Told to fetch, dogs get drenched

North East aquatic center hosts event

MILLERTON — To the dogs, it's a game of fetch that gets really, really wet.

To their owners, it's a sport often televised by ESPN and worth traveling around the United States just to participate.

The sport of Big Air — or dock jumping — came to the Town of North East Friday at a brand-new canine aquatics center at Ledgewood Kennels.

"I love it," said Nancy Tucker of Troy, Rensselaer County. "It's letting dogs do what they love to do most."

And what they love most is jumping into water and retrieving a squeaky toy, a ball or even a dead fowl trainer.

Tucker's dog, Wendy, a 3-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, happily leaped 13 feet 8 inches to get her ball back.

Of course, once out of the water, she splattered Tucker as she shook excess water off.

The three-day event, concluding Sunday, is the third annual Kiki Classic, named after organizer Chris Litwin's black Labrador.

The dogs are judged on distance jumped, said Litwin, a Stamford, Conn., resident.

The handler tosses some retrievable object into the water. The dog usually gets a running start and leaps in after it. Some inexperienced dogs Friday afternoon chose to slip into the water rather than go belly out and fly across the pool.

Kiki, who has appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," made the inaugural jump into the 42-foot above-ground pool.

"We always wanted to build a training facility," Litwin said. With the cooperation of Ledgewood Kennel and owners Chip and Kirby Barrett, his dream came true.

Facility draws many pets

Nestled on 75 acres atop Silver Mountain at the southern end of North East, the center is the first official training facility in the country with a regulation pool and dock, Litwin said.

He said dogs from as far away as Minnesota are competing this year.

Kevin Meese brought two of his dogs to compete for prize money, a trophy and goodie bags filled with treats and toys.

"This is like back home," the Fredericktown, Pa, resident said, surveying the rolling hills that alternated with green trees and newly mowed hay fields.

Most competitions are held in parking lots or other large paved areas, he said.

His 6-month-old black Labrador, Hunter, made his first jump — 6 feet 7 inches.

By way of comparison, world champion Country, a greyhound/coonhound mix, jumped 23 feet 9 inches.

"The dogs love it," Meese said. "As far as the competition, it's to see if you improve. But the time you spend training is the fun time."