Bay Team Cool Canines
From BayTeam
The Cool Club Canines feature is intended to give members an introduction to other club members. It's not an award, but an article about club members, all of whom are cool and interesting! Cool Canines are featured one at a time on our main page. Any Bay Teamer can submit bios (for themselves or others) -- see Cool Canine submissions.
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[edit] Kevin Normoyle, Jill, and Spring
Featured August 19, 2008
Meet our current Cool Canine: Kevin Normoyle and his agility dogs, Jill and Spring.
A sense of humor and easy-going affection is always in evidence between Kevin Normoyle and his nine-year-old Border Collie, Jill. Known for her speed and flash around the course, Jill has not always had it so easy. She was pregnant and in fairly rough shape when she was rescued and carefully nursed back to health by Jim Basic and Nancy Gyes about eight years ago. She found her ultimate home with Kevin, then a student of Power Paws, who adopted and began training Jill in agility classes. Her agility career has continued to evolve, with one high note at the 2007 USDAA Nationals, when Kevin and Jill placed third in the Steeplechase semifinals, earning a spot in the finals.
Kevin owns and trains three dogs. He started his Border Collie, Nellie, with Power Paws in 1998, after observing just one class: “I saw four dogs lying next to each other in a down and thought 'I want that!' I still remember the sight of Riot blasting out of an open chute that evening.” Jill, arising out of his relationship with Jim and Nancy, was next, and has been a long-time student at Power Paws.
Kevin’s latest challenge is a young BC named Springtime, rescued from a New York Border Collie rescue organization. Kevin trains both Spring and Jill almost exclusively at his home, alternating exercises from one dog to another in daily sessions. Mentioning the ever-changing, fresh challenges that agility presents, Kevin has enjoyed the mental rush of planning and training a new dog. Spring’s debut on the agility circuit will be at the August SMART trial. Kevin is keenly looking forward to how his training will play out on the field.
Check out Spring's winter training regimen.
[Article submitted by KW, photo courtesy of John Nunes]
[edit] Terry LeClair and Heath
Featured April 27, 2008
Meet our current Cool Canine team: Terry LeClair and his notoriously winning Border Collie, Heath.
In October 2002, Terry got a call from a close friend whose mother’s two farm dogs in Pennsylvania had just had a litter of 6 Border Collies. At the time, Terry had two shelties, Shasta and Mocha, and was not wanting a third dog, but he agreed to consider a pup. The ensuing emails described one of the pups as “unusually focused,” would endlessly chase a toy, and was very people friendly. His picture at 6 weeks was the final selling point and he flew via Delta cargo to join Terry.
Heath was named after Ben & Jerry’s Heath Bar Crunch ice cream mainly because of the jumble of colors, a blue eye and a brown eye, a brown paw and a white paw. Since getting Heath, Terry has firmly switched to the dark side. Terry added Beadle (his high-energy 3-year-old that made Heath the “slow dog”) to his pack and joined Border Collie rescue as a foster home. Terry has fostered to forever homes several Border Collies and one very cute Border Lab mix.
Heath is currently ranked in the top 10 in AKC for Border Collies (#4 for 2007) as well as in the top 10 in USDAA for gamblers. Along the way he has continued to give Terry “how hard can this be” moments (which Beadle has continued to correct) such as getting his first 7 gambles in masters and placing 2nd with his DAM team of Luka and Maja at the first trip to USDAA nationals in 2006 and winning at 26” against all the big dogs the first time Terry ran him in an ISC Jumpers course. He enjoys riding in Terry's convertible, zipped up in his soft crate.
“Above all”, Terry says: “he remains the best possible friend that anyone could ever have, with some quirks of course.”
[submitted by Terry, with edits by KW and ELF]
[edit] Katrina Parkinson and Maddie
Featured February 21, 2008
Katrina Parkinson and her Maddie are The Bay Team’s latest Cool Canine duo.
When Katrina Parkinson drove six hours to the Sutter Buttes Canine Rescue, she thought she was heading to evaluate and bring home a Sheltie. But when she got to Yuba City, she found herself staring into a pair of striking, marbled, non-Sheltie eyes. Indeed, Maddie went home with her, and has since propelled Katrina into a full-time agility life. Maddie, a 4-year-old of enigmatic heritage, has earned her CATCh, and is 2 Snooker Super Qs and 1 Steeplechase away from her ADCh title. This past February weekend, Maddie and Katrina came away from the WAG NADAC trial winning High in Trial – Proficient, qualifying in 11 out of 12 runs. Katrina has enjoyed the process of learning--not only how to expertly run Maddie, but how to run the shows as well. Not able to sit around, Katrina has volunteered to chair several trials at the newer venues and tow the equipment trailer back and forth to trial sites. Most of all, Katrina enjoys all the teamwork, both dogs and people, that agility offers. [KW] [KW-p]
[edit] Ann Kitchen with Shock and Indy
Featured July 17, 2007
Ann Kitchen and her two rescue dogs, Indy (5-year-old Australian Cattle Dog) and Shock (1.5-year-old Catahoula Leopard Dog in-training), are The Bay Team’s latest Cool Canines.
