD - UKC Companion Dog).

Hello,

My name is Buddy and I am the oldest of the Thompson family canines. I was adopted from the Humane Society of Tucson in September 1992. For the first year I was an only dog. Being an only dog is rather lonely and so I tried to make my life more interesting by digging my way out of the backyard or redecorating the family room when my mom and dad weren't there. They didn't really seem to appreciate my artistic expressions, but they did get the message. I needed a friend! So, one evening after my mom and dad came home from work, we went for a ride in the car to Petsmart. Petsmart is a really cool place where dogs can go inside and get treats at the checkout counter. You can also find another dog to adopt if the adoption agency is there. That's when I got a brother. His name is Duke and he was wilder than I was.

We made a great pair and played until our tongues hung out. We went to obedience class together. I paired up with Mom and Duke paired up with Dad. We practiced every day and I got pretty good at obedience.

Then one day my mom started making these strange objects in the backyard and we had to jump over them on walk across them. My mom said this was called agility. She really started doing it because Duke was not becoming a calm, relaxed dog as he got older. I, on the other hand, had matured into the "perfect" dog. But still, I thought agility was okay because I like to play with my mom and she always had really good treats for me. I like to make sure I do everything exactly right, so I didn't run very fast on the agility course (but I can run like the wind when I want to, hehehe :) ). I did get a few titles in agility. But in 2001, I retired from agility because I hurt my back and I can't jump very well any more. But, I can still run like the wind if I have a big field to do it in. In 2002, I came out of retirement to try a new agility game called Tunnelers. It has only tunnels on the course, so I don't have to jump. It was a blast! I ran fast and got a qualifying score my first time out. In September 2003, I received my Outstanding Novice Tunnelers Certificate from NADAC. Now I will try to earn the Superior Performance Certificate for Novice Tunnelers. I just have to get 4 more qualifying scores (that means I have to run fast and always go in the correct tunnel).

Here are a few more pictures of me. Some of them are a bit embarrassing, but my mom thinks they are cute.

Photo by Joetta Whitehill Photo by Mike Thompson

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This page was last updated on April 3, 2003.