Spud, the Co-Pilot of Team 4 Dawg Flite

Spud, a 4-year-old Yellow Labrador Retriever, became part of our family at 7 months old. What a beautiful puppy he was!

Unfortunately, however, Spud had a rough start at dock diving. At first, he was not at all interested in water or dock diving. This short video shows his hesitancy to go in the water after a bumper. His first time at one of Sally's dock diving events, he slept in his crate through the entire event, totally uninterested!

 Then, after a couple of months, Spud began paying close attention to Sally at her events and practices. Soon he was barking, acting as if he wanted to get up there on the dock. Finally, one day at practice he was allowed up on the dock again, and he actually jumped! It was not much of a jump, but it was a beginning. Here is Spud's first jump from a dock.

                                                                  
It might have taken Spud a while to get started, but once he discovered the fun of dock diving, he took off! His first event was at the Country Music Awards in Nashville, TN, in June, 2008. He won his first medal there with a jump of 11'5".

His medal was only a participation medal, but don't tell Spud that. He thought he was a champ!

From Nashville, Spud just took off with bigger and bigger jumps. His next event was the AFLAC Outdoor Games in Columbus, GA, where he earned his Senior Title in Big Air. Here are some photos of Spud from Columbus.

Spud continued to jump bigger and bigger. His best jump at Columbus was 17'10", a personal best. His next event was the State Fair of West Virginia where he set another Personal Best of 19'8".

                                                           

The Waterfowl Festival in Easton, Maryland, was where Spud set another personal best jump of 23'1" which also qualified as his first leg toward his Regional Elite Title. In addition, he scored two jumps toward a Regional Master Title.

                                                                                        

                                                                           

In May, 2009, at the Ole Mill Crank-Up in Sanford, N.C., Spud earned his last two legs of his Regional Master Title. Here are some photos from that jump.
     

In addition to being a dock diver, Spud is also a certified Therapy Dog and a member of Therapy Dogs International. He even has his own Therapy Dog ID card.

As a Therapy Dog, Spud visits nursing homes and hospitals. He also participates in the Read to Rover program at the local library and makes visits to schools. This is Spud's visit to a 2nd grade class at Oconee Primary School where he taught them about working dogs and dog safety.