Like many competitors at the Clark County Fair, Toby’s excitement was palpable as he awaited his turn to jump in his first-ever competition Tuesday afternoon.
Standing on a dock waiting for the signal, he moved from side to side. He couldn’t stop grinning. He stuck out his tongue.
Then he thumped his tail.
Toby is a 3 1/2 -year-old German shorthaired pointer. He was one of the canines leaping from a dock into a 40-foot-long pool in the fair’s DockDogs big air competition. It’s essentially a long jump contest for dogs.
He watched as his person, Abigail O’Brien, 10, tossed his toy into the pool. When she gave the signal, Toby flew down the dock and propelled himself through the air. He was intent on retrieving his toy.
Toby hit the water with a splash, mouthed his toy and dog-paddled toward the exit ramp, where Abigail waited, beaming.
His first jump was about 12 feet. But his second jump was two feet longer.
“Two more feet, girl!” exclaimed her father, Dave O’Brien, who high-fived his daughter as she and Toby approached.
Unlike some other participants, Abigail’s family hadn’t spent months or even years training their dog to leap as far as caninely possible from a dock. But they have taken him to the beach.
“He’s happy being in the water,” Abigail said. “We’ve been watching DockDogs for years. This year we decided to try it and have some fun.”
They brought Toby from their home in Yacolt on Tuesday morning and guided him in doing practice jumps before the competition began.
“He likes to smell everything,” said Dave O’Brien. “You have to distract him from all the smells.”
Imagine the myriad scents distracting Toby at the fair: cattle, horses, sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats and chickens, but also hamburgers, deep-fried corn dogs, elephant ears and cotton candy. How’s a dog to concentrate?
For novices, Toby and Abigail did well and were rewarded with a medal in the youth division.
Two other Clark County canines competing Tuesday were seasoned DockDog veterans.
Rex, a 1 1/2 -year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, competed with his owner, Dee Morasco from Amboy. She and Rex travel around the Pacific Northwest to various canine competitions.
“He’s been jumping since he was 6 months old,” Morasco said. “He’s been in the pool practicing since he was 8 weeks old.”
Rex, who at 95 pounds is a big dog, had just completed his second jump of the competition. As he shook the water from his coat, he looked up and watched a competitor propel through the air and splash into the pool. Rex barked and jumped excitedly. But then he noticed his orange shark toy on the ground near his paws.
“His theme song in some events is ‘Jaws,’ ” Morasco said. “He would swim all day if he could.”
Another DockDog veteran, Tucker, a 4-year-old male chocolate Labrador retriever, competed with his owner, Heidi Hayes of Vancouver. He’d been at the fair for five days competing in DockDog competitions.
His first jump Tuesday was 19 feet, but his best jump of the day, 22 feet, was still short of his best.
“He’s tired. I’m here to have fun with my dog,” Hayes said. “That’s what it’s about.”
Hayes’ family was cheering for her and Tucker. They spoke about their generations of involvement in the fair.
Hayes has competed in the fair since she was a Ridgefield 4-H kid, showing beef cattle and also entering her cooking and crocheting. Her entire family has been involved in the fair for generations.
Decades ago, Hayes’ grandfather, Bill Bartel, helped build some of the fair buildings. Hayes’ grandmother, Bernice Bartel, 92, entered four embroidery pieces this year.
Hayes’ parents, David and Linda Hoffman, used to show their beef cattle. They still raise cattle, but they don’t show them at the fair anymore. Linda Hoffman entered 39 floral entries, 13 jars of canned food, plus vegetables, sewing and crocheted handwork in the fair this year.
“We got them hooked,” David Hoffman said. “And now the grandkids are showing at the fair.”
If You Go
• What: Clark County Fair.
• Hours Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• Where: 17402 N.E. Delfel Road.
• Admission: Adults, $11.25; seniors 62 and older, $7.25 today; kids 7-12, $8.25; kids 6 and younger, free; parking, $6; C-Tran shuttle, free from six main transfer stations; $1 discount on full gate admission with coupon from shuttle operator. Schedules at www.c-tran.com.
• Carnival: Opens at noon.
• ERS Free Grandstand: Mutton Bustin’, 2 p.m.; Bull Riding, 7 p.m.
• Pets: Not permitted, except for service animals or those on exhibition or in competition.
• More information: www.clarkcofair.com or 360-397-6180.
Hayes’ daughter, Nicole Hayes, 14, also cheered during the DockDogs competition. She showed her guinea pigs and also had entered cooking, crocheted handwork and canning projects.
“The fair’s a family thing,” Heidi Hayes said. “We came every single day every year.”
The DockDogs organization operates 10 sets of decks and pools at venues in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the U.K. year round. There are three DockDogs disciplines: big air, the long jump; speed retrieve, a timed event in which dogs run, jump and swim against the clock; and extreme vertical, the high jump.
All breeds are invited to participate, said Frank Audelo, DockDogs event manager. He listed the kinds of bigger dogs that often participate: Labs, German shepherds, rottweilers.
But then he listed smaller dogs that also jump: “Yorkies, dachshunds,” Audelo said. “I’ve even seen blind dogs jump. And dogs missing a leg.”
Learn more at www.dockdogs.com.
