It was a Grand FastCAT Weekend for me and Olivia at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Bailie has some arthritis issues so she is no longer doing FastCAT and Madison is waiting to be cleared by her doctor so she can run again. Since dogs have to be at least a year old to run, this was my first time running and I had a blast!
My first run was kind of rough at the start. Mom showed me what to do. Olivia told me what to do, but there I was with our releaser and I was not sure anymore. I sniffed around for a bit and then I realized I needed to chase that white lure. Mom had me watch other dogs do it so I would know what to do. When it clicked for me, I crossed the start line and took off. Thankfully I didn’t cross that line before I figured it out as it would have been a terrible time for my run. Since I waited I did alright with my points that first time.
My second run was much better and I ended up with a Q on each of my two runs the first day. Mom only brought me the first day so she could focus on getting me off to a good start. After my first run I became addicted to this sport just like my sisters are! My top speed on day one was 18.3 mph.
Day two Olivia came with us. She is working on her FCAT2 Title. Olivia and Madison both earned there BCAT Titles in Iowa in 2020. I love this sport, but Olivia is over the top crazy about it before, during, and after she runs! We each did two runs Saturday, which is the most allowed. Olivia and I each got two Q’s. For Olivia her second run was faster than she has run in almost a year and a half – 22.31 mph. Honestly, I was worn out completely after my second day of racing, but it was a good feeling.
When we got home, I totally crashed for the afternoon, and then I went to bed early too! Since I think a lot, the two days really had my head going and I needed to rest.
Day three was the big day. Could I earn my title in six runs or less? The answer is, “yes!” I Q’d in all six of my runs and earned my BCAT Title with twelve points to spare. My top speed for the weekend was 18.7 mph. Olivia Q’d in her four runs and is now over half way to her FCAT2 Title. It truly was a Grand FastCAT weekend for us!
For fun, we have some pics of Mom setting up to take photos. She didn’t know our releaser was taking photos, so it is a fun surprise for us. It is not always easy to hang a ribbon on a collar and then my long ears cover the ribbon sometimes.
Mom also had to put the Q ribbons under the seat cushion part way since is no way to hang them up, and ten is a lot!
We are lucky someone was there to take some photos of us with Mom’s fancy camera. Can you tell Mom and I are pretty happy about my new title? What a shock too, in a good way, that the ribbon has lime green in it!
Finally, we have our team photo. Our releaser is also our navigator when we travel. She doesn’t even have a dog, but she helps out Mom with dog things a lot. In Florida, she had to suddenly step in and be a releaser. She actually enjoys it now and it really good at it. We even bought her a shirt to wear when she comes to our FastCAT trials. Mom is always our catcher, it takes two to run a dog in FastCAT. Green is good, what more can I say!