A fluffy 3-year-old golden retriever named Blaze, also known as Fried Pork Chop, competed at the 25th Purina Dog Challenge, hosted by the Purina Dog Food company from April 22 to 23. Dock diving wasn’t just a sport, but a lifestyle for Blaze. He was born into a long lineage of dock divers — his dad, uncles and brothers were all dock diving veterans. And, this year, it was his time to show what he was made of.
His owner Elizabeth Downey cheered for him on the sidelines as the announcer called Blaze’s name up to the podium, to start his qualifying rounds for the dock diving competition. The competitive duo had attended the competition as spectators many times in the past, but this was their first time competing in the sport. Both Downey and Blaze were excited about this year’s competition, but after two years of staying at home because of the pandemic, they were more excited about spending time with their friends, rather than taking a trophy back home.
“Before [Covid], it was kinda free for all, you know,” Barrett Henderson, one of two Humane Society volunteers, said. “The Humane Society had so many events that happened every week that they didn’t have enough volunteers.” Randi Young, who was also a Humane Society volunteer covering the event that day, said, “When Covid happened, everything shut down. Precautionary measures were taken, and while in-store appointments to see the animals decreased, the role of the foster home grew.”
Both volunteers said the changes had turned out for the better as “it gave potential adopters an idea of what it would be like to have this potential pet in their own home,” Young said. Henderson and Young noted that after the pandemic, people have started to reflect on what mattered to them more, themselves included. “I don’t really care about what the event is about, even though this dog challenge is a beautiful event. I want to spend time with people,” Henderson said while looking at Young who nodded in agreeance.
Blaze padded up the steps to the podium, with Downey and sat down, waiting patiently for the announcer’s signal to start. Within a few minutes, the announcer shouted through the microphone, “Let’s give a very big warm welcome to Blaze! It’s his time to shine and let’s see him GO!” With that, Blaze walked to the very end of the dock and prepared himself for his biggest jump yet. He gathered all the speed he could muster, ran as fast and jumped as high and long as he could. Blaze landed in the water with a huge splash and the crowd went wild. People were cheering, shouting and throwing their hands in the air.
The Purina Dog Challenge happens every year, but the general public was only admitted by RSVP and invite-only last year. This year, even though some people were still uncomfortable being out in open space with others, the event was welcomed with open arms. “People wanted to get out and meet the friends they haven’t seen for three years or so,” Debborah “Debb” Mardin, who was one of the employees working for Purina working that weekend, said. “People are excited to be outside with their friends and their dogs.”
April Venner, who was also working with Mardin said that right after mask mandates and lockdown procedures were loosened, and they found out the Purina Dog Challenge was going to happen this year, they “jumped for joy.” Their dogs did too. From Venner’s experience, the pandemic had impacted the world of dog sports and its close-knit community a lot. “Before Covid, people had their own little groups or cliques,” Venner said. “Now, people are more open to talking to other people outside their comfort zone.” Mardin added, “I think people took their time together for granted, and the pandemic has taught all of us to be grateful for the time we have with each other.”
“Even though the competition and the competitiveness are still there, it seemed to have died down a lot, compared to before the pandemic,” Venner said. Mardin nodded, adding “We haven’t seen each other since Covid started two and a half years ago, so it was exciting news to know we were going to see each other again.”
At the end of the qualifying rounds, Blaze, or Fried Pork Chop, ended up coming in fourth. And, unfortunately, didn’t make it to the competition. Still, after the day was over, Downey threw punches in the air and screamed “Good job, Fried Pork Chop! You’re the bestest boy out there! Yes, you are!” She gave Blaze a big hug and a handful of delicious dog treats while reiterating that Fried Pork Chop was the “goodest boy” in the whole competition, and it was true. He did his best and that’s all Downey asked for. “Blaze is the best, and even though we didn’t make it to the final competition, he made me proud,” Downey said. “And we got to see all of our friends, that we haven’t seen in over two years.”
The pandemic made us change and adapt to survive and it also paused a lot of our favorite pastimes. But out of all the frustrating facets about it, like zoom meetings that went on twice as long than it needed to be and the big impacts on our mental health, connecting to others was what we missed the most. All social gatherings stopped. And now, just after two years of Covid, the alone time gave people time to reflect on their choices, and think about what meant more to them and what made them happy.
All that mattered to Downey and Blaze was if they both had fun. And all the other dynamic duos, the employees and the spectators at the Purina Dog Challenge that weekend seemed to agree, because as Mardin said, “the last two years made sure we didn’t take the time together with our friends, family and our furbabies for granted.”
