The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon has gone to the dogs and there is a small but growing group of citizens that couldn't be happier about it! The newly formed 'Copper City Canines' dog club had its inaugural meeting and election of officers on November 18. You're probably thinking a bunch of crazy people with their Poodles and Afghan Hounds trotting around the show ring with visions of the Westminster Dog Show dancing in their heads. Well, think again. We may be crazy but this club consists of every size and shape of dog, mixed breed and purebred alike, and it's no beauty pageant. We are a group of people who like to spend quality time with our canine companions. After moving through obedience classes, many of us were looking for something beyond the ordinary walk and fetch a tennis ball game with our dogs. The result, after months of work designing and building the various pieces of equipment, was an agility class. You may have seen these competitions on TV, where the very excited dogs race madly over, around and through obstacles with their humans struggling to keep up and point them in the right direction. Well, at first the learning portion of Agility was a bit slower than that and some of the dogs were a little unsure of this new sport. Now, after only 10 weeks, our dogs are flying through and some of us are struggling to keep up. Obedience training is necessary before moving into agility as the dogs work off leash. That is not to say that all the dogs obey every command perfectly, that is what makes it such a fun challenge. You just never know what is going to happen! Sometimes a perfectly behaved canine decides to abandon the course altogether and go romping over to his buddies for a meet and greet. At other times they may just want to move in towards the video camera for their close-up! Then, when you're wondering if you should give up, they move through the entire course without a misstep just to show you they can. It's all in good fun and it's great exercise for dogs and humans alike. The dog club was the brainchild of two local women, Lynn Van Welter and Lisa Bullee who at present teach the Obedience and Agility dog classes in Flin Flon. If you are interested in finding out more call vice-president Lynn at 687-5797 or president Lisa at 362-2622. Don't forget to inquire about the next classes in basic or advanced obedience, and/or agility. Phone Aimee at the Flin Flon Rec Office at 681-7542. Watch for the 'Copper City Canines' in the coming year when we introduce our sport to the community in demonstrations about town. We think you'll agree that agility is a doggone great sport and at the end of a few runs you and your dog will be hooked on it.
