This week Raja interviews Bailey, the talented American Eskimo dog athlete. Bailey reports about all the fun she had at the Spirit of St. Louis Canine Games on Sunday, September 27. Over to you Raja…
Raja: Bailey how did you hear of the Annual Spirit of St. Louis Canine Games?
Bailey: I have some good Dogster friends that live in St. Louis. We had a meetup last year at a dog park there and planned to do this activity for this year.
Raja: Backing up, as I understand it, agility is a hobby rather than a profession for you? Is that correct?
Bailey: I have been taking lessons for two years purely for enjoyment. We have no plans to compete, but if you end the lessons, you end the experience.
Raja: So true. Specifically, how do you see your hobby benefiting your life and the lives of your humans?
Bailey: I enjoy the running and climbing and going through the tunnels and the jumps and weave poles. It is good exercise for both Mom and me. It keeps us active and it’s an activity that we do together. It also teaches obedience and trust in your handler.
Raja: Bailey you have a very good family! So let's discuss these games... You had to travel how far to get there? How did you travel and what was that hotel room like? (It was your very first hotel experience I hear.)
Bailey: We drove by car about 3 1/2 hours to St. Louis. We hit some bad rain when we got to the city, but most of the trip was made in good weather. The hotel room was very nice and I sniffed and explored it thoroughly. Mom and Dad ate in the room with me both their dinner and their breakfast. The hotel had a pool, but I believe they did not want dogs using it!
Raja: Eating in the room with you was really thoughtful. As we have noticed, many people want to travel with dogs, but they tend to neglect them and their needs when they want to do non-dog things. Your family really followed through. Plus there’s no point in upsetting an athlete before competition! Not going in the pool must have been hard. I know you have a nice pool back home and you’re an accomplished swimmer.
So, going to the actual day- When you got there, how were things set up? Did you find it easy to compete?
Bailey: When we arrived at Purina Farms the registration area was easily found and we registered and bought tickets to participate in the events. All events were for fun but some events were actually handing out prizes. You could also take your AKC Canine Good Citizen test there and there were some demonstrations such as Water Sports. They also had vendors there selling dog gift items and Purina Farms had its own gift shop and restaurant for the pawrents to eat at.
Raja: So well planned! So now what we all want to ask- How'd you do Bailey????
Bailey: I did well on the agility course, but had no interest in catching a Frisbee or Flyball. Little Georgie the Min Pin ran faster than me in the Race The Wind event. She was clocked at 18 miles per hour and I was 17 miles per hour. We all received gold medals and certificates and ribbons. Georgie and Jackson won a prize in the Costume Contest. They were pirates!
Raja: You are very agile, as we saw two weeks ago. I have no interest myself in catching a Frisbee, but I do like to pick it up and play keep away. You might like that too. You can tease your humans for hours.
Were there other furry friends there?
Bailey: I joined my good friends Georgie and Jackson and Mr. Duffy McDuff for a very fun day. Jackson unfortunately hurt the pad on his foot about lunch time and could not do any more events. He had to have it bandaged up.
Raja: I think Jackson was very brave. I’m sure he’ll be back next year. These Olympics are open to all dogs I hear... and it's a charity benefit. Can you tell us a bit about that please?
Bailey: It is open to all dogs and it is sponsored by The Spirit of St. Louis Samoyed Club and the St. Louis Samoyed Rescue. I saw many white dogs that looked similar to me only bigger. The picture of the dog pulling a cart is a Samoyed and not me. We did not try that one.
Raja: I almost thought that was you at first. But then I thought that doggie was too big.
Bailey thanks so much. Is there one final statement you want to end your interview with- anything special to share?
Bailey: I just want to say that if anyone has the opportunity to go to an event like this. it will be a wonderful day for you and your pawrents. This was such a nice day made even better because we spent it with good friends.
