By Mike Rosso
What is it about Border Collies and Frisbees?
One is a descendent of droving and gathering breeds from the Welsh-English and Sottish-English border regions whose origins can be pinpointed to a single dog, Old Hemp, who was bred in Northumbria in the late 1800s.
The other is a flying plastic disc developed in the late 1950s by a company called Wham-O.
When observing a trained Frisbee dog in action, it’s hard to believe they were not designed for one another. The interplay appears to be symbiotic. Flashes of swirling red and a fuzzy blur of black, white, and teeth, very much like a dance. That’s probably why these talented dogs who compete in Frisbee events perform routines set to music – much like figure skaters.
Buena Vista resident Michael DiLillo and his dog Kinks can dance. In fact, at only five months old Kinks was competing in the Frisbee Novice class. By eight months old he was showing in the Open class statewide – right up there with the big dogs.
After losing his Rhodesian Ridgeback, Rex, to cancer in 2003, DiLillo decided he wanted another dog but wasn’t sure which breed to choose. He liked Border Collies and began doing research on them online but quickly discovered them to be high maintenance animals – constantly needing something to do. He then surfed over to Frisbee dogs and started reading about freestyle competitions and became convinced – he wanted to train and show a Frisbee dog.
The search was on. But DiLillo didn’t have far to look. In fact, it turns out that Kinks (named for a kink at the end of his tail) has deep ancestral ties to Chaffee County. He was the pick of the litter of a real working sheep and cow dog from the Everett Ranch in Salida, a ranching family that has been around for generations.
At six weeks old DiLillo brought him home and immediately began Kinks’ training by rolling mini-Frisbees across the living room floor. That was all it took. Soon DiLillo was attending competitions and learning training techniques. DiLillo’s ten-year-old son Matteo also became involved with Kinks’ training and has competed in Juniors competitions with Kinks.
Dog Frisbee Novice class is basically a throw/catch competition based on how many discs can be thrown and caught within a certain time frame. Within the year he was competing around the state and the country, performing elaborate routines to the rockin’ refrains of Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog and Lenny Kravitz’s Fly Away.
In 2007 he competed in the Skyhoundz World Championships held in Atlanta. He placed fourth in the 2007 UFO World Cup held in Dallas and second in the 2008 Colorado Disc Dogs State Cup Series. Kinks has even performed in a freestyle demonstration at a Colorado Rockies pre-game show at Coors Field.
Because of his interest in sharing the sport locally, DiLillo started the Buena Vista Canine Classic, an annual competition and fundraiser held in August for the Ark Valley Humane Society. The event has drawn as many as forty competitors from in and out of state. He says most major competitions and shows take place in bigger cities where there are larger populations of freestyle dogs. He also has noticed that about half of the competitors are usually Border Collies.
But plastic discs and rock and roll aren’t the only things Kinks and his human are up to – they are also a registered therapy dog team, visiting and entertaining patients at regional hospitals and nursing homes. He has also performed in shows in the Colorado Special Olympics and for special needs children at Salida High School through the program “K9s for a Cause,” an organization DiLillo helped found that provides canine entertainment for a variety of causes such as cancer camps, troubled youth groups and orphanages, among others. The group also provides four-legged entertainment for venues such as festivals, weddings and company picnics.
At six years old, Kinks is in his prime for competition, but DiLillo has seen dogs that are still competing at 10-11 years old. But the pace of traveling the country on the freestyle circuit can be grueling, DiLillo says, so for now he plans to focus his energies on “K9s for a Cause” and offering canine entertainment to benefit various causes, especially special needs kids.
The Buena Vista Canine Classic will be held in late August 2010 at River Park in Buena Vista.
For more information visit:
www.michaelandkinks.com
www.k9sforacause.org
