Geoff Dornan/Nevada Appeal Lapis, the Australian Shepherd belonging to Katrina Anderson of Reno, hurdles a gate during the ninth annual canine agility trials at Fuji Park Saturday. A total of 109 dogs competed in the fundraiser for research into canine cancer.
Dog owners from Nevada and surrounding states turned out Saturday for the ninth annual agility trials at Fuji Park.
The event is a fundraiser for the Morris Animal Foundation with the money raised going into research to cure cancer in dogs. In the first eight years of the event, Battaglia said they raised more than $80,000 for canine cancer research. She said, however, she expects receipts will be down somewhat this year because of the economy.
The event was created nine years ago by Lin Battaglia after her sheltie Pepper died of lymphoma. Discovering how little money was available for research into canine diseases, she created the memorial agility trials in Pepper's honor. When Cheri Singer's dog Sampson also died of cancer, the event was renamed the Annual Pepper-Sampson Memorial Classic.
Battaglia said most people are unaware of how common cancer is in dogs. She said one in four dogs will eventually die of some form of cancer.
At Saturday's event, a total of 109 dogs were entered in the agility trials. The animals are timed as their owners put them through an obstacle course featuring tunnels, jumps and even a sort of slalom course. Battaglia said the dogs win points toward titles in the nationally sanctioned event.
She said it takes about 18 months to train a dog to compete in the agility trials. Many of the competitors in Carson City Saturday, she said, are national champions.