Local News

<< Previous   of   Next >> Suzanne Schmid / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Hanna, a retriever, leaps almost six feet over a pool to snag a hanging cylinder during the vertical jumping competition at the Meet Me in Mill Creek Festival on Sunday.   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 9, 2007 Leapin' Labs - these dogs can jump By Bill Sheets, Herald Writer MILL CREEK - Dogs were seen flying Sunday. So were rubber bones and flying discs as the dog's owners threw the toys from a platform into a huge, plastic pool and gave the signal for the dogs to go get them. Those in the crowd seemed to enjoy getting splashed almost as much as the dogs enjoyed leaping into the water. "It's really fun to see it," said Margaret Robinson of Lynnwood, who had seen diving dogs on television, heard about the event and came specifically to watch. Over the weekend, 86 dogs from around the Northwest, guided by their owners, competed for prizes at the Meet Me in Mill Creek Festival on Sunday. The event was put on by Puget Sound Dock Dogs, the local chapter of the national organization DockDogs, said Kristi Baird of Tacoma, one of the organizers. The canine competition started in 1999 as an event for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, Baird said. Now there are about 150 events per year nationwide. "There's a lot of camaraderie, it's really family oriented, and just a good time," said Donna Layman of Silver Lake, whose 5-year-old chocolate Labrador, Cheyenne, competed Sunday. A crowd of about 150 people gathered Sunday to watch the distance jump finals. The 24 dogs that jumped the farthest over the weekend competed for the top prize of $250. Donna Layman of Silver Lake and Stan Helewicz of Lynnwood were the only Snohomish County residents who had dogs in the final 24. Neither made the final four. Both did well - Layman's 5-year-old chocolate Labrador, Cheyenne, had two jumps of more than 21 feet. Helewicz's dog, Hanna, a 2-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, jumped 19 feet, 3 inches the first time and a little less the second time. Each of the final four dogs jumped more than 23 feet. In the end, Zorro, a 5-year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, took the top distance prize with a final jump of 23 feet 7 inches. It was his first win, said his owner, Casey VanBuskirk of Kellogg, Idaho. "He's hitting his prime," he said. For more information on Puget Sound Dock Dogs, go to www.pugetsounddockdogs.org. Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.

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