If you go, check out next year’s schedule eventually showing up at: www.stlsamoyed.com
Remember, it’s not the winning, but the competing that makes for big fun and games for dogs and their people.
Raja: Bailey how did you hear of the Annual Spirit of St. Louis Canine Games?
Bailey: I have some good Dogster friends that live in St. Louis. We had a meetup last year at a dog park there and planned to do this activity for this year.
Raja: Backing up, as I understand it, agility is a hobby rather than a profession for you? Is that correct?
Bailey: I have been taking lessons for two years purely for enjoyment. We have no plans to compete, but if you end the lessons, you end the experience.
Raja: So true. Specifically, how do you see your hobby benefiting your life and the lives of your humans?
Bailey: I enjoy the running and climbing and going through the tunnels and the jumps and weave poles. It is good exercise for both Mom and me. It keeps us active and it’s an activity that we do together. It also teaches obedience and trust in your handler.
Raja: Bailey you have a very good family! So let's discuss these games... You had to travel how far to get there? How did you travel and what was that hotel room like? (It was your very first hotel experience I hear.)
Bailey: We drove by car about 3 1/2 hours to St. Louis. We hit some bad rain when we got to the city, but most of the trip was made in good weather. The hotel room was very nice and I sniffed and explored it thoroughly. Mom and Dad ate in the room with me both their dinner and their breakfast. The hotel had a pool, but I believe they did not want dogs using it!
Raja: Eating in the room with you was really thoughtful. As we have noticed, many people want to travel with dogs, but they tend to neglect them and their needs when they want to do non-dog things. Your family really followed through. Plus there’s no point in upsetting an athlete before competition! Not going in the pool must have been hard. I know you have a nice pool back home and you’re an accomplished swimmer.
So, going to the actual day- When you got there, how were things set up? Did you find it easy to compete?
Bailey: When we arrived at Purina Farms the registration area was easily found and we registered and bought tickets to participate in the events. All events were for fun but some events were actually handing out prizes. You could also take your AKC Canine Good Citizen test there and there were some demonstrations such as Water Sports. They also had vendors there selling dog gift items and Purina Farms had its own gift shop and restaurant for the pawrents to eat at.
Raja: So well planned! So now what we all want to ask- How'd you do Bailey????
Bailey: I did well on the agility course, but had no interest in catching a Frisbee or Flyball. Little Georgie the Min Pin ran faster than me in the Race The Wind event. She was clocked at 18 miles per hour and I was 17 miles per hour. We all received gold medals and certificates and ribbons. Georgie and Jackson won a prize in the Costume Contest. They were pirates!
Raja: You are very agile, as we saw two weeks ago. I have no interest myself in catching a Frisbee, but I do like to pick it up and play keep away. You might like that too. You can tease your humans for hours.
Were there other furry friends there?
Bailey: I joined my good friends Georgie and Jackson and Mr. Duffy McDuff for a very fun day. Jackson unfortunately hurt the pad on his foot about lunch time and could not do any more events. He had to have it bandaged up.
Raja: I think Jackson was very brave. I’m sure he’ll be back next year. These Olympics are open to all dogs I hear... and it's a charity benefit. Can you tell us a bit about that please?
Bailey: It is open to all dogs and it is sponsored by The Spirit of St. Louis Samoyed Club and the St. Louis Samoyed Rescue. I saw many white dogs that looked similar to me only bigger. The picture of the dog pulling a cart is a Samoyed and not me. We did not try that one.
Raja: I almost thought that was you at first. But then I thought that doggie was too big.
Bailey thanks so much. Is there one final statement you want to end your interview with- anything special to share?
Bailey: I just want to say that if anyone has the opportunity to go to an event like this. it will be a wonderful day for you and your pawrents. This was such a nice day made even better because we spent it with good friends.
If you go, check out next year’s schedule eventually showing up at: www.stlsamoyed.com
Remember, it’s not the winning, but the competing that makes for big fun and games for dogs and their people.
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