Ora the Pit Bull

Saturday Sept 19th the MNDDC was invited to hold a competition at Richfields Cattail days. It turned out to be quite warm for being so late in the season and all the dogs seemed to have a blast. We brought Ora along to get her disc on but I opted to sit the event out to help with judging and what not. Luckily Amy got the bug so she was eager to take the field for both distance/accuracy and freestyle.

We had a great turnout for the day and got to see some nice routines. It was kind of bitter sweet event though since our disc season was at an end. As we packed up the club trailer and got loaded everyone said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Looking back however, this was an amazing year in so many ways. Oras illness and continued recovery still has me amazed. To this day she still seems to grow in strength and it gives me great hope knowing that she may recover enough to take to the air.

The club also made some great showings attending a couple national events in force and 2 of our club members where even invited to Chine to compete in a major competition over seas. There were so many things learned and many new faces, human and canine alike, that got involved this year for the first time. Its truly a joy to see the club grow and expand. New people from all over the state, and beyond, join us to play with their dogs and build the bond!

This my friends is what a happy dog looks like. Once again the MNDDC put on a truely awesome spectacle of support, fun and camaraderie that I have to say is not very common in todays society. Its like one big extended family that actually likes to be together. People of all shapes, sizes and ages converge and celebrate the bond between human and dog.

The festivities actually started Friday night where many of us got together at Bluff Valley campground where the event was held. An evening of socializing and fun followed by a long day of competing. Saturdays event consisted of the MNDDC Freestyle events and the MNDDC Catch 22 event. This was the clubs largest event to date and each event was broken down into two divisions, Novice and Pro. Ora and I competed in Catch 22 Pro class where we took first place last year. With the turbulent winter and slow recovery has put our training in kind of a holding pattern but none the less we were able to sneak out a 5th place in a field of 26 teams. That was better than I expected we would do and I was so proud of my little girl.

Initial registration for novice freestyle was a little light so with some coaxing from me I was able to convince my lovely wife to take the field for novice freestyle. Apparently she wasnt the only one affected by peer pressure to take the field since the field blossom from 2 entries to 8. Amy doesnt work with Ora so doesnt really know how to cue up her tricks etc but none the less was able to pull off some nice tricks and Ora was able and willing to motor around and catch some plastic to pull off a 3rd place novice placing for their efforts.

Saturday evening started out with 2 live bands, Ghost hand Punch and Blurry followed by a presentation from the club members who ventured out to Colorado a few weeks earlier. We took the opportunity to Present our current club president JG with some fine, one of a kind, hand crafted discs which was followed up by a nice little “Roast” which caught him by surprise and was quite the laugh.

Sundays events consisted of the states fasted dog competition in the chase and recall as well as a UFO Long shot event. We had some insanely fast dogs and some super nice throws to round out the weekends games and I headed home exhausted yet exhilarated at the same time.

Some members brought friends or significant others that had yet to experience the draw of discdoggin and I hope many of them left inspired by what they saw and took part in. It really is hard to describe, its almost something you have to experience first hand. We are all there to compete against each other but at the same time we are there to support each other, cheering for who ever is on the field. Competition or not, win, lose or draw, everyone there is a winner in my book.

If anyone has some free time this coming Saturday, we will be holding the years final competition at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Richfield MN. 9am Registration. 10:00 start time.

If you would like to see more pics from the 2009 MN State Championship weekend, you can Find them here!

Its still a ways out but I wanted to help spread the word. On Oct 25th 2009 the MN Bully Lovers will be hosting the All-American Dog Fest in honor of National Pit Bull Awareness Day. There will be various speakers and events for you and your dog and the MNDDC will be holding 2 demos during the course of the day to help spread the word about the wonderful world of canine disc and how you and your 4 legged friend can get involved.

The Event will be from noon to 5pm at the Training and Community Center 1346 South Robert Street, W. St. Paul, MN 55118. For more details and a list of specific events, and exhibitors please visit the MN Bully Lovers website.