Dock diving at the county fair

The St. Charles County Fair was held last week the 24th through the
28th. When we were there on Thursday my daughter discovered that the
Gateway Dock Dogs were sponsoring an open competition and nothing would
do but signing Scully up.
On Friday Scully's first ever dock dive measured 12'10". As she was
preparing for her second leap, though, a nearby carnival ride wheezed to
life. I don't remember what the thing was called, but imagine a giant
hammer suspended by a pivot about halfway up the handle. The head
consisted of a submarine-shaped cage holding a couple dozen people.
After loading, the thing pendulumed back and forth, gaining momentum for
a series of up-and-overs.
Now, once Scully notices something like that she can't un-notice it.
Between the groaning hydraulics, the whoosh of its passing and the
screams of the human cargo she was well and truly freaked out and her
second jump was marred by a last second hesitation. Still, she
qualified for the semi-finals held the next day, the lone herding dog in
a sea of retrievers.
When we arrived Saturday afternoon we were pleased to see two other
women, members of another local flyball team, had brought their BC girls
out as well. Unfortunately the rides were already running. Scully
ducked every time the hammer thing swung by, and within a couple of
minutes the other BCs noticed her reaction, pinpointed the source of her
anxiety and also began obsessing about the giant hammer. The three of
them could have taken the gold if Synchronized Flinching had been
offered as an event.
Still, the oreo girls were game. The crowd laughed as each one emerged
from the water looking half of her previous size. I hadn't really
noticed before, but labs don't shrink when they get wet. Scully
bettered her previous effort by a foot, but we knew it wouldn't be
enough to make it to the finals.
The BCs took 7th, 8th and 9th place in a class of 20 dogs... Not bad
for first time competitors. And in spite of a couple of near misses,
none of their handlers fell into the tank. Scully came home with a
couple of ribbons and a prize bag filled with dog biscuits, a can
hugger, a mug. A good time was had by all.

Kathleen <khhfmdeletethis DeleteThis @charter.net> spoke these words of wisdom in
news:KDmri.3$xq2.2@newsfe02.lga:

And in spite of a couple of near misses,
> none of their handlers fell into the tank. Scully came home with a
> couple of ribbons and a prize bag filled with dog biscuits, a can
> hugger, a mug. A good time was had by all.
>
>

Yay for Scully, and I hope she gets many more carnival free dock diving
competitions in the future. Perhaps we will see her on TV someday?