Ask Ann how she and Indy got started in agility and you will hear a remarkable story about patience and rehabilitation. Indy, who runs with an exuberance that is barely containable, has earned both his ADCh and C-ATCH. But when Ann (a vet tech. at UC Davis) took him on as a foster/rescue project, he was a 5-week-old pup with such severe neurological damage that he could not even lift his head, much less stand or walk.
Using a form of “rough love”, Ann focused all food and attention on rewarding each small step forward in Indy’s motor development. By the age of 18 weeks, he was finally able to walk. Progress continued slowly until, upon the suggestion of a friend, Ann started agility to complete Indy’s rehabilitation. One thing led to another. Agility as rehab became agility training and then agility competition. Indy, infamous for his occasional puppy antics in the ring, continues to make up for time lost during his early puppyhood. Ann, quite sure now that Indy was somehow meant to be hers, has become a familiar face at trials, almost always found working the score table or the ring – making sure things are running smoothly.
Ann enjoys volunteering her time at trials. She claims it is up close and personal, and the best way to learn the game. She loves watching the progress of agility teams as they begin to gel and form a cohesive unit. Ann readily acknowledges that the camaraderie and the wonderful friends she has met through agility are a big part of her love for the sport.
[KW] [KW-p]
- Read about Australian Cattle Dogs and Catahoula Leopard Dogs on Wikipedia.
[edit] Emma Thomason and Neo
Featured May 21, 2007
Neo and Emma trained with Connie Tuft during the ensuing summer, and they now train with Laurie Plummer and are loving it! Emma trains diligently to get the exact performance that she is looking for and finds it extremely rewarding to see the fruits of that hard work at trials--great teeter or weave performance, for example.
She and Neo debuted at the March 2005 Bay Team trial, getting 4 Qs out of 5 runs that day. Judge Ray Wheeler was so impressed that he came over and high fived Emma after her very first run.
Emma and Neo have already worked their way up to AKC Excellent A , CPE Level 4 and Level 5, and USDAA P1 and P2. Her most memorable agility moment was when she Qualified in a very difficult Snooker course at the CPE Nationals in 2006. The course was a myriad of side-by-side tunnels that just begged for an off course. An off-course was exactly what the majority of us got! Emma and Neo showed poise and control on course, were one of the fastest teams to run, and came in fourth place at Level 2. Emma and Neo also recently placed second in the May 2007 "Bay Team Starters Cup". We look forward to watching this team go from strength to strength in the coming years.
[AS]
[edit] Gail Mahood and her dogs
Featured Feb 9, 2007
Our hearts go out to Gail and family, as we learned this week of the passing of Maddy at age 14. She was Gail's sweet, fluffy corgi girl. Maddy and Gail earned AKC Excellent, USDAA P3, and NADAC Elite titles during the years they competed, evoking smiles when Maddy ran, displaying the rear view of her sashaying pantaloons.
Gail, always easy to spot in cold weather (head-to-floor red down coat), currently runs her two dogs, Flint and Pic. Flint, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, will surely go down in history as one of the most winning mini dogs in agility. Now eleven, and still competing, Flint has earned his MACH 4, ADCH Gold, and Lifetime Achievement Gold awards. Flint was the first mini dog in USDAA to be awarded the Gambler Platinum. Flint's real claim to fame, however, remains his ownership of the GAMBLERS STREAK of 19 consecutive Master Gambler Qs! Not bad, for a dog Gail claims would not send past a shadow at noon when she first began building his gambling skills.
Gail attributes Flint's success to his steady temperament, his conformation (too light boned and long legged by AKC standards), and his many long hikes in the backcountry. A geologist by trade, Gail spends much of her time tramping through rough, rocky territory with her dogs. Flint learned, from an early age, how to navigate difficult terrain, which helped him to develop superb scope and jumping skills.
Gail is also running her youngest dog Pic, a Pyrenean Shepherd, whom she jokes is probably the only dog to have completed a Gamblers Master title before earning a single Starters Standard leg! A more high-drive and sensitive dog than her solid, tough-minded Flint, Pic is constantly challenging Gail to adjust her handling skills. It is this challenge, along with the diversity and supportive camaraderie of fellow competitors, that keeps Gail in the agility game. Asked about her favorite agility moment, Gail responded that it was all those rare moments where everything was in sync: she was handling well, her dog was running well, and nothing else mattered.
[KW], [EF-p]
[edit] Credits
- [TC]: Article by Tania Chadwick
- [AS]: Article by Angela Sutton
- [AS-p]: Photo by Angela Sutton
- [KW]: Article by Kathy Wheelock
- [KW-p]: Photo by Kathy Wheelock
- [EF-p]: Photo by Ellen Finch
