 | | 12-17-2006, 09:25 PM |
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#65
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Elite Fan
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 26,324
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Quote:
Poodle saved from death is tracking champ
Only four of the breed have won
By LEIGH COLEMAN
SUN HERALD
BILOXI - Mary Welpton of Biloxi is the proud owner of a national tracking champion dog named Lucky.
Lucky is no ordinary tracking champion; he is a 12-inch-tall miniature poodle, found abandoned and near death on Welpton's patio 10 years ago.
National canine championship awards and medals are on display and cover three walls in Welpton's home. Lucky is one of four poodles in the United States who hold the title of national tracking champion; in October he was awarded the Variable Surface Tracking Championship in an urban setting.
He also is the only dog in Mississippi who has earned the Versatility Competition Championship title to date. Bassets, beagles, retrievers and German shepherds all are considered specialists at finding with their sense of smell, which makes Lucky even more unique.
"When I found Lucky I had no plans to keep him but as time went by, I just fell in love with him and realized what a smart dog he is," Welpton said.
A tracking dog is trained to follow a designated person's path. The dog physically tracks the person by using a glove, sock, or other personal item. Tracking dogs sniff the article and track that individual by the scent on the item. These dogs are used successfully in search-and-rescue operations.
Welpton is a retired physical education teacher and spends most of her time training Lucky and her other poodle, Happy. Lucky, who now has his own limousine, entered his first competition in 1999 and won the Canine Good Citizenship Award.
"I heard about the obedience, agility and tracking training courses and entered Lucky in them and now I train him at home," Welpton said. The American Kennel Club sponsors training courses, clubs and competitions throughout the U.S.
"Lucky and I travel to Louisiana, Houston, Orlando and Chicago for tracking competitions and he amazes me at every event," she said.
Lucky has earned national obedience, tracking and agility championships during the past seven years and Lucky and Welpton have been invited to the AKC National Tracking Invitational scheduled for September 2007.
Lucky may weigh only ten pounds - considerably smaller than his tracking competitors - but he works hard, loves the sport of tracking and continues to win against the big guys.
"I train Lucky as much as he trains me," Welpton said.
The Sun Herald | 12/17/2006 | Poodle saved from death is tracking champ
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